Build an Interest List

How well do you know your customers on a personal level?

For example, I know that one of my clients is obsessed with crossfit. Another client is a huge fan of 80s and 90s heavy metal. Still another client is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking and camping.

This information helps build rapport. Learning a little about your customers' interests, their families, and other things that are important to them allows you to demonstrate genuine caring on a personal level.

Customer service gets way easier when your customers like you!

You can track this information by building what I call an interest list. It's really just a collection of notes about your customers beyond the normal name, email address, and phone number in your contact database.

You can see a great example from Harvey Mackay with his Mackay66 questionnaire.

Let's Get Quirky!

We all encounter the occasional customer who is a lot of fun to serve. Why not allow yourself to be a little quirky so you can join in on the fun?

Here are a few examples:

• Richard from LEGO wrote this amazing letter to a boy who had lost an action figure.
• Michael from Netflix got into character in a customer chat session.
• Jenny from DMV.org exchanged songs on YouTube with one of her customers.

You have to pick your spots. Go quirky at the wrong time and your customer won't think you're taking the issue seriously, or worse, feel you are being unprofessional.

That said, you can make a big impression by connecting with your customer in a meaningful way.