The other day I was at a clinic for some eye procedure. You tend to feel fidgety when someone is playing with your eyes, so was I. When procedure was on, the doctor kept on reassuring me that everything is all right. She keeps on giving me updates on what’s going on and what's coming up. Every step was communicated, “we will fix your eyebrows so that you won’t blink”; “a machine will start and you will hear some noise and that’s perfectly normal”; “you will get some smell, may feel some pain and that’s perfectly normal”. Then suddenly I realized that all my uneasiness vanished. Because I was continuously getting updated and was not just treated like guinea pig on operation table. A supposedly complex exercise went so smooth mainly because of continuous reassurances.
Reassure your client, customers and other stakeholders. Reassurance creates conducive environment for peace and when people are at peace they create a facilitative environment for you to operate hence increasing your efficiency. If I’m about to fly I need continuous updates about status of my flight. Either airline keeps on reassuring me or I will keep barraging their call center or website.
If your customer complains you of something (say broken gadget) and you know that it will take 3 days to fix, reassure customer and keep reassuring till it’s fixed. People might trust your brand but further reassurance strengthens customer’s faith in your brand. People trust that Fedex will reach anywhere on time but still Fedex keeps them updated on progress of dispatched material.
People say “keep me posted” or “keep me updated” but it’s reassurance they are seeking.
Human minds need assurance. Something is wrong, Reassure; everything right, Reassure. Reassurance breeds peace and creates Trust.
Reassure.
