To provide the best customer experience, you need to understand and respect the people you serve. That isn’t straightforward because their life experience, values and perspectives will be different to yours. However, this is the foundation of building trust and trust is necessary for increasing customer retention, recommendations and revenue. So, how would you show me that you know me?

Personalising Customer Interactions

When I started my career in customer service, we were told the importance of personalising the interaction. That included using the customer’s name during the conversation. It also meant remembering some of the information that regular customers had shared. This wasn’t because the manager wanted us chatting for hours; we still had time targets. However, they understood that making the customer feel important was essential for building trust.

If you have regular customers, do you take the time to notice and engage with them or are they just one of hundreds that you’ve dealt with this week?

Institutional Distrust

In some of my recent conversations, about the challenges of engaging with vulnerable customers, it is clear that many people have a distrust of institutions. These include Councils, Social Housing providers, banks, legal firms and the Government. These organisations are offering services, resources and even financial support to help vulnerable customers, yet those in greatest need are not accessing them.

Institutional distrust is nothing new, especially among minority groups and the disadvantaged. It is often the result of personal experiences. When an individual has reached out for help, they feel they’ve been ignored, judged, treated unfairly and discriminated against. As a result, they’ve been unable to access the support they need and feel powerless.

The lack of trust can also come from indirect contact, such as members of their community sharing experiences. These peer reviews are powerful and create suspicion. It can also be the result of media or hearsay, which aims to create division. There is a sense that engaging with organisations will lead to negative outcomes.

Therefore, it takes considerable work to make connections with those who would often benefit most from the services and support on offer. You need to earn their trust and show them that you know them and that takes time and effort.

Do You Understand Your Customers?

The first stage in building trust is to really try to understand your customers. Specifically, what are the challenges they experience and what are their priorities? Then you can tailor your services and support to fit.

One of my team was asked to review a webpage of a solicitor offering free advice to refugees that wasn’t getting many enquiries. The lengthy page of text was all English, with no translation option. They hadn’t considered the very basic needs of their target audience and for anyone who visited the page, there was zero evidence of ‘show me that you know me’.

Communication preferences extend beyond language. For example, many people delete emails from organisations, believing them to be spam. Others don’t open official letters, as they fear what will be said or can’t understand what’s written. Therefore, you need to adopt multiple strategies to engage, including in-person conversations or phone calls.

Often the best approach is collaboration with people or organisations that have established connections. Who is building trust and engaging with your vulnerable customers? Find out about community organisations and discuss mutually beneficial opportunities. How can they help you to better understand your customers? Will they promote your support services? What can you offer in return?

I recently heard about a housing provider that was funding a breakfast club in the local school. This was a much-needed service that encouraged attendance and learning. Additionally, it opened up the opportunity for the housing provider to connect with residents when they dropped children off.

How to Reach & Communicate with Vulnerable Customers

We are being asked to train teams on how to reach and communicate with vulnerable customers. It seems that there is a wall dividing the two parties which is formed from a mutual lack of understanding and respect.

To start breaking down this barrier, our tips are:

1. Be approachable – Make it easy for people to find and access your physical premises, a phoneline answered by people and responsive email communications. Also, consider community outreach services or collaborations that position you in their environment.

2. Be accessible – Is your website WCAG compliant? When designing apps, digital communications or processes, ensure compatibility with accessibility tools and consider options including Signly, RelayUK and translations tools.

3. Listen – When people do talk to you, listen and take them seriously. Being heard, believed and validated is an important step in building trust. Remember that you have no knowledge of the individual’s life experience, so are in no position to judge their decisions or actions.

4. Be honest – If you promise to do something, such as call the customer back, do it. If you can’t offer what they need or want, tell them and try to explore other options. If there is a long waiting list, a delay or an issue, let them know. It is better to manage expectations and be realistic.

5. Encourage feedback – Don’t assume you are doing a good job. Proactively ask for feedback, especially from vulnerable customers. Let them know that their opinion is important and be open to what you learn. This insight can be invaluable in improving the take up of your services.

6. Show them that you know them – When you interact with someone that you’ve previously met or spoken with, say hello. Take interest and ask them a question. If possible, refer to something that they shared with you.

7. Apologise – If the customer has experienced a problem, apologise. The issue may not be your responsibility, you might not have anything to do with it, but you can say, “I’m sorry to hear that was your experience. I understand why you found that frustrating and I’ll do what I can to sort that out.”

8. Learn more – When you are serving customers with a common need, research lived experiences, forums and support organisations to learn more. Watch programmes or read books that bring their experience to life and aid your understanding.

How can we help you to better support customers facing vulnerable circumstances? From practical resources to training and consultancy, we aim to build confidence and competence during vulnerable customer interactions and support.