Iriana Suraya Abdul Wahab

iriana.abdulwahab@newinti.edu.my

After learning this topic, students should be able to:

Recognise the kinds of behaviors and personality
factors that please customers
Use 15 specific action tips that convey a positive
personality
Apply 6 organisational behaviors that convey a
customer-centered culture

Behavior is conveyed to others via both verbal

and nonverbal communications.

Even when no words are exchanged, personality

can still communicate loud and clear.

Two important rules of communication that must

be kept in mind:
- Anything can and will communicate
- The receiver of the message determine
what it means

Conversation with customers should be initiated

promptly
A prompt friendly greeting can help people feel
comfortable and reduce their stress
A friendly greeting can help everyone relax and
grease the wheels of comfortable interaction

For example,
Employees should verbally greet customers within
a few seconds of their entrance into the business.
If employees are busy, customers should be
acknowledged and informed that they will be
served shortly.
Employees should greet customer promptly,
verbally if possible and try to commit them to do
something as soon as feasible when they come
into the business or work area (i.e. McDonalds
greet customer in line)

Customers need first to be

reassured that this is a nice,
friendly place to do business.
Customers need to overcome
worries about being high
pressured into buying.
For example, give an off topic
and friendly comment or
compliment to make the
customers feel comfortable
(i.e. nice tie, children are
cute, nice weather, sports)

Different icebreakers will

work for different type of
client profile.
Always be attentive to
customer needs, give them
time to browse and be
responsive in helping them
make a buying decision.
Research shows that 60
80% of all shopping
decisions are made in the
store at the point of sale.

Say something nice to the customer which

could add enormous good will and move people
towards A-plus experience.
Safe grounds for sincere compliments:
Some article of clothing or accessories (nice shirt,
shoes, tie)
Their children (cute boy, smart girl)
Their behavior (thanks for waiting, youre been very
patient)
Something they own (I like your car)

People love to be complimented.

Many people are too hesitant to give
compliments, yet everyone loves to receive a
sincere compliment

Customers will appreciate if they could be

addressed by their name.
Example: If a bank teller calls the customer by
name, the customer will feel pleasant and
experience A-plus service.
This could help build brand loyalty.
The use of customers name if given the
opportunity. It builds the relationship.

Making eye contact tells the customers about

your willingness to serve.
It creates a bond between you and your customer.
It conveys your interest in communicating further.
Employees should make eye contact with the
customer as soon as possible to reduce the
chance of them feeling ignored and then leave
the premises.
Bert and Deckers 3 Is of eye communication.
Intimacy (expressing love)
Intimidation (exert power)
Involvement (looking at for
5-10secs)

10

An attitude of receptiveness is revealed by a

willingness to ask questions and listen to the
answers.
Employees asking feedback and getting
peoples feedback is a critical key in providing Aplus personality, even though criticism could be
challenging.

11

Listening provides an excellent A-plus opportunity.

Effective listeners will do the following:
1. Focus on the content of what people are saying, not
the way they are saying it. (customers might not know
how to express themselves properly).
2. Hold their fire dont jump and assume customer
thoughts before they finish talking.
3. Work at listening maintain eye contact and discipline
to listen to what is being said.
4. Resist distractions make the customer centre of
their attention.
5. Seek clarification from customers to fully understand
their needs ask open ended questions.

12

These are powerful word in building

customer rapport and creating customer
loyalty.
Attention to such words can exceed
customer expectation and produce an Aplus experience.

13

Service providers can inoculate against remorse

by reassuring customers that they made a very
good purchasing decision.
Such phrases are like; your family will love it. It
will reassure buyer to go through with the
purchase and feel good about it. This creates and
A-plus experience.

14

Smiling to the customers tells the customer that

they came to the right place and are on friendly
ground.
Personality is rarely projected without a smile.
The employees face should show that they are
glad the guest arrived.

15

Some customers may make their initial

contact with the company via the
telephone.
The key to successful phone use is to
simply remember that your customer
cannot see you, hence voice needs to be
used effectively.

16

Follow through immediately, especially

after the customers have made the
purchase.
Customer oriented people always follow
up on commitments to customers.

17

Employee can take opportunity to

shake hands and pat him or her in the back.
For example, a cashier employee should place the
money in the hand of the customer rather than on the
counter.
However, never touch a person in a manner that could
be interpreted as being overly intimate or having
sexual overtones.
Touching can be a powerful form of communication,
but be sure it is socially and personally acceptable
(i.e. In an Islamic countries, it may not be appropriate
for man and woman to shake hands)

18

Each and every person is different, each has a

unique personality. Need to accept diversity and
learn to enjoy it.
Understand that peoples needs are basically the
same at some level and that treating them as
guests will create the most goodwill, most of the
time.
Avoid being judgmental.

19

Customer contact people refuse to call them

sales people, preferring terms like associate or
even consultant. Yet everyone is in sales to
some degree.
We, constantly sell to other people on ourselves,
our products and services and our company.

20

The composite result of group and individual

behavior conveys much about the culture of the
organisation.

Therefore, if customers like your companys

culture and beliefs, it could build satisfaction
and loyalty.

21

1. Consider your company appearance and

grooming
Appearance of the employees is the first things
seen by the customer.
Dress standards can set company apart from the
competition and create an A-plus experience. It
will exceed the expectations of the customers.
For example: Employees wearing uniforms can
provide A-plus opportunity

22

2. Check the appearance of your work area

People arrange their work space with a desk,
counter or table between them and the
customer.
Companies may establish better personality by:
a.
b.
c.

Inviting customers to sit beside a desk with

employee instead of across.
Offer a comfortable living room (tv, magazines,
coffee)
Get close to the customer (use a round table
for meetings to impose sense of corporation)

23

3. Get customers to interact with your

organisation

Customers interacting with employees will

enable the sample of the culture (the
organisational personality)
Some less obvious ways to involve customers
include:

Personally handing them shopping cart at the

supermarket
Begin filling out paperwork (recruitment agency)
Inviting client to sample the product
Offering candy and drinks while they wait
Offer a product flyer or do a video presentation.

24

4. Correspond regularly

Providing thank you note for purchasing a

product (personalised hand written notes).
Maintain an open channel of communication
with customers via mail-outs.
Another way to maintain the relationship is
send information of upcoming sales or new
promotions.

25

5. Use fun
People enjoy working with an organisation that
has fun.
Excellent organisations are fun places to work,
they will have their own rituals.
(employee of the month recognition, casual
dress day, family picnics)

26

6. Reward the right actions

Organisation hopes something will happen but
actually rewards an opposite behavior.
For example, if a customer service department
is rewarded for zero complains, there may be
a possibility that the complains are being
suppressed

27