English Language in Building Customer Relations

Introduction

We live in a world that is made up of various categories of people from different backgrounds. Through the centuries, the importance of good communication between people in building customer relations has been very significant. Nowadays, as a global business is ever more growing, such importance is only getting bigger. However, today international economy develops under special conditions of the process of globalization. This explains the importance of using an international language in communication with customers, the language which is known by the majority of people on the Earth and actively used in other areas. In the contemporary world, English occupies a position of international language known by the biggest part of the planet’s population, and is used in a variety of global cooperation areas beginning from education, and ending with political relations. In the following paper, the importance of English in building customer relations will be discussed. Generally, evaluating the situation, it appears that good communication is a stronghold for operating any business, and it should be exercised in a language convenient for the customer; nowadays, under the conditions of the process of constant globalization in the world, English became such language.

Main body

The importance of good communication between the representatives of the enterprise and the customer

First of all, discussing the basics of building customer relations, it should be stated that communication between the representatives of the enterprise and the customer is the fundament of such business relations and their future success (Copley 2004, Inghilleri & Solomon 2010). According to Klein (2007, par. 3), ‘the only way you can meet or exceed customer needs is listening—not just to what they’re telling you, but to get beyond that and understand their unstated needs. The customer needs to be heard and provided with the goods and services one needs. In addition, good communication is the basis of trust between the customer and the representatives of the enterprise as being listened to and heard people feel respected and valued and, thus, feel that they may trust their business partners (Inghilleri & Solomon 2010). Klein (2007, par.6) argues.

When people feel listened to, valued, and important to a company, it’s rare. That’s because great service and effective communication are more than a set of skills. It’s a mindset of respect and accountability where you do what you say you’re going to do for the customer. If every associate in your firm models that mindset, you’ll create a great experience for everyone.

Of course, the goal of organizing a good communication climate cannot be accomplished unless the representatives of the enterprise and the customer speak the same language comfortable for mutual understanding. It should be also remembered that today, under the conditions of global economical tendencies and political developments in the world English has become a reliable bridge between the people belonging to the most diversified cultures and lands, and, thus, the use of this language can be considered an important point for the success in business communication and creating trust between the customers and the representatives of firms.

Global tendencies in world politics resulted in using English as an international language

Next, nowadays, the phenomenon of globalization can be described as the dominating power behind the major business and sociological developments all around the world. From day to day global culture becomes more and more autocratic in every land; even in such lands where it can be hardly expected to happen so. The progress of interdependence in the world economy is based on the rapid technological change and the transformation of the governments’ policies and their approaches to international trade. Such tendency is explained by the fact that the possibilities to realize the trade relations all over the world without references to the states’ borders contributed to working out and the implementation of procedures according to which the principles of fixing the quotas, tariffs, and taxes were changed. Thus, today the development of the global economy made the world a “large village” where people are to find means to understand each other and communicate their interests (Inghilleri & Solomon 2010). English became the material for constructing bridges in this globalized “world village”.

The relationship between language, culture, and customer service

More than this, business is considered to be a social-oriented phenomenon, and, thus, is closely related to language and culture development. Business relations form a crucial aspect of society. This is because they are a form of solving the most urgent issues by people all around the world as recourses are distributed by fits and starts which requires acquiring them using trading relationships. It is worth noting that business is an international phenomenon. Based on this, it is important to ensure that the various regions within the world can access business activities that take place across the globe. Thus, there is a need to ensure that people from different backgrounds can keep up to date with the business fraternity. It is on this basis that there is the need to have a language that can reach different masses of people in different ways. This will ensure that language is not a barrier especially in this regard. Thus, the relationship between language, culture, and customer service is integral and inalienable.

The results achieved nowadays using the use of English in building customer relations prove its significance

Finally, the good results achieved using the use of English in building customer relations are more than encouraging. Each year thousands of business agreements along with much more minor arrangements are made due to the use of the English language (Buttle 2004, Goodwin 1999). According to Griffin (2002), more than eighty-nine percent of international business transactions are made due to a good level of communication provided by the use of the English language. Rugman and Brewer (2001), state that English is both successful in the area of small business and on the level of huge corporations and business giants. Furthermore, the modern globalized world is full of international events such as sports competitions, song contests, business forums, and so on. This becomes the reason for constant traveling for millions of people. Of course, to serve the needs of such traveling people companies are to use the language easily for mutual understanding, and English became this language.

Conclusion

Concluding on all the above-discussed information, it should be stated that the use of English is critical for building customer relations nowadays. Such a situation created the great need for the use of an international language easy for learning and applying by people belonging to the most diversified nations and cultures. Today, English occupies the position of such an international language and is used by a variety of companies and enterprises beginning from the smallest to the biggest ones. This s explained by the fact that the development of the global economy made the world a “large village” where people are to find means to understand each other and communicate their interests.

References

Buttle, F 2004, Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Tools, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Amsterdam.

Copley, P 2004, Marketing Communications Management: Concepts and Theories, Cases and Practices, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, England.

Goodwin, R 1999, Personal Relationships across Cultures, Routledge, London.

Griffin, J 2002, Customer Loyalty: How to Earn It, How to Keep It (Rev. ed.), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.

Inghilleri, L & Solomon, M 2010, Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization, American Management Association, New York.

Klein, K 2007, Building Customer Relations by ListeningBusinessweek – Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice, Web.

Rugman, A & Brewer, T 2001, The Oxford Handbook of International Business, Oxford University Press, New York.