Navigating the Great Customer Attitude Shift

For The Model Magazine by Shelle Rose Charvet.

We used to tell a joke about Canadians: How do you get 25 Canadians to get out of a swimming pool? Tell them to get out of the pool.

Those days are over. Imagine making a purchase just because a salesperson told you to. Or accepting a bank's first offer for a loan. Nowadays many customers have several financial institutions fight each other for their business. The Great Customer Attitude Shift has happened! Customers now decide for themselves to purchase or not. They treat the sales pitch as mere information, grist for the mill, to be compared to other offers on the table.

From compliant to resistant. Gone is the time when people wanted to be told what to do. While many companies understand this on an intuitive level, they have yet to find the right tone to take with their customers. A number of large, well-known Canadian and US corporations have spent a great deal of money to uncover the "Motivation Triggers" of their customers and potential customers. They use this information to create their branding, design advertising campaigns, and train their employees on the exact language to use (or avoid) with their customers. When they match these Motivation Triggers in every communication with their customers, they report astonishing results. They are also acutely aware that if they incorporate the right language in their advertising but neglect to properly train staff, they risk setting up and then dashing their customers' expectations.

In this article we will explain one of the patterns responsible for The Great Customer Attitude Shift and show you how to respond. The action required to meet these new customers' needs may be simpler than you think.

Many customers have switched from needing external direction to deciding for themselves. This is called an Internal Motivation Trigger . Conversely, when people need guidance from outside sources, they have an External Motivation Trigger.

To get a mortgage in the 1970s or earlier, customers had to beg, grovel, promise their first born, and agree to pay any interest rate. In other words customers were External to the banks. The banks demanded; the customer complied. Today, any institution insisting on time-consuming paperwork is immediately thrown out of the running. While customers did what they were told in the past, now they tell potential suppliers what to do to get their business.

They become offended and outraged when suppliers try to lay down the law.

Customers now say: "Send me some information and I will think about it." Or "That's not what I what. What I need is ...." Or "You're not listening to me!" This kind of language indicates they already know what is important and do not want even the slightest hint of being ‘bossed around'. They just want the information and then they will choose for themselves. This is proof that they are operating from an Internal Motivation Trigger.

Businesses have neglected to switch their language

While many businesses have invested heavily in developing new products and services to address what they see as demanding and difficult customer behaviour, they have neglected to switch the language they use with their customers. Companies are still touting themselves as "the best", or "the right choice". This is still telling customers what to think and what to do. Chapters, the largest Canadian book retailer, put this slogan on their bookmarks: "You've read the reviews. Now, buy the books."

If you want to test this out for yourself, notice your response to being told what to do. What is your reaction when presented with unsubstantiated claims? When you are the customer, do you find yourself scoffing at television commercials bragging about how much large organizations care about you? And when you enter a retail environment, doesn't it raise your dander when you are told to go to another store to obtain an item from the catalogue?

Words That Change Minds

If companies want to keep pace with their customers, their communication strategies will have to be as advanced as their R & D. To match customers' Internal Motivation Trigger, they now need to invite customers to do what they do best: be the judge.

This is the simple part. Once you know that your customers do indeed operate from an Internal Motivation Trigger, and that they will reject being told what to think or what to do, you can choose the right language.
Don't believe me. You can ask your sales people to try out these kinds of phrases with your customers and notice the response.

"Here's some information to consider...."
"Only you can decide..."
"Why commit before you know? Give us a try and judge for yourself."

There is a world of difference between: "This is the best option for you", and "Here's what I suggest for your situation." The first is a statement of fact and implicitly issues a command to the customer, while the second is a suggestion to consider.

Getting Your Company to Shift Language
A useful first step is to examine your company's marketing material. Look for examples of command and suggestive language and make some strategic decisions about your use of language. Here is Winners' slogan: "You should go." A prime example of telling folks what to do.

Next, listen to your sales people as they advise customers. Do they make suggestions or assertions? The challenge of course is getting your sales people to follow your instructions to use suggestive rather than command language. You may wish to use suggestive language when explaining what you want.

Lastly, observe what happens when your customers are unhappy with something. Are they told what to do about it or offered suggestions?

The Internal Motivation Trigger is just one of the patterns driving the Great Customer Attitude Shift. Even if your company just incorporates the appropriate Internal language without any of the other patterns, your customers will notice and appreciate the difference in approach. And there's only one way to know for sure.

Article by: Shelle Rose Charvet, President of Success Strategies, author of Words That Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence
www.wordsthatchangeminds.com
shelle@successtrategies.com