Why Trust Is the Key to Better Customer Communication

By Alex Raymond

Playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Nowhere is that as true as in business, where vendors often believe they’ve communicated clearly and effectively right up until the moment they lose their customers.

Think about the most overused buzzwords circling boardrooms. Disruption. Authenticity. Customer-centric. Most of them hinge on communication. Write stiff materials using corporate speak and there goes your attempt at sounding authentic. Stop listening to your customer (yes, listening is part of communication) and you’ll say goodbye to any chance of disrupting the market by offering an innovative new solution.

And then there’s customer-centricity – or as most of us have always called it, giving customers what they want. That’s about communication, too. Building strong customer relationships means listening to needs, finding opportunities for new recommendations, monitoring satisfaction, resolving issues. Without clear and positive communication, the relationship will founder; you can count on it.

So given that so many businesses think they’re communicating well when they aren’t, how can companies bridge the gap? Obviously your customers will have different mindsets and expectations, which might make developing a universal communication approach seem like an impossible task. But there’s a key that works for everyone – and that’s trust.

See, these are cynical times we're living in. Many customers are jaded, wary of disingenuous vendors who never deliver quite what they promise. That means that whether you're serving an internal client in your company or building credibility with a new customer across the country, your communication must dissolve skepticism and inspire trust.

My team already does that, you might be saying. But I bet many of your customers would disagree.

Acing the Customer Communication Game

The mechanics of customer communication boil down to emotion. We all like to think that we’re like Spock on the job: logical and analytical. Yet when assessing customer-vendor relationships, people tend to make decisions based on emotion. Were you available and responsive when the customer needed you? Did you pay attention to their requests? Did you seem genuinely concerned about their challenges and worries, and did you check in to make sure they were happy?

Those are the questions that haunt the customer’s mind. It’s why solely focusing on demonstrating skills and results doesn’t always convey your worth like you’d expect. To really establish long-term customer engagement, you must understand the cycle behind it: communication builds trust, which drives customer satisfaction, which leads to renewal and commitment.

Here are the real factors that build credibility (and foster loyalty) in the vendor-customer relationship:

Getting personal. You don’t have to be best friends, but personalizing your interactions whenever possible will go a long way to strengthening the relationship. Be warm. Be human. By building that rapport, you’ll have an ally in your corner when it’s time to renegotiate or renew the arrangement.

Speaking the client's mother tongue. Your priority is portraying yourself as an insider who understands the customer’s priorities, struggles, and goals. That means speaking their language. Use their jargon and think from their viewpoint; your communication will resonate that much more.

Manage the relationship. Don’t fall into the trap of viewing usage or engagement as proof of contentment. All too often the customer is just riding out the contract. Instead, actively monitor the customer’s satisfaction by proactively reaching out and finding out what you can improve and modify every step of the way.

Focus on outcomes. It’s not uncommon for customers to wander off track with non-tactical ideas that don’t actually align with contracted deliverables. In the end, it’ll be your job to prove you moved the needle, so find ways to keep your communication centered on the right actions and metrics.

Get in front of the decision maker. Don’t waste a compelling message on the wrong person. Make sure the person who decides your fate actually sees your dedication and strong results, instead of hearing skewed status updates from a middleman.

Be transparent and visible. Most vendors make one of two mistakes: they drown the customer in a jumble of data, results, and numbers, or they don’t provide enough visibility. Both approaches leave the customer in the dark. To demonstrate your value, find a system that clearly displays your performance. The customer should be able to see at a glance exactly what you’ve achieved, how well you achieved it, and what you’re going to deliver next. This removes subjective feelings and biases from the equation and provides the objective evidence that’s oh so valuable when it comes time to renew the contract.

Ultimately you want to elevate your standing from a vendor to a trusted partner invested in the customer’s success. By being proactive, accountable, focused, and sincere, you’ll prove that you’re not merely a remote business interested in profit but a committed partner with the client's best interests at heart. That’s the kind of status you want when it’s time to sign off on the next chapter of your relationship – and the tighter bond will make working together more enjoyable too.