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Glossary of Marketing Terms
View GlossariesCustomer Rapport
Customer rapport refers to the positive relationship established between the customer and service provider, it is built by effective communication, being empathetic and developing understanding.This fosters the customer to be loyal, and better satisfying experiences.
What is customer rapport?
Customer rapport is established between the service provider and the customer, which involves building trust and connections by communicating and interacting. Building rapport helps create a conducive setting for an ongoing business relationship.
After building rapport, the customer feels valued and a sense of support throughout the interaction.
What are the 4 principles of customer rapport?
Here are 4 principles of customer rapport:
- Attentive listening and being empathetic
- Authenticity
- Similarity
- Customization
- Attentive listening and being empathetic: Get people talking and engage in effective communication, understand their concern and be empathetic towards the customers, which allows them to feel more valued.
- Authenticity: Show genuine interest in the interaction with the customer, be transparent and open during the conversation, and also acknowledge the customers emotions.
- Similarity: Find more common grounds, which allows to develop a genuine rapport and like each other.
- Customization: Customer appreciate personalized experiences which cater their needs. Tailoring interactions and giving solutions according to the customers also helps in building a rapport.
Why is customer rapport important?
Customer rapport is important for several reasons:
- Trust and loyalty
- Enhanced communication
- Better customer satisfaction
- Competitive advantage
- Trust and loyalty: Trust and credibility can be built with the customers to feel a connection with the business, they are more likely to trust recommendations and remain loyal.
- Enhanced communication: When a customer is engaged and feels comfortable and connected with the service provider they are more likely to express their pain points and concerns , this allows the business to provide a tailored solution.
- Better customer satisfaction: Satisfied customers are more likely to be repeat customers and satisfied with the service and overall experience.
- Competitive advantage: In the competitive market, it is essential to build rapport and gain trust of the customers. Customers are likely to choose businesses with better and positive rapport. So building relationships can give a competitive edge and attract customers.
How do you build rapport with your customers?
Strategies to build rapport with customers are as follows:
- Active listening
- Tailored interactions
- Be empathetic
- Prompt responses
- Genuine and transparent
- Seek feedback
- Active listening: It is necessary to be present in the conversation and actively listen to the customer, which demonstrates a genuine interest in the customers preferences.
- Tailored interactions: Making notes and remembering the details of the previous conversations, this shows that the customer is being valued.
- Be empathetic: Put yourself in the place of the customer and empathize with the situation, and acknowledge them throughout the conversation.
- Prompt responses: Customers like the businesses who respond promptly to their enquiries and feedback, this showcases that customer is being prioritized.
- Genuine and transparent: Avoid scripted responses, be genuine throughout the conversation and transparent about the services that would be provided.
- Seek feedback: Encourage customers to provide active feedback about the experiences which helps to identify areas of improvement.
What are examples of good rapport?
Examples for good rapport with customers includes:
- Positive and friendly demeanor: The representative maintains friendly interactions and positive attitude towards customers. This allows them to demonstrate genuine concerns for the customer's needs.
- Proactive assistance: Look for opportunities to exceed the expectations of the customers and provide them with the suggestions and better solutions throughout the customer experience.
- Engaging conversations: During interactions, customers feel comfortable and engaged in the conversation so that they can freely share their concerns and pain points where business representatives actively listen and respond accordingly.
Why is it important for staff to develop a rapport with customers?
It is important for staff to develop a rapport with customers for several reasons:
- Customer retention
- Engaging conversation
- Problem solution
- Upselling and cross- selling
- Customer retention: When customers feel a sense of loyalty and are connected with the staff members, they tend to stay with a company for a longer period of time.
- Engaging conversation: Developing a rapport extends engaging conversation between the customer and staff, this allows customers to openly express their concerns and feedback.
- Problem solution: Building strong rapport aims to resolve customer issues effectively. Effectively communicating the problems allows staff to come up with the solutions to the problem.
- Upselling and cross- selling: As the staff members have established rapport, now they can identify the opportunities for upselling and cross- selling by knowing the purchase patterns or recommendations which will certainly lead to increased sales and better revenue.
How do you build rapport with angry customers?
Key strategies to help build rapport with angry customers:
- Stay calm and composed
- Active listening
- Empathize
- Apologize sincerely
- Use solution- oriented approach
- Engage in clear communication
- Offer personalized assistance
- Follow up
- Stay calm and composed: It is necessary to stay calm and composed when dealing with angry customers, as they take their frustrations out. Your motive is to resolve the issue calmly and try to de- escalate the situation.
- Active listening: The customer wants to be heard, and this can be done during the initial conversation, allowing them to express their issues and be an active listener.
- Empathize: Acknowledge the customer's feeling and frustrations by using certain phrases such as “I would feel the same way”, this allows the customer to feel validated.
- Apologize sincerely: Offering the customer a genuine apology for the inconvenience caused, even if the fault isn’t yours, this allows the customer to believe that business will help them resolve the issue.
- Use solution- oriented approach: Be proactive to find appropriate solutions to address the issue promptly. If necessary, service providers should ask for assistance from supervisors.
- Engage in clear communication: Engaging in clear and transparent communication helps in building trust and ensures the customers with better experiences.
- Offer personalized assistance: Offer customers with personalized and tailored services for better experiences which helps them to resolve the problem and de- escalate the situation.
- Follow up: After the issue has been resolved, follow up with the customer to ensure their level of satisfaction, which fosters strong relationships.
What are 3 things you do to build rapport with a prospect?
Here are 3 things to do while building rapport with a prospect:
- Establish common grounds: Find common interest and experiences with the prospect beforehand and establish common grounds, which could take place during the conversation and build personal connection with the prospect.
- Provide solution oriented strategy: while communicating with the prospect, provide effective solutions to their problem and make them understand the product and services in depth, this can be explained with the case studies or diagrams for similar requirements, the service provider and also help with evidence and address them.
- Build mutual trust: While building a rapport, it is necessary to keep in mind not just building a connection with the prospect but also highlight the product and services to sell them. As after building a rapport with the prospect there are chances that the prospect trust the service provider to keep their best interest in mind.
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