A Negative Lexicon For Positive Customer Relationships

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Language underlies almost all other components of the customer experience. Yet your company has probably given more thought to the language it uses in marketing campaigns than to the words employees use when having conversations face-to-face with customers.

That’s a mistake, because customers don’t generally get their make-or-break impressions of your company from high-minded branding exercises. They get them primarily from day-to-day conversations with you. And those are the impressions they spread to others.

No brand is complete until a brand-appropriate style of speaking with customers is in place at all levels of the enterprise. Which is why developing a consistent style of service speech is so important.

Develop a language lexicon

In order to develop a distinctive and consistent companywide style of service speech you’ll need social engineering: that is, systematic training of employees. Imagine, for example, that you’ve selected 10 promising salespeople for your new high-end jewelry boutique. You’ve provided them with uniforms and stylish haircuts and encouraged them to become your brand’s versions of a Mr. or Ms. Cartier, starting on opening day. But they’ll still speak with customers much the way they speak in their own homes: that is, until you’ve trained them in a different language style.

Happily, ‘‘engineering’’ a company-wide style of speech can be a positive, collaborative experience. If you approach this correctly, you won’t need to put a gag on anybody or twist any arms. Once everybody in an organization understands the reasons for language guidelines, it becomes a challenge, not a hindrance. The improved customer reactions and collaborative pride of mission are rewarding. As a consequence, it can be a relatively easy sell companywide.

Here, for example, are some good/bad language choices:
Bad: ‘‘You owe . . .’’
Good: ‘‘Our records show a balance of . . .’’

Bad: ‘‘You need to . . .’’ (This makes some customers think: ‘‘I don’t
need to do jack, buddy—I’m your customer!’’)
Good: ‘‘We find it usually works best when . . .’’

Bad: ‘‘Please hold.’’
Good: ‘‘May I briefly place you on hold?’’ (and then actually listen
to the caller’s answer)

The specifics of the lexicon you develop will vary depending on industry, clientele and location. A cheerful ‘‘No worries!’’ sounds fine coming from the clerk at a Bose audio store in Portland (an informal business in an informal town) but bizarre if spoken by the concierge at the Four Seasons in Milan.

An alternative approach

If the ‘‘Say This While Avoiding That’’ approach strikes you as too prescriptive, if you don’t want to develop scripted phrases and specific word choices for your employees, at least consider developing a brief ‘‘Negative Lexicon.’’ A Negative Lexicon is just a list of crucial language "Thou Shalt Nots."

The Negative Lexicon is the Danny Meyer approach, the one used by that great New York restaurateur and master of hospitality. Meyer feels uncomfortable giving his staff a list of what to say, but he doesn’t hesitate to specifically ban phrases that grate (‘‘Are we still working on the lamb?’’).

A Negative Lexicon can be kept short, sweet, and easy to learn. Of course, new problematic words and phrases are sure to crop up. So, keep your Negative Lexicon up to date.

Micah Solomon is a customer service and marketing speaker, strategist, and author of the forthcoming book, "High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service."

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