The Power of “Hugging” Customers to Attract & Retain Business

Hug Your Customers To Attract and Retain Business  

No matter what business you’re in, the way you make your customers feel can make or break your growth. This is especially pertinent in B2B healthcare, where long-term relationships are foundational. When we started Slabtown Marketing, some of the core values we adopted were based on the “Hug Your Customers” philosophy, inspired by Jack Mitchell’s seminal book. Mitchell is a clothing retailer whose family of department stores is famous for providing personalized service that has fostered dedicated customer relationships over generations.

While retail differs in scope from B2B healthcare, the ethos of the approach translates. “Hugging” your customers, while not necessarily physical, denotes forming a connection with them, bringing them in close through exceptional service, attention to detail, dedicated employees, and relationship building over the long term. Mitchell’s theory is that when companies go above and beyond to understand and meet the needs of their customers, this breeds customer loyalty. This resonated with us here at Slabtown. In our practice and experience, we’ve seen that “hugging your customer” enables a winning growth strategy that any business would do well to employ. If you’re struggling to maintain or nurture your customer base—read on. In this blog, we’ll give an overview of the key tips and tricks behind this philosophy so that you can transform your client relationships and drive growth.

1. Prioritize Personal Connection 

Beyond the physical, “hugging” is a state of mind. In our view, it means getting to know your customer well, meeting their needs, and showing them you genuinely care. As Jack Mitchell puts it, “A hug is anything that exceeds a customer’s expectations. It’s a mindset. There is no one way to hug; it can be a smile, a high five, expedited service, or beyond…” Doing this starts with prioritizing personal connections.

“A hug is anything that exceeds a customer’s expectations. It’s a mindset. There is no one way to hug; it can be a smile, a high five, expedited service, or beyond…” -Jack Mitchell

In Mitchell’s case, his team was physically outfitting customers with suits for important business meetings and weddings. As a healthcare company, you’re providing your customers with a product or service they need to take care of patients and thrive as a healthcare organization. In both cases, getting to know your customers through a high-touch approach helps you build loyalty. Earning customer trust means paying attention to your customers and actively listening to what they share with you. (Check out our previous blog about creating emotionally resonant marketing for more tips for connecting with customers.)

On a professional level, “hugging” your customers means learning about the ins and outs of their role, team, and goals, as well as their particular pain points. It also means getting to know their projects and upcoming events—for example, tracking that your client is preparing for a conference, and later asking about the presentation and whether their booth was successful. Or if they’re in the midst of a rebrand, for instance, you might check in about how it’s going. You could inquire about whether they’re stuck on any particular aspect, and how you might help. 

But prioritizing connection with your clients also means showing that you care about them outside of work too. Ask questions to get to know a little bit about their lives—where they live, their family, their hobbies. If you know that your client is a big gardener, for example, you might ask them how the growing season is coming along. If you know that their family will be traveling, you can ask them about what they have planned—and then follow up once they’re back. As with any long-term relationship, though, you want it to start with a point of authentic bonding—something you are genuinely curious to know more about.  

The most important part of prioritizing personal connections is slowing down long enough to notice the little details. As Jack Mitchell puts it, “If a customer comes in and mentions she’s in a bit of a rush because she had to fetch her dog at the vet, we’ll say, ‘Oh, sorry to hear that. Is Lucia okay?’ We know the dog’s name too.” Believe it or not, this personalized “hugging” approach has become such a benchmark for customer service, that it’s even been studied as a case in Harvard Business School. Given how fast-moving and transactional the business world can be, taking the time to notice and appreciate the small human (or pet) details really does help you stand out.

2. Go Above and Beyond

Exceeding expectations is our favorite way to “hug” customers. As we’ve noted in our previous blog on establishing an emotional connection with customers, this practice can take many forms. When you know what’s most important to your customer, you can add value where it really counts. For example, you might not only help your client with last-minute presentation support, but also take the initiative to send them extra slides to facilitate a pitch meeting and set them up for a satisfying close. Or you might send your client an article that supports a business case you know they’ll need to articulate to get their budget approved. “Going above and beyond” constitutes any effort—big or small—that exceeds the minimum output your customer expects and helps them do their job more effectively or with more ease.   

