An Introduction to Speaking The Customer's Language

Nowhere has speaking the customer’s language been more important than on social media! We have moved from an era of preparing carefully crafted marketing communications to one of having ‘spur of the moment’ conversations where we need to be instantly on the customer’s wavelength!  Scary? It certainly seems that way - what if we miss the point they are making or say something in the wrong way? We could lose the connection with them forever! 

Well thankfully because we now know so much about linguistics, we can learn how to spot customer language patterns straight away and ‘match’ them in our responses - creating instant rapport!

Over the next few months we will be introducing a series of key language patterns that can be picked up from social media tweets, posts and comments and from customer blogs to help you to make sure you are ‘speaking the customer’s language’.

Move Toward or Move Away From conversations?

 ‘Move Towards language is about what customers what do want in their lives. ‘Move away from language’ is about what customers don’t want in their lives and it’s important not to mix them up! If you see customers talking about what they would like to have, get, gain, achieve, include or about results, benefits respond with the same type of language. If you see them talking about what they would not like to have or do, what they want to avoid, get rid of or exclude or about problems then use this type of language in your responses. In short use the same type of language as they are - don’t try to change them from one to the other!

Take a look at the following examples:  

Towards – They are thinking about what they do want;

Is it sad that I get really excited to drink my Starbucks? It makes my day.

Its friday gat to av some bottles of HeinekenIf only I could reach for the cake through the laptop screen.

I just want lots and lots of chocolate for Xmas (Cadbury)

Focus on what you can help them achieve and use words like get, have and actions that will move them towards pleasure. 

Away From – They are thinking about what they don’t want:

Feel like such a loser when I get my coffee & walk out of Starbucks instead of busting out my laptop & working on my "novel. 
“Full fridge? No problem. Store your beers outside to keep them extra cold.(Heineken) .....and hope they don't get thieved....... ;-D 
Don't like chocolate as a drink but eating it totally different experience altogether. I don’t like dairy milk anymore what have you done to it?

Focus on what you can help them to avoid and use words like won’t have to, don’t need to and actions that will move them away from pain

Do this and customers will feel that you are really empathising with their way of thinking Watch this space for more social media communication tips to come.

Di Tunney, Managing Director at LiveInsights