In the quest to become the world’s most beloved payments brand, two things are needed.

Education and relationships.

In this episode of Now Brands Talk, we interview Rob Park, COO at Helcim Inc., about the dos and don’ts of building long-term relationships with customers.

Join us as we discuss:

• Why technology must not replace human connection
• The big secret to becoming a beloved brand
• The role of education in building customer experience
• Trust, transparency, love, and the merger of sales and support

Why technology must not replace human connection

In the age of technology, are we forfeiting our humanity for the sake of ease and convenience? 

More simply: Do you have to give up technology to keep your humanity? 

Most people would probably say they'd like to keep it all. We want to build humanity into our technology systems and platforms as we go forward. To do that, though, we have to keep our humanity at the core of our business.

That's why customer service is fundamental — it's the place where human connection happens.

But… people ask… what about automation? Aren't AI companies looking to replace humans?

No, automation shouldn't replace humans. It's a misconception that CX bots can serve thousands of customers, thus replacing human CX teams.

In fact, automation should complement human CX teams, freeing your people to make a deeper impact.

The big secret to becoming a beloved brand

The big secret is simple: do what you say you're going to do. 

If you say your brand talks to its customers, then do that consistently, continuously, in helpful, sincere, authentic ways. 

It's really that straightforward. 

Of course, you build a brand that educates customers and helps them feel comfortable with your service. But everything goes back to doing what you say you'll do. Keeping your brand promises.

How to make people feel heard and valued

It's harder than it looks to make people feel heard and valued. 

Owners at small- and- medium-size businesses often rely on one lens to the world — their own experiences of being a consumer. They're used to going to restaurants and stores where, should a problem occur, the staff do everything they can to make it go away.

But in a B2B service company working in a regulated industry such as financial services, all sorts of things make it difficult to provide that level of customer service.

You can't just wave a magic wand and make things appear or disappear at will in a regulated industry. But you can educate your customers. You can foster a common understanding of the situation they're experiencing. 

In short, you can be there for them.

Build relationship on trust and education

It's not good for either party to be in a hostage-taking situation. People should be with you because they want to be, not because they signed a contract that would be too costly to back out of.

How do we have long-term relationships? 

By doing what we say we do, by being the company we say we are. 

You want to hear people saying:

• "I know what's going on."
• "I trust you."
• "I rely on you."
• "I want to stick with you because we have a shared experience in this."

Education is key to that identity.  Educating people creates trust, which fosters long-term relationships. 

Episode takeaways

• Talk to your customers. Get to know them. Interact with them. Ask them what they care about.The more you talk to them, the better that relationship is, the longer term it's going to be. 
• Educate your customers. Don't hide the secret sauce. Instead, put it everywhere on your website, and make it accessible in all of your interactions. That will foster great trust and strengthen brand loyalty.
• Use your humans wisely. Make it easy to access your skilled human resources when it matters most because human interaction is critical in the customer experience. 

Get in touch with Rob at LinkedIn or Helcim Inc.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website or search for Now Brands Talk in your favorite podcast player.