Are you in tune with what your customers are shopping for and why? When was the last time you thought about influencing consumer behavior? Are you into changing minds, shaping opinions, and moving consumers to act? Perhaps in your marketing messages or in your customer engagement?
Check out our thoughts on customer focus.
The ability to influence is one of the essential skills for all customer facing employees, isn’t it? It’s more art than science, and it can be tough to get your arms around. But the bottom line is that the ability to influence matters. And as we continue to morph (at breakneck speed) into an interconnected, interdependent, increasingly global workplace, it will matter more and more.
Before we continue, let me ask you a question.
What works best for customer influence in your business? We would love to hear what it was. Would you do us a favor and post it in the comments section below? It would be greatly appreciated by us and our community.
The ultimate goal of all the points I list below is this: eliminate the fluff from your marketing strategy, and focus only on the things that work.
To be an effective influencer, you need both substance and style. Without a solid foundation of credibility, even the most interpersonally adept leaders will fall short. On the flip side, highly credible people can struggle with influence if they don’t understand the interpersonal dynamics at play.
In 2009 and 2010, Discovery Learning, Inc. and Innovative Pathways conducted research to identify and measure influence styles. Their research derived created five categories:
Consumer behavior … asserting
Insist that your ideas are heard and you challenge the ideas of others
Check this out: Handling Customer Complaints … 8 Mistakes to Avoid
Convincing
Put forward your ideas and offer logical, rational reasons to convince others of your point of view
Influencing consumer behavior … negotiating
Look for compromises and make concessions to reach outcomes that satisfy your greater interest
Bridging
Build relationships and connect with others through listening understanding and building coalitions
Inspiring
Advocate your position and encourage others with a sense of shared purpose and exciting possibilities
Each of these styles can be effective, depending upon the situation and people involved. A common mistake is to use a one-size-fits-all approach. Remember that influencing is highly situational.
Here are eleven ways to increase your influence skills:
Influencing consumer behavior … Listen, listen, listen
Even if you already know what people are going to say, and even if there’s no way you can do what they want, start by listening. Being listened to is one of the things they want–that’s true of just about everyone. That was one mistake I made on my first project: I had listened to people who wanted to volunteer, but not to those who had volunteer jobs to offer. I assumed they’d be happy to have new volunteers, but I was wrong.
Be curious and ask many questions
Not only because everyone wants to be listened to. Careful questioning will help you determine what people really want, which is often different from what they say they want. It will also tell you what they have to offer.
Network for more connections
Look for ways to connect that have nothing to do with the work at hand. Maybe they have children the same age as yours, or they live somewhere you’ve vacationed, or you share the same hobby. Even if none of that’s true, you can still make a bit of a connection on the basis of universal experiences. For instance, right now a large portion of the United States is suffering through extreme winter weather. That is always a good subject for sharing great stories, yes?
No worries
It’s always tough to know just how much of your personal life it’s OK to share in a business context. Let your guard down. Many people err on the side of caution by sharing little or nothing about themselves. Instead, decide what you feel comfortable having other people know, and then give them a few details. You’ll make other people feel safer and engage their human side.
Show gratitude
Think hard about who’s helped you or put him- or herself out, and make sure to thank him or her. That makes it much likelier he or she will put him- or herself out again for you next time.
Show praise
Most of us never get enough praise for the things we work hard to do. So if you want to influence someone, make sure to call out what he or she has done well and how he or she has contributed to your organization or your well-being. Do it in public if you can.
Be good at apologies
If you hate apologizing, get over it. An apology is one of the most powerful tools you have for winning people to your side. If a decision you made caused someone inconvenience or upset, an apology lets him or her know that you care. That’s true even if you don’t regret the decision itself but only the harm it caused him or her.
(One word of caution: Don’t ever apologize, praise, or thank unless it’s sincerely how you feel. People can tell when you’re faking, and it will backfire.)
Strive to meet customer needs
Obviously, this isn’t always an option. But if you can figure out what people really want or need and make sure they get it, they’ll be that much more likely to give you what you need from them.
Consider an example of Internet Privacy
Running a business today almost certainly means having a digital presence, and being connected to the Internet. While the benefits of this transformation are many, the security issues are still a daily challenge, with many solutions in the market place to address them.
Now internet service providers can sell the browsing habits of their customers to advertisers. The move, which critics charge will fundamentally undermine consumer privacy in the US.
Yes, internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T are free to track all your browsing behavior and sell it to advertisers without consent. ISPs have access to literally all of your browsing behavior – they act as a gateway for all of your web visits, clicks, searches, app downloads and video streams.
This represents a huge treasure trove of personal data, including health concerns, shopping habits and porn preferences. ISPs want to use this data to deliver personalized advertising.
Check out this excellent VPN solution.
Allow people to save face
Sometimes you know that someone would be disastrously bad at a job he or she wants. Should you say so? Unless you’re giving him or her feedback with a view to his or her being qualified later on, don’t. You’re better off giving that person a more palatable out. For instance, you’ve already promised the job to someone else.
Talk person to person
Do you find yourself getting and making a lot fewer phone calls than you used to? With email, text, and social media, I do. But there are times when a phone call or face-to-face communication makes a big difference. One of those is if you have disappointing news to deliver. Another is if you are asking someone to take on a bigger role or added responsibility.
On the phone, you can answer any questions he or she has or listen to any venting he or she may need to do in real time. You’ve stepped away from your other duties to spend time with him or her. That lets him or her know you really care about whatever you’re calling for. It’s a powerful way to make him or her care, too.
Rational and logical presentation
Presenting the facts and laying out an argument is perhaps one of the most common and most accepted methods of influence in business. It generally includes emphasizing the positive benefits of a course of action.
This method is most often used upward, such as making the case for the feasibility of a certain initiative to your boss or proposing plan objectives to your Board or executives. The only problem is, people don’t act with logic all or even most of the time. So unfortunately this method does have its limits.
Key takeaways
Whether you are leading, following, and/or collaborating, chances are you need to influence others to be successful. Influence strategies can range from reliance on position to education, encouragement and collaboration. The key is knowing which approach to use in a given situation.
