It used to be that a salesperson or company employee could deal with a client for months or years by phone, mail and (most recently) by email and never know what they looked like or vice verse. The advent of social media, digital photography and video has changed all that. Most businessmen and professionals now have a profile on at least one social networking site (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, etc.). Such profiles often feature the person’s picture. Suddenly, a salesperson or employee is not just a faceless name and a headless voice. A picture makes the person ‘real’. Seeing an actual face establishes a deeper connection. And, arguably, the most important part of a person’s facial expression is the smile.
Ironically, if you Google the term “winning smile,” the top ranking results are for dental services. In the world of search engines, smile equals teeth. But in the world of business, a smile actually equals trust. A person’s look / expression can either inspire trust and confidence or conjure doubt and misgivings. A genuine smile (not to be confused with a grimace or fake smile) generally denotes pleasure, sociability, happiness and/or amusement. Smiling is something that is understood by everyone despite culture, race, or religion. Internationally known, cross-cultural studies have confirmed that smiling is a positive means of communication throughout the world. There is even evidence that smiling actually has a positive effect on business, sales and ultimately the bottom line.
Service with a Smile
Since the beginning of the 1900s, at the core of American business has been the concept of “Service with a Smile.” Customers expect it. Managers preach it. Employees are coached to demonstrate it. Why so much focus on smiling? It is perhaps because research has repeatedly proven that smiling increases attractiveness and likability between people. Smiling is correlated to greater trust, greater financial earnings, and even increased interpersonal cooperation. Indeed, the business benefits of smiles are substantial. And, best of all, smiling doesn’t cost a thing.
1. Smiling increases Cooperation
Research has shown that people receive more help when they smile. One of the functions of human smiling is to advertise a cooperative disposition and thereby increase the likelihood that a social partner will invest resources in the relationship. Smiling is perceived as an honest signal of an altruistic disposition because a spontaneous smile is not easy to produce voluntarily. This was proven in a study in which 60 people were filmed secretly while interacting with a friend in two situations: control and sharing. Researchers found that spontaneous smiles were displayed at higher rates in the sharing situation as opposed to the control situation. Moreover, spontaneous smiles in the sharing interaction were positively affected by a measure of altruism. This study concluded that a spontaneous smile is an important signal in the formation and maintenance of cooperative relationships.
2. Smiling increases Customer Satisfaction
In a time of increased stress due to cutbacks, high debt, and increasing family issues, employees are often required to work with a distressed public. However, a smile tends to convey respect, patience, empathy, hospitality and compassion. For example, when an employee smiles at a stressed customer, and exhibits excellent listening skills, there is an increased report of total satisfaction. One study conducted by Magnus Söderlund and Sara Rosengren at the Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Consumer Marketing, in Stockholm, Sweden examined whether an employee’s display of smiles in the service encounter had an effect on customer satisfaction. Participants in the study were randomly allocated to one of four service encounters. Two variables were manipulated; the service employee with whom the participant interacted had either a neutral facial expression or a smiling facial expression, and the service employee was either male or female. The study showed that the smiling service employee produced a higher level of customer satisfaction than the neutral service employee, regardless of the gender of the service employee or the gender of the participant.
3. Smiling increases Charitable Behavior
The smile of a stranger produces a greater ‘good samaritan’ effect on the receiver. For organizations involved in fund raising or occupations that rely on the good will of others, it pays to smile. A study by Tidd and Lochard in 1978 showed, for example, that smiling waitresses get tipped much more than less friendly ones.
4. Smiling increases Memory Retrieval
Neuroscience research has shown that when a person smiles, memory retrieval of their name is enhanced by the person perceiving the smile.
5. Smiling increases Trust and Acceptance
Numerous studies have shown that smiling has a positive impact in how the smiling person is perceived by others. In one study in 1982 in the Journal of Social Psychology, participants were presented with a photograph of a person either smiling or not smiling. Results showed that participants liked photo of the smiling person more and evaluated him or her more positively than a non-smiling person. Moreover, a smiling person was perceived to be more intelligent and could create in the perceiver a warm feeling more so than a non-smiling person.
6. Smiling improves Self Attitude
It’s been said that if you smile, the world smiles with you. If you cry, you cry alone. A smile can definitely induce others to smile too and will improve the mood of the person perceiving the smile. But it has also been shown that smiling improves self attitude. A person’s mood is lifted and they feel more positive when smiling. Yet, even though it costs nothing and does so much, many employees fail to smile at clients, internal customers and vendors.
The next time a company wants to improve customer service, employee morale and sales, it can begin with something as simple as smiles. Those simple facial expressions that cost nothing can have a huge impact on the overall well-being of employees and customers alike.
Quote of the Week
“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” William Arthur Ward
© 2013, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.
