All You Need To Know About Emotional Intelligence and Customer Loyalty
INTRODUCTION
Customer loyalty has been one of the ways to increase sales. With the impact of emotional intelligence, business owners have been able to increase customer loyalty. For your business to grow, you have to be emotionally smart. The way you manage emotions has an impact on customer retention and loyalty. However this tool has been employed in business to boost service delivery.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- The concept of emotional intelligence
- Emotional intelligence and business
- Importance of emotional intelligence
- How to retain customers through emotional intelligence
- Conclusion
THE CONCEPT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Your ability to use, understand, and manage emotions rightly is regarded as emotional intelligence. This may also be referred to as an emotional quotient (EQ). It may aid effective communication, stress management as well as overcoming challenges. Also, you can build a better network through it. However, in business, it plays an important role. It helps you manage the feelings of customers as well as resolve disputes. For you to be able to retain your customers you have you have to be emotionally smart.
It helps you connect with feelings and gives you an insight into making the right decisions. Also it is very important in business as there will always be an unsatisfied client . You must train your team in the act of being emotionally smart. This will affect the way they manage situations and also make decisions in a good way.
It may be marked by different attributes. Some of which include the following.
Self-awareness
When you are a self-aware person you can identify emotions. This helps you understand how your feelings can affect the way you think and act. It also helps you know your weaknesses and strengths. It is important in business because you can manage the feelings of the customer. When you can manage a customer’s emotions successfully, retaining the customer is easier.
Relationship management
This is another aspect of emotional intelligence. You can manage relationships. You can also talk effectively with people, especially your customers. Also, you can resolve disputes and manage a team well. If you are able to manage relationships, it is easier for you to retain your customers.
Social awareness
You can identify other people’s emotions and needs. In this case customers’ needs and feelings. Also with social awareness, you can understand the environment you are in and know-how well to act.
Self-management
When you are emotionally smart, you can manage yourself. You can put your feelings in check and not let them determine the way you act. However, in business, it allows you to manage your feelings well. This helps you know your customers better and know how best to sort their needs. Also, this in the long run increases sales.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND BUSINESS
For you to be able to keep your customers, you have to be smart with feelings. This is so because there would always be an issue from an unsatisfied client. When your customers are not satisfied the chances they would come back again is low. However, this burden has been reduced with the inception of emotional intelligence. It however has a positive impact in business.
For you to be able to keep your customers or build customers loyalty, you have to provide good customer relations. When your customers are not pleased with a service rendered, your ability to manage the situation will determine if they would come back again. Only emotionally smart individuals tend to manage this problem of customers not being satisfied well. However for you to be able to resolve problems and manage a customer’s emotions, here are a few tips
Manage your own emotions
You must train your staff to be emotionally smart. This will help them manage clients that are not satisfied in a better manner. When you or a member of your team can manage your emotions, proffering solutions becomes easier. When you can manage your emotions, you tend to handle situations without letting them get out of control. This however impacts the loyalty of your customers.
Reversing the roles
Putting yourself in the customer’s position is another way of being emotionally smart. If the roles were switched how would you act? This will help you understand the concerns of the clients and act rightly. When you switch roles and understand your customers, you can also manage their feelings. Managing the emotions of your customers puts you in control of the situation and helps you make informed decisions. This will help you restore trust in the customer that way you can retain them. This will build loyalty and sales is increased.
Providing solutions
You can gain the loyalty of your customers when you seek to always provide solutions. This will help you retain more customers and also increase sales. Customers check their level of satisfaction by your ability to act and offer solutions. Your customers stay loyal to you when they are sure of a solution from you.
Customer engagement
Knowing how to engage your customers is another important part of being emotionally smart. Your juicy prices and deals are not enough to make your customers loyal. For you to be able to stand out from your competitors there must be something different that you offer. In a market where you have many competitors, you must try to stand out. One thing that will make your customers return is the treat you give them. You must engage your customers rightly. A staff that understands the needs of the customers and act well will win you more customers.
IMPORTANCE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
In life generally, it is not enough to have a high intelligent quotient. Being emotionally smart complements having a high intelligent quotient. You can have a high IQ and a low EQ. Being intelligent may get you good grades in school. But being emotionally smart gives you an edge in managing your feelings. It makes you have control over your feelings and your environment. Also, it teaches you to manage your emotions well, so that the way you act is not badly influenced. However, a similar trend is seen in business. It is not enough for you to offer smart solutions to people. Your relationship with your customers will make them either loyal to you or not.
This, affect you in different ways. It includes the following.
Emotional intelligence and Overall performance
Your overall output in your business can be affected by your level of emotional intelligence. You can motivate your team members, lead and direct them to excel at their various job roles. This will increase efficiency, and in the long run, increase sales by retaining more customers. When you are not smart emotionally, your output level may be reduced.
Emotional intelligence affects Mental and Physical health
The level of your EQ can also affect your physical and mental health. When you are unable to manage your emotions, you may end up being stressed. This however will reduce how you manage the feelings of your customers. Thus there is a need for you to train yourself to be emotionally smart. This will help you manage the emotions of your customers well. Also, you can manage any situation without letting it get out of control. When your physical and mental health is good, it is easier to give a good treat to your customers.
In addition, being emotionally sound makes you socially smart. It helps you connect with your customers in a better way. Also, it helps you understand your environment and makes you able to create a balance.
All of these can help you create a lasting experience for your customers. The kind of treat you give to your customers will make you stand out. This will however either impact your business in a good or bad way. When the treat is good, your customers will most likely come back. Also, when the treat is poor, dissatisfied clients will most definitely not come back.
HOW TO RETAIN CUSTOMERS THROUGH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Since the start of the knowledge of emotional intelligence in business, customer retention has experienced a dynamic shift. The knowledge of managing customers’ feelings and engaging them properly is now common knowledge. For as long as business will exist and the wants of humans insatiable, there would always arise the issue of customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, there is a need to bridge this gap. In business, you will always have competitors, but the only thing that will make you stand out is the way you treat your customers. When you provide good and lasting experience, your customers tend to return. This however is not the case of unsatisfied clients. When you treat your customers poorly, they may not come back.
Only emotionally intelligent staff can manage the customer’s emotions. It is however important that you train your staff to have a high EQ. This will make them understand and manage emotions better. Thereby retaining customers and increasing sales.
CONCLUSION
The main aim of being emotionally smart is to manage emotions. Its role in business cannot be overemphasized. It is however important that you train their staff to be emotionally smart. Also, you should test your staff regularly on their EQ level. This will help you understand their areas of weakness and act in the best way. With emotionally smart staff you are sure of customer’s loyalty.