Going above and beyond constitutes any effort– big or small– that exceeds the minimum output your customer expects and helps them do their job more effectively or with more ease.

In Mitchell’s world of retail for example, a customer might come in looking for a suit for their investor meeting. The overt need is for a suit, but the underlying motivation is that this customer wants to dress to impress. In the case of B2B healthcare marketing, our clients might come to us saying that they want to produce a lot of content. We are happy to do this, of course, but we know their core desire is to connect directly with best-fit prospects to drive growth.

As such, it is our job as marketing partners to suggest the most meaningful way to spend their time and resources to achieve their goal. Where a weekly blog or newsletter might suffice, targeted support of personalized business development outreach may be more impactful. Often, our new ideas surpass our customer’s original expectations. Offering strategic guidance aligned with our client’s goals is a sure way to drive results and build lasting customer loyalty.

Another example of exceeding the status quo for your customers is referring them to partners you know will benefit them. For example, if your primary focus is clinician staffing but your customer mentions that they are having cash flow issues, take the opportunity to connect them with a revenue cycle management expert you trust will add meaningful value.

3.  Be Consistent, Accessible, and Responsive 

Hug your customers by staying accessible and responsive. This may go without saying, but consistently delivering on the basics matters when it comes to customer service. We mean something as simple as doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it. It might sound obvious, but showing up when you are needed—in moments big and small—goes a long way towards building a sense of partnership. For instance, being available to pinch hit in response to a one-off text request in a crucial moment of need can be as impactful as creating a beautiful and persuasive quarterly report. It’s vital to take both seriously.

It might sound obvious, but showing up when you are needed– in moments big and small– goes a long way towards building a sense of partnership. 

When your customers know they can count on you to help them swiftly respond to both daily tasks and more stressful situations (such as public relations snafus, last-minute CEO requests, or merger and acquisition shake ups), your relationship will grow stronger. Taking the initiative to problem solve alongside your customer positions you as a trusted advisor.

4. Hire & Empower Solution-and-Service-Oriented Individuals 

To be the best, you have to hire the best. Working with individuals who have a positive, can-do attitude aligns with creating a customer-centric culture. Jack Mitchell makes the point that many people are used to poor customer service. When you think of a large box store, for example, you are often left to your own devices to find what you need. Therefore, the value of hiring positive and helpful team members and empowering them to take care of your customers can be a powerful differentiator. In Mitchell’s words, “For a hugging culture to work, everyone…from top to bottom, must embrace it.” In his framework, this means every member of the team, whether they work in accounting or shipping, “hugs and sells”– not just the sales associates.

In Mitchell’s words, “For a hugging culture to work, everyone…from top to bottom, must embrace it.” This means every member of the team, whether they work in accounting or shipping, “hugs and sells”– not just the sales associates.

At healthcare companies “selling” doesn’t necessarily take place in a brick and mortar environment. But the “hugging culture” applies just the same. Throughout long B2B healthcare sales cycles, every touchpoint matters. To build a team empowered to “hug and sell” in every interaction, you want to hire experienced and personable people. Next, you want to give them an awareness of multiple sides of the business, educating them about your customers’ needs and how they are at the heart of everything the business does. Kind and helpful employees may make or break customer loyalty for your company.

In addition to being kind, however, you want to also hire driven employees who naturally tend toward going above and beyond for customers. This is what we call having a “caring owner” vs “renter” mindset—and it is exactly the type of partner we try to be at Slabtown. Whereas a “renter” is someone who might merely go through the motions in a project, an ‘owner’ is someone who take initiative and pursues customer goals as if they were their own. (Tips on selecting partners with this mindset here—the same traits to look for apply to hiring strong team members).  

