The Comfort Zone

In today's paper, I read that the National Academy of Sciences published a paper on new research that shows that infants as young as the age of five months are more responsive to the sound of someone speaking their familiar native tongue. And they are also more likely to accept toys from them, as well. This is true even if the child is not yet able to speak on his or her own. Now the sarcastic part of me immediately thought, astounding! Who would have guessed this? A child actually preferring the sound of a familiar voice and language? Go figure. By I also realized how impressive it is that humans are capable of understanding and recognizing the sound of language at such an early age.

In business, we rely on our ability to sync with our clients at various levels; from addressing their unmet needs, to sharing like-minded creative approaches, to maintaining responsive and responsible relationships. We bank on the equity we nurture with our client skills, and we invest heavily in keeping our relationships alive. We feed them, care for them, love them. In short, we raise those relationships like children, and we work hard to teach trust and mutual love for us in return. These bonds with our clients are arguably the most valuable assets any of us can own.

Clients settle into a comfort level very early on with their chosen suppliers and business partners. And they recognize when those partners "speak the same language" as do they. They want to engage with those who truly work with them. Once the client is settled in with someone, and as the partnership continues to grow in strength and depth over time, the greater the amount of shared equity there is to both parties.

We all tend to latch on to people, things, places, and ideas - as well as our relationships to them - that strike a comfortable and familiar chord with us. When thinking about making first impressions in the marketplace, it is the smart business that understands the notion that clients are ultimately looking for an experience that resonates, and to a familiar voice that speaks to them, not at them.