Cross-Cultural Communication 30-Day Challenge – Build Trust
Trust is delicate to nurture in everyday situations. You can only build trust with the right foundation and in the right environment. In cross-cultural situations trust is so delicate to establish it can seem elusive. This is because:
- The foundation for trust needs different care
- The “right” environment to build trust might be a different one
Do What You Promise
There are times when international business seems impossible. There is a general feeling of not being able to keep your international clients happy… no matter what you try.
When this gnawing feeling hits, and the promise you make to your clients is involved, step back and look at things a bit differently. You might simply be missing something. And this one thing that is missing can do two things:
- Help you to build trust with your international clients
- Find the right alignment for your offer and the promise you make to them
Trust In Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge – Tip 12
Be sure you know what your international client expects of you
Different Expectations Disconnect
A very common disconnect in cross-cultural communication is created by differences in expectations. You see, people forget to talk about their expectations. Expectations seem obvious. Even worse… sometimes people do not realize they have expectations until there is a cross-cultural incident and they take the time to analyze where the difficulties occurred.
Learning how to uncover differences in expectations is a cross-cultural business skill used by seasoned international professionals.
Differences In Expectations Can Lead To Mistrust
The problem with differences in expectations is that it creates a slippery environment for trust. When your international client has a different expectation to what you promise to deliver, he will naturally be disappointed. And mistrust installs.
No matter how you look at it differences in expectations and trust usually do not mix well.
Discover Your International Clients’ Expectations
Now, differences in expectations also happen in our everyday lives. So you probably already know how to recognize cultural differences in expectations to some extent. Although there are similarities in discovering differences in expectations with your own countrymen, in cross-cultural situations, this usually requires extra cross-cultural skills.
- International professionals are always on the look out for differences in expectations.
- There are cross-cultural communication skills involved. Without these skills, you might miss the signs of cultural differences.
Discovering the expectations your international clients have for what you promise them or what you offer them helps your business in many ways. for the purpose of this article we have concentrated on building trust.
Don’t forget to look at how an accurate appreciation of your international clients’ expectations can help you improve your international marketing. This is one reason why international sales and marketing teams need to work closely with international business development teams.
What about you?
- Do you know what your international clients expect from you?
- How do your international clients’ expectations effect your international marketing?
- What are you doing to find out what the cross-cultural expectations are for your business?
Get All Cross-Cultural Communication Tips:
- Read more about all of the 2009 Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 1 – Expand Your Mindset
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 2 – Get Extreme With Clarity
- Cross Cultural Communication Challenge 3 – Build Trust
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| Mindset | Clarity | Trust |
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| Expand Your Mindset | Get Extreme With Clarity | Build Trust |
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