Building on common ground: The role of cultural roots in customer service philosophy
No matter the industry, the success of your business depends on multiple factors. From improving the curb appeal of your location to improving your products and services, there are many changes you can make to keep growth stable and your business fresh and trendy.
But alongside these traditional methods, there are other changes in philosophy that you can consider as well. One of the subtlest but most effective business changes you can make is improving your customer service by leaning on your cultural roots. While it might seem counterintuitive to appeal to a wider audience with more niche practices and values, here are a few reasons why it can actually help your business, rather than hinder it.
Using cultural communication to attract ideal customers
In today’s globalized business world, people of many different cultures interact with each other on a frequent basis, and that brings both challenges and opportunities when it comes to communication styles. Your business can benefit from understanding how various cultures communicate and basing your customer service philosophy on the way you want customers to interact with your business and its culture.
Communication with customers comes in many forms. Many businesses prioritize direct communication, in which details are conveyed clearly, but different types of customers can be enticed by subtler and more indirect communication that uses subtextual ideas to capture their interest. When it comes to tone, some cultures prefer more functional communication, while others enjoy businesses that interact with them personally, like a friend or family member.
Consider, for example, a tent rental business that provides air-conditioned tents. A business like this would want to strike a good balance between clearly and directly stating what services they offer and cultivating a more story-forward, personalized branding that reflects their commitment to customer service and their friendly, knowledgeable staff.
Understanding individualism and collectivism can shape customer service
Many of the ways cultures communicate and act are determined by whether they are individualistic or collectivistic in nature. Individualistic cultures produce customers that primarily engage with businesses that can meet their personal needs and offer a more independent transaction experience. Meanwhile, customers from collectivistic cultures enjoy when businesses are integrated into the wider community, forming strong relationships with the local area.
Your business can capitalize on the cultures that surround it by leveraging your own cultural roots to make your customer service experience align with your brand ethos. If you have roots in a more individualistic culture, consider basing your customer service strategy around personalized feedback mechanisms, clear and clean user experience, and branding focused on individual experience. If you are more collectivistic, you can signal your openness to communal growth by hosting various events, partnering with other local businesses, and fostering personal connections with important organizations in your community.
Capitalizing on power distance expectations
Power distance is a very strong force in customer-business dynamics that you should be extremely aware of. Certain cultures around the world are high power distance cultures, preferring clear delineations of hierarchies and tiered business relationships. Others are low power distance, valuing egalitarian business relationships and more equality between business and customer.
If you have roots in a culture with high power distance, clearly communicating the hierarchy and chain of command in your business can attract customers with similar priorities, giving them a direct line from employees to managers who can deal with more complex issues. Such businesses could also benefit from creating a call center to funnel incoming communications through a rigid system. If you are part of a lower power distance culture, on the other hand, you can emphasize the flexibility of your employees to your customers, giving your workers more power to engage with them regarding concerns of various degrees.
Managing uncertainty avoidance in customers
Making business transactions always comes with a degree of uncertainty, and different cultures value different levels of uncertainty as customers. This level of uncertainty avoidance can greatly impact the way you market your products and services, as some customers will have high uncertainty avoidance (preferring rules and structures that avoid transactional uncertainty), while others will have low uncertainty avoidance (accepting more flexibility and improvisation).
To capitalize on varying levels of uncertainty avoidance in your customers, it’s always a good idea to balance your marketing and customer service in terms of rules and flexibility. Think of how companies that sell camper trailer insurance prioritize laying out the risks and benefits of policies. You want to clearly communicate the level of risk and uncertainty in your products or services to customers while also giving them leeway to make their own choices and gauge their personal level of risk acceptance.
Meeting customers’ long and short-term goals
Customer goals differ widely across cultures. Many cultures produce customers with a long-term orientation towards business transactions, preferring long-lasting products and making plans for how their present transactions will impact their future. Other customers have a more short-term orientation, wanting immediate solutions to their problems and present needs.
As a business owner, you can strike a balance between meeting these types of customer needs through various services. For example, think of a company that rents large tents to customers holding various events. The ability to provide customers with tents that can fit various lease lengths and timelines can help craft a business that appeals to those who need services for both long-term use and short-term events.
Final thoughts
Customer service is far from a closed book of rules and regulations that you have to follow. Your business’ customer service philosophy can and should be molded by your cultural roots, as well as the values of the cultures around you. Much like businesses can thrive by both outsourcing and in-house hiring, you can create an ideal customer service philosophy by leaning into your own cultural values and balancing them against the values of the most important people you serve–your customers!
Cintia Gazola Metallinos
Author bio
Cintia Gazola Metallinos is a Business Operations and Marketing Leader at All Occasions Tents, a company she has helped grow and modernize for more than ten years. She is the central driver for operational excellence, overseeing critical functions like client proposals, contracts, billing, and database management. Additionally, Cintia directs the company’s entire digital presence, including website development, Google Ads, and social media strategy. With her background in law and court administration, she keeps everything organized and follows all the rules in the tent rental business. She speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and is committed to providing excellent customer service and delivering strong results.