Leadership
The Customer is the Hero
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
“Make the Customer the Hero” – Ann Handley
Finding ways to make the Customer the Hero never was and still is not difficult. It is not some over the top mysterious ‘wish we could figure that out’ chaos math problem. No – it is much easier.
It is the please, the thank you and the “I don’t know but I will get back to you” follow through. It is the pausing long enough to assist with heavy bags, taking time to clean cigarette butts off of their sidewalk and taking time to make sure the bathrooms in your clubhouse are clean throughout the day and not just at the beginning. It is keeping your word when you tell someone you will do something. It is remembering to say a kind word or send a nice gift on a birthday, anniversary or holiday. It is remember to ask about their children’s activities, struggles and successes. It is majoring in the minors for people without losing site of the bigger picture. It is taking – Time.
The trouble most of the time is understanding origin. That is, where does that ‘making the customer the hero’ mentality come from?
The Hero Lies in You
I think the late great Whitney Houston said it best in the song There’s a Hero – in the song there is a lyric that sings like this …and, the Hero Lies in You. There is a hero that lives in all of us and he/she is right at home helping everyone around them feel like a Hero too… And, guess what – 100 times out of 100 times when you make someone feel like a hero – you feel like one yourself….
Your, remembering the hero inside becomes the hero outside – multifamily maniac,
M
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Multifamily Monday: Listen – Body Language
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
Good morning!
Very quick note this morning.
We could get really deep into the art of body language as it relates to listening. Speaking to things like bending your brow as a show of concern, thinning your lip to show you understand the anger , leaning in, unfolding arms and the king of them all – eye contact. While not exhaustive, all good topics and in the same respect not possible without the nugget we will put out there today.
The Most Meaningful Body Language – Listen Technique I Know
Front and center to the person you are talking with – Pick up your phone and turn it OFF. Not silence, not vibrate – OFF. Or, don’t bring it along at all. Put your what if’s to rest as we could debate that to death. If you want meaningful conversation – demonstrate willingness through action – the action of turning off and tuning in.
Your – working on listening through meaningful body language – multifamily maniac,
M
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Apartment Marketing: Focus Inward
Seth penned a great piece on turning the focus around: Speaking when they care (reorganizing the economics and attitude of customer service). A quick quote defines the importance of doing so.
That means that if your organization has a stall, deny and avoid policy when it comes to customer interaction, you will almost certainly be defeated if a competitor comes up with a scalable way to delight.
Front Door
As marketers, we have an innate need to drive traffic. We are called on by legions of apartment property managers and C-level executives who are more times than not shouting the mantra – “We need more traffic.” “What are you doing to drive more traffic?”
Back Door
My new (but not really new) mantra back – “What are you doing to serve the people who live in your community today?” “When is the last time you talked to someone who toured your apartment community or lives in your community today?” “Have you taken time to define the interests of the people who live in your community?”
Action Item
Make it an absolute never dying over the top habit of calling one person who has any association with your community(ies) every single day of the work week. Or, for you one-hundred and ten-percenter(s) out there – call them on the weekend. Do it without fail.
One Question
Ask them one question – Would you refer us to your friends? And, let the conversation flow from there…
Your – kill them with kindness – mulifamily manic,
M
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Multifamily Monday: Empathetic Listening
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
I love Monday – one of my favorite days of he week.
Today, we are doing a down and dirty lesson on empathetic listening or a fancy way of saying – pay attention. Empathetic listen is active listening or seeking first to understand and then to be understood. The goal being two-fold – listen on an emotional level as well as a cognitive level. In other words you aim to get a sense of how they feel and what they are thinking. And, remember empathy is not sympathy. Empathy speaks from experience; sympathy is there in support of.
When communicating with any one of your apartment residents over any issue, good or bad, use the following two questions to go deeper. If they are in your office complaining about a leaky faucet for the third time this week [and, presupposing you have experienced a persistent leaking faucet in your lifetime], stop and listen. Once they are done talking ask, “how does that make you feel. Or, suggest, “I can imagine that makes feel very frustrated or angry.
It seems obvious but many times, in our haste to get the cranky people out of our office, we don’t take time to validate their feelings. Guess what, that makes a person even more frustrated or angry. All that most people are after is an outlet to vent their anger, frustration or the such and they want the problem fixed. That is where the second question comes in. It is more cognitive in nature.
At the end of understanding their emotion; repeat the reason for the anger or frustration; “I see Mr. Ineedamyfaucetfixed; this is the third time this week you have been in to report your leaky faucet. Our service person has been over two times and still you have a leaky faucet. It bugs you because you are a light sleeper and the persistent drip against the aluminum sink keeps you up. And, you don’t think you should have to put a cup or a rag under the drip to soften the sound. You just want it fixed.”
Your – seeking first to understand – multifamily maniac,
M
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Multifamily Monday: Empathy – Care
Mike Brewer · · 1 Comment
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Origin not 100% known.
Empathy – Care
Empathy can be defined as having the ability to relate. For example, if you are speaking to someone who lives in your apartment community about their son’s soccer game over the weekend and you have a son that plays soccer – you can empathize. And, empathy is the perfect foundation for caring.
If you can empathize – you can care. And, when you care people will respond.
Take the time today to reach out and initiate some conversation. Be it with people you work with and for or with the people who you serve and that serve you in return.
Don’t accept the canned answers and don’t ask canned questions. Let the weather take care of itself. That is the easy stuff.
Ask deeper questions and if your weekend sucked – say so. Don’t be surprised if your audience can relate.
Your – caring to empathize – multifamily maniac,
M
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