The Last Word Comment


Who is your customer?


Dealing with both internal and external customers requires understanding and a little bit of ‘love’


Chris Wells Experienced credit professional christopherwells@btinternet.com


How many times have you heard it said that “you are in a customer-facing role”. Quite right, I hear you say, however have you ever stopped and asked yourself the question, just who is my customer? The obvious one is that it is the debtor


that you are chasing, or, in other words, the customer of the company; perhaps the not- so-obvious answer is your colleagues. How is this, you may ask? Let us take a closer look! In your role, you can usefully divide your


customers into being those ‘inside’ and those ‘outside’, so let us take a closer look at these individually.


Inside Inside customers would be your colleagues with whom you work directly alongside, or maybe remotely, either by telephone, internet, or intranet. As an individual, it is incumbent upon


you to be able to treat all employees within the company with all due respect no matter where, in the corporate tree, they are, or what position they hold. It takes practice (and confidence) to be


able to converse with all levels in a good positive manner. Traditionally, one of the most difficult to


master, though, would be your relationship with your Sales team. Particularly when, for the umpteenth


time, a certain individual is asking why it is that the very same order cannot go and, for the umpteenth time, you are having to tell them it is because they have not paid for the goods that they were sent more than 90 days previously!


50 www.CCRMagazine.co.uk It does take patience, lots of patience,


however practice does make perfect. Do not be irritated, as this will show in your voice, speak calmly and slowly, explain yet again the reasoning. Let us not forget that your salesman is,


after all, your customer too. The delivery still will not go out, but you have not necessarily given them any cause for complaint. Just remember that, ‘customer satisfaction’ is an art form.


Outside Outside customers are, perhaps, easier than you may think when it comes to servicing. In terms of being proactive – where you


are initiating the contact either by telephone or e-mail – or being passive, where they contact you. The approaches should be similar; the


In essence, treat all your customers (both inside and out) equally, with heaps of love: ‘Lots Of Verbal Empathy’


use of the telephone, coupled with a good telephone manner, can be the best weapon in your armoury. Make sure you prepare for your call,


have clearly in your mind what you wish to achieve, then go for it. Always try to smile while you are speaking, as this will be heard in your voice and will have a calming effect on the recipient. However, please note: do not use this


tactic on a hard-nosed debtor to whom you are threatening legal action as it will be received as being sarcastic and would not bode well, I fear! In essence, treat all your customers (both


inside and out) equally, with heaps of love: ‘Lots Of Verbal Empathy’. You will be surprised what rewards that approach will reap! CCR


June 2017


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