How to Be Your Customer's Trusted Partner with Zee Hussain

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:

1. What does it mean to be a trusted advisor rather than just a vendor in customer relationships? 
2. How can companies anticipate customer needs before customers are even aware of them? 
3. How can innovations be adapted from one industry to another? 
4. What are effective ways to build trust with their customers? 
5. How does technology make customer service more efficient? 

Top Takeaways:

• Trust and credibility are built by consistently delivering on the basic services and support that customers expect from you. When you do a good job of delivering on your brand’s promises to customers, it opens the door to future partnerships with them. 

• Understand your customers’ opportunities and challenges. Go beyond surface-level information. Listen to them and spend time on the front lines to gain insight into their pain points and goals, so you can tailor your solutions to what matters most to them. 

• A trusted partner doesn’t just wait for customers to define what they need. They draw on their own experiences and industry insights to identify potential challenges and opportunities their customers will face in the future.  

• Great ideas can come from outside your industry. When facing a challenge, ask yourself, How have I solved a similar problem in a different industry, and how can I apply that perspective here? 

• A growth mindset is having an attitude of consistent learning and curiosity. It’s about striving to add value to each interaction with both customers and employees. 

• Plus, Shep and Zee discuss the impact of companies co-creating ideas and solutions with their customers. Tune in! 

Quotes:

“If we want to be a trusted advisor for our customers, we need to sit with them side by side and talk about what their desired business outcomes for the future look like and how we can help deliver them.”  

“You have to earn your seat at the table. Build credibility and trust with the customer by delivering on the services, support, responsiveness, and alignment.”  

“Before proposing business outcomes, do your homework. Understand your customer’s business environment, challenges, and opportunities so you can add real value to the conversation.” 

“Having a growth mindset is coming in every single day with an amount of intellectual curiosity. You really have to push the bounds of what you think is possible.” 

About:

Zee Hussain is the Head of Global Enterprise Solutions at AT&T Business. He oversees teams that deliver advanced connectivity and technology solutions to major enterprise clients worldwide. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.