Not only does a caring owner do what they say they’re going to do, but they’re confident and invested in delivering their best work. This is made possible through strong leadership; as an employer, you want to empower your team to solve problems in real-time rather than having to run them over to you. When you hire effective staff and then help them tune into their own brilliance, it does two things. First, it helps your own employee retention; it’s no surprise that at Mitchell’s retail stores, for example, employees stay a long time. But second, it makes a real difference in creating a memorable customer experience. Your team’s insights and expertise deliver a lasting hug to your customers– that is, an extra turn that really helps their projects stand out.

5. Maintain a High Attention to Detail 

This brings us to our last tip, which highlights the importance of understanding each customer’s unique personality, role, and needs. Remembering details, past conversations, and personal preferences can help your business to create a customer-centric experience. And when customers feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to want to keep working with you over the long term.

Remembering details, past conversations, and personal preferences can help your business to create a customer-centric experience. And when customers feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to want to keep working with you over the long term.

As noted previously, showing attention to detail on a personal level looks like taking the time to get to know more about your customer, and what’s important to them. Most parents will relish the opportunity to share about their children, for instance. When you remember their names and the gymnastics competition or soccer tournament they have coming up, you are signaling that you care about your client on a human level.

Never force it, of course. The goal is always to foster a more pleasant, friendly environment with people you know, who know you. But it is also important because as we’ve previously discussed, many of the decisions that we think are rational take place on an intuitive, even primal gut level. The decision-making center of the brain is situated in the limbic system, and oriented towards emotions. So fostering personal connections with clients by paying attention and connecting with them on a more personal level builds trust.

Keeping detailed notes is another way of hugging your customer. For example, you can track important dates, information about the your customer’s upcoming initiatives and events, and even document ideas from brainstorming sessions. Notes are especially useful in the case of role transitions, i.e. if someone moves on from your client’s organization, and a new team member is brought on. Being able to send new team members what you’ve tracked can help speed up their own discovery and orientation process, saving everyone time. It helps you maintain your professional reputation, while showing your customer that you will be an attentive ally, in it for the long term. This sets the stage for a positive and mutually beneficial collaboration.

Hug Your Customers for Long-Term Success   

Selling in B2B healthcare means playing the long game. Because sales cycles often span years and partnerships take time to develop, building a meaningful connection with prospective customers is crucial. By embracing a hugging culture via the five tips shared above, you build not only successful relationships, but perhaps even more importantly, lasting ones.

To achieve authentic relationships, Mitchell suggests having honest conversations with customers. “When you have strong relationships, customers… will tell you what they like and what they don’t like,” he says, “in turn making your business more efficient and effective. Your best customers are the ones who most want you to do well.” He goes on to explain: “It makes sense to learn from them.” 

“Your best customers are the ones who most want you to do well. It makes sense to learn from them.”- Jack Mitchell

In fact, one particularly interesting point about the “hugging” ethos is the emphasis on increasing market share. Rather than trying to focus on winning new customers, Mitchell writes, it’s more useful to focus on more business from existing customers. Referencing the world of retail, he writes: “We talk about ‘share of closet’, just as financial advisors talk about share of wallet… we’re always…searching for new ways to hug and further build a relationship so we can have 100 percent of their closet.” In healthcare another “hanger in your customer’s closet” might be another service line at their hospital, another specialty within provider group, or another product line within their pharmaceutical or medical device portfolio.

The Bottom Line: A “Hugging Culture” Builds Partnership and Drive Growth

Applying the tips outlined in this article will help you build stronger customer relationships. Being there for your customers and providing exceptional service is one of the strongest marketing and sales tools you can leverage. If you’re interested in learning more about the “Hug Your Customers” philosophy, we recommend reading Jack Mitchell’s book. Let us know what you think! And as always, for marketing and sales support that will deepen your connection with your target audiences, don’t hesitate to drop us a line.