Customer Communication Today
By Glenn Hansen
When I’m getting started on a story, I’ll search the idea online, looking for info and maybe some data. And when I searched “customer service trends for retailers and service providers,” I got a whole lot of information about “customer experience” or CX. That’s web speak, of course, for digital customer interaction. I was not looking for that. Sure, it is important, but you interact with people IRL too, right?
You know, In Real Life.
So I looked for examples of the best customer service IRL and I spoke with dealers and landscape professionals to learn more. Turns out, for customer relations today, in-person and digital go together like texting and teenagers.
How do businesspeople do this well? What’s the best way to communicate with customers to ensure their satisfaction and also get your work done? I’ll break this into two groups: OPE Dealers and Pro Service Providers.
Power Equipment Dealers
I visited a local bike shop recently to buy a part I had already researched online. I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew the store had it and where to find it. So you would think I’d be fine with no “Hello” or other interaction from the store clerk. Nope. The silent treatment continued as I looked around for 15 minutes and all the way to the checkout counter. I was acknowledged briefly. I paid and left. The two employees weren’t busy; I was the only customer. And when I gifted them a 1-star review on Google, a chatbot responded. I will not shop there again.
“We try to greet everyone who comes in,” said Greg Paul, of Paul’s Lawn and Garden in Massillon, Ohio. He admits it’s not easy with a small staff. “Sometimes my brother is tied up at the parts counter, my daughter is also helping someone, and I may be on the phone. So when a customer is out on the floor, one of us will try to say, ‘We’ll be there in just a minute.’ We want to let them know we care.”
“What’s crucial is that initial greeting when somebody comes in the door because they’re not getting that at the big box stores,” said Matt McGinnis, branch manager for STI Turf Care in Concord, N.C.
McGinnis and STI serve a mix of residential and pro customers in landscape and irrigation work. The different customers have unique needs. “The landscape contractors come in and don’t want to be bothered, they know where to find what they need. And even if we try to help them, they’ll say, ‘No I got it.’”
That’s true for a lot of customers, not just irrigation pros who need fittings and sprinkler heads. “More customers are making decisions based on online research without having to talk to somebody. This certainly feels like a key push in the customer segment,” said Mike Wasserman, CFO of dealer management system provider Flyntlok.
But not all customers. “The homeowners, on the other hand, they usually come to the counter first and ask for solutions to whatever they’re trying to fix,” said McGinnis. “We’ll go out there and walk through the bins and figure out you know what they need.” It’s not always possible to tell the difference between pros and joes, as they say, so you need to ask. “I’m trying to get my guys to catch people right when they come in the door and at least say, ‘Hey good morning or good afternoon, anything we help you with?’”
Communication tools
Beyond the initial greeting and after the sale or service agreement, digital communication tools can help you communicate. “We use a combination of services right now,” said Paul. “The Flyntlok dealer management system has really modernized some of our communication; we have the ability to text customers directly from the system. We can also send them estimates via text; some customers really like that.”
With staffing issues, dealers like Paul and McGinnis say they seldom have time to sit and talk, as nice as it might be to do so. “I would love to sit and debate every nuance of a video the customer watched on YouTube,” said Paul. “But if they’re looking at a $200 weed trimmer, it is what it is right? I can only spend so much time on that.”
“If it’s just one customer who wants to shoot the bull and talk for a little bit, I’m okay with that,” said McGinnis. “But not if we’re busy. Most customers have enough common sense, and if they see people standing behind in line, they’re not going to stand there and just chit chat.”
Every retailer needs to figure this out on its own and recall the point McGinnis made earlier about big-box stores.
One main differentiator for OPE dealers is that they can talk to each customer.
Landscape Professionals
“As the owner of several service-based businesses, I have found that many digital tools can help internally, but externally, customers still want personal, human interaction,” said Jen Potter, owner of Raven Property Services in Massachusetts. “They just want it delivered in a modern, convenient way.”
The best form of communication, said Potter, is based on three things: clarity, consistency and convenience. To hit these marks, she finds the most success by using both text messaging and face-to-face communication, at different times, of course.
“Texting is my go-to for quick communication, confirming appointments, providing updates, and getting approvals without playing phone tag. It’s also what most customers prefer,” she said. “That said, nothing replaces face-to-face when it comes to building trust and truly understanding a client’s needs. I love getting to know my clients, and creating relationships is so important.”
Maybe you read Potter’s comments on texting and said, “Duh.” Or maybe just, “I agree.” But how many of you agree with her “face-to-face” maxim?
“What I’ve learned is that, even with technology advancements in communication methods, it’s still very important to offer your customers the ability to connect with a real person,” said Jeremy Yamaguchi, CEO, Cabana Pools. Yamaguchi gets that younger generations prefer texting, but older generations own more homes. “The older generations tend to prefer person-to-person communication, and they may struggle more with digital communication. We don’t make you take any extra steps to contact a real person, like having to talk to a chatbot first. This simple step makes a big difference.”
Communicate if …
“My customers are basically saying, ‘Look, I use you for a reason. I just want my property to look great,” said Joe Langton, whose company provides commercial property maintenance and robotic mower services. “They want me to communicate if it’s going to cost them more money, or if I need to get inside the building. They want to know as little as possible.”
For the customers where Langton uses robotic mowers, his team will handle all the communication with the robot, even if the customer might have access too. “I don’t want my customer to see every communication that the robot makes. It’s good to have all the data but only if the data goes to someone who can actually use it. Imagine you’re a customer and you just keep getting alerts. You have to filter the information. I’ve been telling my team, ‘You be the filter of the data.’” Langton said they handle it when they can through the app, then visit the site and alert the customer when necessary.
