Maya Angelou is an author and poet who I greatly admire. One of her most famous quotes is this: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” While she meant this as a reflection on life in general, I think we can take heed of this advice in business as well.

Think about all the luxury car advertisements you see on television. While they may include some specifications about the car, the majority of the images you see, and the music and words that you hear, tell you very little about the mechanics of the car, but are instead designed to elicit a feeling. The car company wants you to feel good or excited or even envious when you view their advertisement. They want to convince you that you will be better off by purchasing their product.

Generally when we respond to advertisements, it is because of the way they make us feel. If the music is really annoying, we might remember it but we might not like it. If there is an overload of information, we might retain some of it, but long term the message is likely to be lost.

What does this mean for you in your business? It means you need to work hard at ensuring that every contact a customer (or potential customer) has with your business is positive. But more than that, you need to explore ways that you can make them feel exceptionally good about their relationship with your business – it will keep them coming back for more.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Last week I experienced some interesting scenarios in my interactions with local businesses. On the one hand, I was provided with excellent customer service via genuine and sincere concern by a business owner and her staff. On the other end of the spectrum, I was compelled to pen a rather long and detailed letter of complaint to a business that showed little disregard for fulfilling their obligations.

It was very obvious to me that my positive interaction was with a business who understands that their most important asset is their ongoing relationships with customers. They clearly demonstrated a desire to remedy an issue and did everything possible to ensure that I would remain a returning customer.

The negative interaction with the other business showed by their actions that they are not focussed on meeting the needs of their clients. Even when a situation was brought to their attention, they did little to remedy it.

It is highly likely that you will need to deal with complaints. It is how your business deals with those complaints that will set you apart. There are some essentials that are relatively easy to cover, including: respond to complaints as soon as possible; provide customers with an opportunity to be heard; assure the customer that you are seeking to find a solution; give the customer reasons to return to you despite the issue that has occurred.

Although you may not always find a solution that is mutually agreeable, the way you deal with the complaint will show your business in an exponentially better light than the one who deals badly with a complaint. Give the complainant as little to complain about as possible.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender