In my previous article, I elaborated on the things to consider when trying to understand your client. In this article, I delve into the “HOW” of it.

Understanding your client runs deeper than you can ever imagine; and it gives you the leverage you need to create a better customer experience. “But Vanessa, clients are difficult to understand!” I know. It can be quite the task, but once mastered, you’d actually enjoy it. Let’s delve into how to understand your client now, shall we?

Relationship building

Build a relationship with your client. Every sale, negotiation and business agreement actually goes beyond the transaction. To be honest, it’s more human centered than it is transaction centered. In order to understand your client, you need to build a rapport with them that transcends just “business”. What this does is gives you the opportunity to get to know them better. You will find that each conversation outside the walls of “business” will be nuanced with pieces of information about them, what drives them, what they like and what they don’t like. Knowing these things helps you understand them better.

Consumer engagement

“But Vanessa, I am not directly client facing; I handle social media!”

For the one who does not necessarily have a face to face interaction with the client or consumer, consumer engagement is the go to. It runs on the same principle as does relationship building. Taking the social media conversation beyond the comments on your posts and stories, allows you get into the world of your clients. It helps you identify their patterns; and patterns are an excellent source of information on consumer behavior. Engaging with them allows you know what language they use and how they respond to you. Remember to take engagement further by spending more time online with them. How? Visit their social media pages; what posts do they like? What posts do they share? Outside interacting with your posts, what things do they like?

Active listening

Building a relationship with your client is as important as actively listening to them. Infact, the former cannot exist without the latter. Active listening shows your client that you’re paying attention. It helps you pick on the not so obvious things about them. It puts you at an advantage when it comes to understanding them.

Empathy

The place of empathy in the how to understand your client equation cannot be overstated. I like to categorize it as a skill. A skill no one is particularly born with, but thankfully something anyone can work on and develop if they put their mind to it. Trying to understand your client requires that you be empathetic towards them. This includes showing genuine concern for their lives, pain points, acknowledging their opinions and placing importance on the things they consider important. Empathy will require you to appreciate their understanding and interpretation of things. It will require a high sense of self awareness and awareness of the things happening around you. It encompasses the ability to be sensitive to their needs. Empathy will help you build trust with your clients; and the more they trust you, the greater the opportunity to understand them is.

The journey of understanding your client is more a marathon than a it is a sprint. I hope these make the marathon easier to run.

In my coming article, I’ll write on why it’s important to understand your client. I’d be happy to hear your feedback on this article though, leave me a comment below!