For the properties he services in Florida, many of the owners aren’t at their homes in the summer months. “All I do every week is send them a picture that the grass has been mowed so I make sure they pay their bill. A lot of times the people just want to see proof of service that’s all they really care to see anymore,” said Langton.
Are they interested in talking?
“A lot of people can mow lawns,” said Chris O’Neil, founder of Caddy Shack Lawn Care in Stillwater, Okla. “We work on being good communicators too.” For O’Neil and Caddy Shack, “good communicators” means programmed and automated follow-ups during the sales process and after.
“Once they become a customer, we use a lot of automation,” he said. Customers can opt in to different types of communication. Do they want receipts emailed or texted, and how often do they want service notifications, for example.
“It depends on the customer but most are not interested in sitting and talking, said O’Neil. “We do build good relationships with a lot of them. But typically we don’t sit there to talk to them.”
Potter looks at it differently, more in the mindset of Trader Joe’s (see sidebar). “I’m in the field a lot,” she said, “and I’m texting with my customers a lot. Also I show up to a job 15 minutes early so I can talk with my clients. ‘How was your day?’ and ‘How are your kids?’ That’s important to me. And my clients stay with my because of the rapport I create.”
For me, personally, I want to talk with the people working on my lawn. I’m curious about the work, obviously, and enjoy that face-to-face, like with the young entrepreneur who did my irrigation start-up this spring. I asked Langton about this, “Do you think these young service pros want to talk with an old homeowner like me?” He said, “I was that young guy once. He’s probably looking at you and is glad you care about what he’s doing. In this industry, a lot of times the work crews feel undervalued, like the customer sees them as just a service, maybe even like a servant. It’s nice when a customer comes out to interact.”
My next-door neighbor, however, feels the opposite. “I for sure do not want to talk to the guys working the lawn,” said Larry. “High-touch experience is not what I’m looking for.”
Langton gets the distinction and puts the rules on paper right up front. “We’re starting to make it part of our contract where we ask how often they want to be alerted when people come on their property,” he said. “We give them the option. I think that’s something that all professionals need to start. Do you want to be contacted every time we’re going to be on property or do you want to only be told when there’s problem? That flow chart to know how to deal with the end client is really smart. Just put it out front, ‘here’s how we communicate.’”
Be realistic and upfront with customers, he adds, about how you – the business owner – can communicate. “Everybody’s always telling me, ‘I’ll shoot you an e-mail.’ I tell them, and I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, that I have about 35,000 unanswered emails. But I have zero unanswered text messages. I can respond to a text easily, even while I’m driving. Plus, I find people write really long emails but the text is to the point. We all have our different ways we want to communicate.”
“Ultimately, it’s not about using every digital communication tool out there,” said Potter. “It’s about using the right ones in a way that keeps clients informed, respected and involved. My biggest focus is what works best for my client and creating systems that make them feel they are more than just a job.”
Trader Joe's
“Most companies try to ensure that no one hates them.
And if that’s true about your company, I promise you that no one loves you either,” said Mark Gardiner. “That might be okay for business to get by, but no one will seek you out.” Gardiner is an author and marketing leader who wrote a book about Trader Joe’s after working at a store for several months and studying the brand.
Trader Joe’s is a unique and highly successful grocery chain. While the retailing of food is quite different than the sale of lawn mowers or the service of lawn maintenance, the Trader Joe’s lesson is a good one.
First, let’s talk about Trader Joe’s success. A privately held company, it’s not required to report financial results to the public. However, we found a few reports suggesting that grocery chain is profitable. Its stores produce, as reported by Motley Fool, more than $2,100 in gross revenue per square foot, almost double the average of grocery rivals.
How does Trader Joe’s do it? “Management might say that customers love the uniqueness of Trader Joe’s products,” said Gardiner. “But the secret to their success is the front-line employees – chosen for their chatty attitude, and their ability to interact with customers. That is the secret. Everyone else hires for aptitude and tries to get the right attitude. Trader Joes hires for attitude and works to get their aptitude.”
Gardiner worked at a brand-new store that was opening in Kansas City. “We were trained in the Trader Joe’s way and we would workshop on how to interact with customers and customer relations. The training covered less on how to operate a cash register. They really only cared about that customer interaction.”
Gardiner shared a tale about ancient Egypt. “When they were building the pyramids, there were two guys selling bread. Both were excellent bakers with good product. One guy was a jerk, and the other guy talked to everyone and asked how they were doing. He sold out of bread every day. This is so basic.”
Even average products and services are boosted by positive customer interactions. “By building friendly interactions, everything else in the store is better or seems better,” said Gardiner. “Be likeable, even lovable. If you do this one thing perfectly, people will like you and put up with a lot of other crap.”
Can a CRM do that?
I looked at several CRM websites recently, and saw “benefits” like:
1. Get more jobs
2. Organize your business
3. Know your numbers
4. Automate tasks
And I saw very little of “improve communication with customers.” If you’re looking at a CRM and it boasts:
“Seamless integration of online and offline channels, enabling a truly omnichannel experience”
Or “AI is designed to leverage smartphone capabilities and deliver interactive experiences.”
Or “Technology that allows for in-app support and rich media sharing, meeting the demands of the modern customer”
You need to ask:
How does this help me communicate with customers?