Recently, I walked into a business and the person behind the counter focused on the computer and the transaction, but didn’t look at me. My immediate response was to tell myself not to do business here again.
Even in today’s internet world, most small business owners/managers frequently meet customers face to face. Depending on what source you check out, you’ll find that human communication is 70 – 90% non-verbal. Yep, even with today’s texting and networking, most true human communication is done without words.
How often have you received or sent an email or text message only to learn later that the communication was misinterpreted or misunderstood?
We obviously can’t make personal contact with every possible person who may do business with us, but when we meet someone coming into our business, it’s vitally important to make eye contact, have a smile and let that person know you appreciate their business. Interestingly, you will also find that when you smile you activate mirror neurons that makes the other person feel better.
Here’s an excellent article I discovered about this: http://humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com.htm