Danny Guillory, CEO Innovations International
Diversity and inclusion also both come into play where customers are involved. We have customers with very different communications styles--one who prefers texts, another emails, another phone calls, and another in person visits (and one customer who communicates through all modes)--and learning their styles took some time as our relationship deepened. In terms of how we serve them, some customers prefer to ask us specifically for what they want (like ordering a la carte at a restaurant), while another comes to us with a few general objectives and says "I'll give you a week or two and tell me what you can come up with." Understanding the variations on customers has been very important in maintaining our long terms relationships.
It is more obvious when selling to consumers---regional differences, tendencies along ethnic lines, preferences that more women have then men, etc.--but invisible differences that customers may have are just as significant.
It is more obvious when selling to consumers---regional differences, tendencies along ethnic lines, preferences that more women have then men, etc.--but invisible differences that customers may have are just as significant.
2 comments
Robert Robinson • In work, and in training classes, I prefer receiving communications in email or some other written form. The reason is because I am hearing impaired and sometimes cell phone calls are so garbled that I can not discern the details of the conversation and I miss important details. Sometimes co-workers, those who do not practice diversity thinking, are insensitive to this impairment. Having an invisible disability is a challenge at times because I have to interrupt conversations to reveal this impairment. I have been in multiple educational settings where the speaker will stand up before 300 plus audience members and say, "I don't need to use a microphone, I am loud and everyone can hear me." This assumption shows a "speaker-centered" focus of an outgoing message, rather than an "audience-centered" receiver message. As educators and trainers, it is important to remember that we are in front of a group to serve the group, meet their diverse needs, and to appreciate their differences as talented contributors to the workforce. It is not about us, as a "sage on the stage" or a "mouthpiece" to send a one-way message. Diversity thinking in advance of a presentation or training will prepare us to best serve our client and audience.
12 days ago
Danny Guillory • Great point Robert, and good to connect with you again!
