Customer service is important. But if you’re not a people person it can seem impossible to provide. On one hand, you’re never going to be able to be a total misanthrope and stay in business. On the other, if natural warmth and empathy aren’t your strong points, there are things you can do about it.
Work with people you like
It may seem like this will limit your pool of potential customers. However, if you have the right marketing strategy, and you’re good at what you do, it won’t be a problem. You’ll find that targeting your marketing correctly will attract people you want to work with. Plus, the people you do work with will recommend you to their friends – who are probably like them. The end result will be that keeping in touch with your customers won’t be something you dread, you may even come to enjoy it.
Work with people who want what you provide
When the people you work with want your products or services you don’t have to try to squeeze yourself into a mould that doesn’t suit you. You may think that it’s irrelevant to you, but consider how often you make an exception and do something special for a client. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to accommodate clients, but be careful how much you change in order to keep them happy. The clients who are asking you to change the way you do business are probably not the clients you should be working with.
Work with people who communicate like you do
I don’t like the phone and I’d be very happy if I never had to use it. So it makes no sense at all for me to work entirely with people who prefer using the phone. That’s not to say I don’t have clients who like to talk. Some like to talk to brainstorm, others like to have a regular catch-up. It’s not a bad thing, it’s good for building rapport and developing a good relationship. But I’d hate to spend the majority of my day on the phone. In the long run, most of my clients like to communicate via email, which is by far my preference, and when I get an email from a client, it’s a pleasant thing. It’s not a phone call that jars me out of whatever I’m doing, or something that feels loud and super urgent. It’s just a notice that I’ve got something new in my to-do list.
Remember that it’s a two-way street
As much as your customers get something from you, you also get something from them. The ability to work for yourself, the ability to be able to afford to pay your bills, the ability to do what you love. Be thankful for that. If you keep an attitude of gratitude towards your customers for allowing you to be in business. That way you’ll find you feel a lot more friendly towards them and happy to deal with any questions or problems that might come up for them.
See, it’s not so hard to provide great customer service, even if you’re not a people person. Just make the extra effort to find the customers with a similar style.
