Myra Golden

Identify Customer’s Needs by Asking “What does a man in the desert need?”



Posted: Saturday, January 15, 2011

by Myra Golden
Myra Golden Seminars, LLC

What does a man in the desert need most?

In my customer service training sessions, I ask my participants to imagine they’ve come across a man stranded in the desert. “What do you think the man in the desert needs most?” I ask. The immediate answer from the entire group is always water.

I then explain to the company I’m training that every one of their competitors will give the customer what he needs the most. To go above and beyond, companies have to do more than the obvious. Going back to the man in the desert analogy, I ask, “What else might the man in desert need?” In the workshop I delivered last week in Baltimore, here are the responses I got:

They were absolutely on track. Beyond the obvious water, we can think of several other things a man in the desert might need. Just the same, when serving customers, we need to not only answer their questions and meet their expressed needs, we need to work proactively to identify and meet unexpressed needs. We can create a more valuable and memorable experience for customers by simply thinking about what else they might need.

The "Man in the Desert" analogy in action

Recently I had trouble checking my account balance online so I called my bank. I started the conversation out with, “I usually check my account online, but I couldn’t get in today. Can you give me my balance and last five transactions?” The representative on the other end of the phone was polite and quickly gave me the requested information. He gave me the “water.” Before hanging up, he said, “You mentioned you couldn’t get online to check your account. If you have a second, I can reset your password and we can test it out right now.” That was the extra…the food, the camel, the shade, the sunglasses, etc.”  I was impressed. So often, representatives are eager to disconnect after giving the water. But this gentleman delivered a great experience by taking the time to identify a need that wasn’t directly expressed…and by meeting that need.

Take the time to not only meet your customer’s expressed needs, but look for ways to identify and meet their unexpressed needs. When you do, you will consistently surprise and delight your customers and ultimately, increase customer loyalty.
Myra Golden helps companies completely restore customer confidence in their brands after service failures. Considered one of the leading experts in customer recovery, she has helped hundreds of organizations rethink and redesign their complaint response processes so they are positioned to retain more customers, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profits. Myra has designed customer recovery programs for such companies as Verizon Business, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, National Car Rental, Michelin Tires an Frito Lay. She is co-author of Beyond WOW! The Service Leadership Approach to Exceptional Customer Service.

Visit Myra's blog for hundreds of customer service training resources or see her customer service speaker website for customer service training.

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