Know your customer, know your customer, know your customer. Three very
important rules of business. But let me ask you this: How well do your
customers know YOU?
Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, asked himself this important question
several decades ago. His answer: employee nametags. So, he rolled out
an initiative that required all of his employees to wear badges, the
purpose of which was to “help the customers get to know the people they
bought from.”
But helping customers “get to know you” isn’t just about names, it’s
about information. In other words, it’s about self-disclosure, which is
the process of revealing your personal information to another.
This process starts with a small piece of information, i.e., your name.
Then, as the relationship develops, it progresses into more intimate
territory with the sharing of opinions, preferences and experiences.
What’s more, because of its reciprocal nature, self-disclosure has
incredible power. It creates comfort, establishes rapport, helps
discover the CPI (Common Point of Interest) and builds trust between
you and your customers.
I once worked at a mom-and-pop furniture store in Portland, Oregon.
More so than any business I’ve ever walked into, the owners of City
Liquidators leveraged self-disclosure to its fullest extent. You
couldn’t step five feet into their store without seeing pictures of
their family. The walls donned clippings from nostalgic newspaper
articles and various personal memorabilia that brought the store to
life!
As a result, shoppers who walked in the door felt like they personally
knew the owners. Engaging conversations about children, families and
growing up in Portland were frequent among the customers. And, the
emotional connection sparked by these interactions helped the customers
feel more comfortable while shopping – which ultimately secured their
loyalty.
Not to mention, self-disclosure actually helps YOU get to know your
customers better as well! Here’s another example. My friend Dennis is a
doorman at the Ritz Carlton. He is a master of using self-disclosure to
establish relationships with guests.
If a family with young children pulls into the front drive, Dennis
always gets excited. (He has a young daughter himself.) And as soon as
he extends his warm welcome to the arriving guests, he doesn’t hesitate
to share information about his own family. Sometimes he’ll even show
guests a picture! But Dennis knows that an effective way to learn about
his customers is to educate them about himself first.
How well do your customers know you? Here are some ways you can use
self-disclosure to create comfort and build rapport with buyers:
What’s Your Story?
How did you get your start in business? Did you “fall” into your line
of work? Perhaps there’s an interesting anecdote or event that caused
the birth of your business. If so, this is called “Your Story,” and
it’s a fundamental tool for helping your customers get to know you.
Write it out. Practice saying it aloud. Make it funny. And tell it to
everybody. Publish it on your marketing materials, and especially your
website. Create a special page on your website called “Our Story,” or
“My Philosophy” that shares this personal anecdote. On my website you
can even watch a video of my story!
Start Blogging
A popular new medium through which to share your feelings, experiences and emotions is with a blog. I recently started HELLO, my name is Blog for my business, and it’s become a valuable tool to stimulate personal
dialogue with potential customers. A blog is an online journal on which
you can post comments, links, stories and articles. A blog is free and
easy, and also a great way to let your customers know what’s going on
in your life. And the best part about it is: they can post their
comments too! Talk about self-disclosure!
For more information go to www.blogger.com; or do a search for any of the various blog providers in Google.
Recommend Resources
In your newsletter, on the phone or in person, recommend books, CD’s
and other resources. Tell your customers how much these things have
changed your life, your business and your relationships. If they take
your advice, they’ll be more inclined to share their own experiences
with you, not to mention you’ll soon have more things in common!
My friend Ed who works for Cornerstone Financial does this all the
time. He spends a few hundred dollars a year buying copies of his
favorite books for his customers. He tells them how the books improved
his life in the hopes that his customers will reciprocate their similar
experiences – which they do.
Your ability to educate your customers not only about your products and
services, but about yourself, is critical to your success. If you
follow these principles of self-disclosure and reciprocation, your
customers will get to know you better than ever before! So, remember
what my friend Jeffrey Gitomer says: it’s not what you know; it’s not
WHO you know – it’s who knows YOU.
