Moms have a knack for making learning so fun and real that their lessons just stick with you. They teach through brilliant, hands-on examples. Moms have the advantage of using life as their textbook, what happens to you as the lesson plan, and their absolute, unwavering loyalty as the foundation for growing. Moms know what makes relationships tick, how to get you out of trouble, and best of all, the gentle art of diplomacy with Dads and other parents when things go awry.
It’s often said that those who excel in life are lucky enough to find the intersection of their passions and their expertise. I’d say Moms are at that intersection; they give it their all, everyday. And in giving so much of themselves they deliver some great lessons which so applicable to customer management. Here are a few:
Listening and focusing on a single person at a time is the ultimate compliment. Making eye contact with people when you speak, really tuning in to just them – is the ultimate compliment. In this era of social networks the same holds true. Focusing and concentrating only on one person is more important than ever as there are more than enough distractions online.
Earn trust by doing more than you say you will. Delivering more than is expected, regardless if it’s in a work or social situation, delivers a positive payback every time.
Always look to those excluded and be the first to welcome them. This is about being outward focused, looking to bring others into your class, group, company – and in the case of customers - into your community. Be the one who extends the hand first, be friendly and bring others in and try to always make people feel welcome.
Making a point of helping those less fortunate and always look for ways to build them up. Excellent advice and why corporate philanthropy exists today, because Moms taught this lesson. This is also great advice for nurturing collaboration, information and knowledge sharing too.
Deliberately challenge yourself to grow and find new strengths constantly. This is great advice for a company and a person too, and especially the case for customer management strategies where there has to be continual improvement, continual change to stay in step with customers’ needs.
Stay true to what you are passionate about instead of just picking a profession for the money. Instead of just chasing the hot career or job of the day stay true to what you care the most about, she would say. It’s the same principle for companies always chasing the next big market instead of staying true to who they are and what they excel at.
Hard work never goes out of style, neither does humility. Always strive to work as hard as you can and serve those paying you or relying on you, always seek to be kind instead of trying to exert self-importance.
Practice kindness and believe in the power of the second chance. The day I finally received my first BB gun and promptly shot out the back porch light by mistake and watched in awe as my Mom, with tact and diplomacy, got me off the hook with my Dad I was sold. Second chances, for those of us who have gotten them, are like getting pure oxygen. Can we do that for our customers? Can we give that pure oxygen-like second chance experience? I think we can.
Bottom line: Our Moms may well have been the very best teachers we’ve had about customer experiences and customer management and their lessons I am sure resonate through each of us, getting louder today, their day. Happy Mother’s Day!
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Flickr attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/858339201/sizes/m/
Louis Columbus has over 20 years in the IT industry, specializing in product management, sales and marketing. Immediately before joining Cincom, Mr. Columbus was a Senior Analyst at AMR Research. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University and completed the Strategic Marketing Management Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He has published 16 books on operating systems, peripherals and integration technologies.
