Reading Faces vs. Reading Minds:
the Advantage of Electronic Interaction in Business

By Sarah Eaton

As the former owner of a small retail business, I know what it's like to be in direct contact with customers.

When someone entered my store, I could tell immediately what kind of experience they were having and how my business affected them—whether they were pleased, displeased, or just confused.

All of this was evident from facial expression and body language. And, if I saw that someone seemed confused or displeased, I could ask questions and give answers to alleviate their concerns and generate a sale.

When it comes to customer interaction, it's true that there's nothing quite like the human touch. But, we all know how difficult and time-consuming it is to have vocal or face-to-face interactions with customers on a regular basis.

Read on to discover how you can turn electronic communication to your advantage and accomplish things that you may not be able to do through physical interaction.

Draw Similarities between Your Customers

Through e-communication, you have access to customers' thoughts and desires as made evident by their reading patterns (see last month's article "Gaze into Our Crystal Ball: Customers' Thoughts Revealed through E-Newsletter Reading"), which they may not express to you as easily in person.

And this, in turn, allows you to draw similarities between your customers to give them more of what they want before they ask.

You may already know some of your customers quite well—their preferences, their buying patterns and their budgets. You can use this knowledge and apply it to other similar customers.

Imagine Making a Purchase at Amazon.com

It's a B2C business of course, but because it has no bricks-and-mortar locations, it cannot intuit customer desires through personal interaction either.

But, Amazon does have the capability to compare your purchase records with other customers who bought the same item, allowing it to provide you with astute recommendations.

Just like with Amazon, if you draw similarities between your customers, your ability to identify ongoing leading indicators for future purchasing is greatly enhanced.

You can leverage that information by tailoring your electronic interactions to your customers' specific interests.

Think of Your Own Experiences With E-marketing

Your investment advisor sends you a newsletter packed with valuable, but general, information.

How will you interact with that newsletter?

You glance at it and click-through only to something that pertains to you directly.

Or, your investment advisor sends you a newsletter that is constructed to give you information based on your investment goals and portfolio

How will you interact with that newsletter?

You read the whole thing.

Think of Your Own Forays Into E-marketing

You can send out an e-newsletter with an all-purpose welcome letter that has a lead article on cost-effective hiring methods to everyone on your list, regardless of their industry or title.

Or, you can take a more sophisticated approach by sending an e-newsletter with the lead article on hiring and a customized welcome letter to your human resources contacts. You can segment your list to personalize your communication for all of your subscribers.

In both cases (the blanket marketing and the one-to-one marketing approaches), good things happen. You reinforce your brand, and you provide your customers and prospects with information.

The more the information is shaped specifically to reflect your customers' and prospects' interests, the more they perceive your communication as valuable. And, it's clear you understand and relate to them.

Reading Faces vs. Reading Minds

When it comes to nurturing relationships, there's no denying that face-to-face communication has its advantages. Yet, interacting with customers by drawing similarities between them achieves something just as valuable—on both ends of the equation. You get the inside track on their thoughts, and they get information they actually want.

In fact, according to a Millward Brown survey conducted for the Custom Publishing Council, 94 percent of business professionals who read custom publications believe they are a useful source of information.

By tailoring your communication to fit their needs, you send your customers and prospects a very important message: you care enough about them to give them what they want. It's almost as if your computer is taking them out for dinner and a night on the town.

Sarah Eaton is the List Manager for BeTuitive Marketing. Sarah monitors the impact of interactive marketing — particularly e-newsletters and blogs — on the acquisition, retention and growth of customers. At BeTuitive, she provides guidance to customers on the best ways to test and improve response rates. Check out her blog, BeTuitive: Actionable Results, for the latest strategies in e-marketing.

Copyright © 2005 BeTuitive Marketing

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