How do you build a long-term relationship with customers? Tina works for an engineering company in Australia and recently joined the New Zealand office. Tina’s key focus is on Customer Experience and development, and she wants her team to change their transactional approach to customer strategy. So, today, we will talk about convincing people that having a relationship with customers is a good idea.

Tina wrote to us on the podcast about this pickle she is in, and it’s interesting. She also explained the company has engineers and technicians serving in dual roles because “customers do not want a sales relationship.” I have run across this attitude, too. Some types of industries buy into the customer relationship concept more than others. For example, hotels and hospitality get it straight away. Other firms, not so much.

So, when I heard Tina’s company was an engineering firm, I thought, “well, that sounds about right.” Engineers are brilliant and excellent at what they do, but they also have a specific approach to solving problems, and it’s definitely on the rational side. That approach is crucial to engineering, but the rational approach is a big mistake for customer relationship management. 

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