Blinkers on when communicating at work?

Complacency will not cut it!

All too often businesses simply are not listening and reacting to what their customers are literally asking them. When so much time and effort is spent trying to get people to engage, why squander the real advantage you should have when people do get back to you?

Yet time after time, that is what you will be seeing in today’s workplace.

It is all very well having so-called helplines where customers can ‘interact’ in written messaging with agents, who may or may not be bots (and sometimes the difference is hard to detect, and I am not saying that kindly!).

But ultimately if customers’ enquiries are not dealt with effectively, in as few iterations as possible, they can escalate into concerns, even complaints – and all too often lost custom.

Time for businesses to react

Time to take the blinkers off, see the situation clearly, listen to what customers are saying – then think and react. Yes AI can help with much of the heavy lifting – but not the thinking through and human reaction aspect.

Take a moment to reflect on that.

Why do customers get irritated by helplines that do not help?

Of course there are a myriad of reasons but for the purpose of this snapshot, let us look at the most obvious to the disgruntled customer:

1. The company is not listening to me / is not reading the points I am making, whether they be questions about product or service, let alone about complaints.
2. The organisation in question does not seem to know what ‘the right hand or left hand’ is doing. Their communication does not join the dots, so to speak.
3. Where is the person who cares, the one who will take accountability and see things through?

Why is this happening so often?

There is so much chatter around on how too many companies think that AI is the total solution to their communication requirements. You will have noticed that as a consumer as well as in your business environment.

As mentioned earlier, of course AI can be a massive help in so many ways. But it is a really bad outcome to become complacent and not assist everyone in an organisation to use their common sense, let alone their critical thinking skills. These are the things that we should value as being the essence of what it is to be human!

So let us develop this. AI cannot think between the lines.

It can easily pass a customer who would like detailed, personalised information in order to make an informed purchase decision, from pillar to post. Strike a chord with you?

That company’s complacency rears its ugly head – and the frustrating and annoying result can be a total failure to provide a solution at all.

And what also happens? A perfectly reasonable customer becomes ‘awkward’ and irritated because that organisation is not helping!

So recalibrate your communication – look on yourself as a customer

Now here is a thought to help you recalibrate if these points have chimed with you.

In the outside world, away from work, do you routinely get the customer service you deserve?

If not, maybe you deserve it if you really are prepared to put up with ‘providers’ who act in a silo! Sticklers or bots that only deal with the smaller picture they can be bothered with.

But what if you stand up and demand you do deserve better as a customer?

This can really shift our approach to everyday business writing! If you see the people you communicate with daily as people who deserve your attention and care, you are in a much better place to do just that with every word you write!

See now? Lackadaisical approaches cost on different levels

We all know that if Supplier A fulfils our expectations better than Supplier B, C or D Supplier A will maintain their status as our preferred supplier.

And in an ideal environment, our expectations will be on the basis of the right quality product or service at the right price, with the right level of customer satisfaction/care.

That is a tall order alright but it should be the competitive company’s goal at least, should it not?

Do not just be proud of the talents you have as a human – show them!

And a great way of doing this is to remember that every time you communicate, this approach will keep you on track:

Do not let ‘busyness’ take your eye off the goal – after all, there has always got to be a goal in your communication, has there not? Why bother if not?!

Do not let AI’s useful help take away your ultimate advantage of being a human who cares about being authentic – and takes pride in communication that works!

And a great way to do this is to look at what you expect from other people’s communication as a customer and treat the people you have to communicate with that level of understanding and respect!

Key takeaways

• Too many businesses are communicating with customers in a silo – not listening, not reading the actual questions being asked, and relying on AI or scripted responses that fail to address the real issue.
• AI can be a valuable tool in customer communication, but it cannot think between the lines. When it passes a customer seeking detailed, personalised information from pillar to post, the result is frustration and lost business.
• Complacency in communication is a competitive risk. If Supplier A fulfils customer expectations – the right quality product or service at the right price, with the right level of care – better than Supplier B, C or D, Supplier A will keep its place as the preferred supplier.
• A practical way to recalibrate your approach is to consider your own experience as a customer. If poor service frustrates you in your personal life, apply that standard to how your own business communicates.
• Every piece of communication is an opportunity to demonstrate human care and authenticity. Do not let busyness or over-reliance on automation erode the advantage that genuine, personalised communication creates.

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