clustomer intimacy

For someone with the little recognized writing experience as I have, it is hard to find the right topic to write about. “Write about what you know well, write about what you enjoy” people and peers tell me. That’s easier said than done.

I do read people really well, and I deal with many different people everyday. And so I’ve done for years. So I find it easy to put myself in someone else’s shoes and find things to relate. Maybe I can talk a little about that in my very own way.

Let me reassure you the heading is not a typo. I have actually come up with a new word. Customers are all different from one another. Different genders, different ages, different cultures, different educations.

This is no news to anybody. Most of the emails we receive, whether they are Newsletters or marketing subscriptions have been tailored according to our characteristics. And these details are embedded in the automation systems that many businesses use today.

Clusters of customers (or clustomers, as I call it) grow over time. Businesses gather information to classify customers by a group of features. This is to ensure the customers get the information they’re actually looking for. Businesses need to (or hire someone to) do their prep work to help develop a long term relationship with their customers.

There is one common denominator to all: the customer intimacy. We have to agree that tailoring emails adds a certain level of intimacy to the communication. Not as close as being able to see our underwear colour. Yet. In a nut shell: “We write you knowing what your tastes are and what you want to avoid”.

But at the very base of this automation is a very crafty writer, who can map words in a way that resonates with you. So, in fact, none of them are 100% automated. There is no doubt there is leg work done in the background.

This is where hiring the writer can have a major impact. The tighter the niche the more effective the word. The writer needs to find the most effective way to touch the reader.

Addressing customers should feel like addressing ourselves. So we need to ask ourselves:

• What makes me open an email?
• What tickles me to read it? Is it the images? Is it the headings? Or am I looking for a freebie?
• What am I looking for when I subscribe a Newsletter? What insight am I expecting?
• Is reading that email going to add value to my life?
• Or is it going to waste my time and make me unsubscribe?

My experience dealing with customers directly tells me that they like:

• Being addressed by their first name;
• When I treat them like a person (different from any other customer);
• That I am also a person and relate to everyday mundane things that are common to them;
• That I pay attention and remember them every time;

That old view that people like to be addressed by their titles is overrated. Today there’s more of a risk to cause offense by getting a gender wrong than anything else. But that also should not matter in any case. If the text is impartial and clean from any stereotypical mentions and comments (or related sarcastic nuances) everybody’s happy.

Building trust with customers doesn’t happen overnight. It is something that you weave over time. While you are building that trust you are sharing your insights and expertise. And you will want to do it in such a way that whenever the customer thinks “PRODUCT” he/she will be thinking “YOU”. This is how your brand comes about.

The relationship between the business and the customer grows wrapped in the combination of three characteristics that the customer generally appreciates (that we all apppreciate): transparency, reliability, credibility. Regardless of the business industry I can guarantee you these are the three main pillars at the base of the business-customer relationship.

It’s very often not the value of the product but the relationship you nurture that brings the customers back. I have realized that, even if the product we’re selling is only at an “acceptable” level in comparison to others, the customers will value a good honest chat where they will gain knowledge as value more than the end product.

Business-to-Business clustomers relationships are straightforward as they easily show what they want. They are mainly interested in the price-value perspective. It is true you are dealing with an individual. But this individual represents a business, so they don’t usually care if you know or relate to their personal likes and dislikes. Business-to-business relationships are simply logical ones.

Business-to-Customer clustomers are more based in personal emotions, hence require more time and dedication. But the reality of it is, it is more likely that a B2C clustomer to cross over a B2B than the other way around. B2C clustomers have a wider scope for expansion and if they had a good personal experience they will be more inclined to refer a business. And the potential for value is there already. Am I overcomplicating?