Part of being human is that there is a disconnect between what we want and what we need.
We want things that we don’t really need. And we don’t want things that we would actually need. We tell ourselves stories that are influenced by the people and things that surround us and that make us feel the strong desire to want or not want something.
The selfish marketer doesn’t care about any of these. He’s happy when he closes the deal. When you want something, he will think “great!” and happily sell it to you. In fact, he will try hard to make you want even more of the things that you don’t need.
Marketers who care for their customers act differently. They dig deeper and listen carefully. Because what counts for them is not just the deal but the people. What is it that my customers really want? What is it that they need? They strive for a long-lasting relationship built on trust. They strive for actually changing things for the better.
That’s what good communication helps us to achieve. By listening carefully to not only what they say that they want but sensing the underlying feelings and desires, great communicators are able to guide their customers to what they need without dismissing what they want.
Empathy is the key skill here. Great communicators use empathy not only in listening but to guide conversations to where their customers need to go while making them feel that that’s where they want to go.