We see that communication is critical to any human relationship - that between a husband and wife, between parent and child, between employer and employee, between teacher and student, between roommates, between friends. And between company and customer.
A countdown timer announcing "time until next ride" can help reduce impatience among customers waiting in line for a ride at an amusement park.
A response email acknowledging receipt of a complaint and assuring a quick resolution can help a customer feel that his issue has been heard and is being addressed.
An easily-found set of guidelines for what constitutes an acceptable submission can help customers to contribute better customer-created content to a social media campaign.
A periodic phone call to check on a client can help her to feel that she is cared for and that her vendor is eager to meet her needs.
A notice that a service provider has not received payment from a customer can help to uncover the oversight and elicit payment before service is discontinued.
A voluntary recall of a defective product and an immediate, free replacement can help to prevent customer injury and mitigate ill-will toward a brand.
Good, timely communication is such a simple thing, requiring little of your time, effort, and money. Regular communication - even a quick "how are you doing? what can we do to serve you?" helps to maintain a strong customer relationship. An immediate and courteous response to a frustrated customer helps to restore the customer's sense that the company really does care and really is working to make things right. These forms of communication are quick, painless, and inexpensive (or free).
Lack of communication causes the tenuous, tense, or broken customer relationships that lead to expensive fixes - customer service wars, legal battles, reparation to soothe an irate customer, or a lifetime of value lost when a customer leaves.
What damages might have been reduced, whose reputation strengthened, or which customers retained through simple, clear, timely, reliable communication from your company?
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationship. Show all posts
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Context
Meaning comes not just from the words spoken, but also by what is being spoken around them.
For example:
"Alright, Stacey, the show is starting. You're on in five minutes."
"Thanks, Joe."
"Break a leg, kiddo."
versus
"Well, Tony, did you get it?"
"Nah, Boss. He doesn't have the money. What should I do?"
"Break a leg."
In each of these examples, the phrase "break a leg" is given a distinct meaning based on the context of the conversation. The context is affected by the characters involved, the location, the timing, the events leading up to the conversation, and the other words spoken in or before the conversation.
Marketing messages, too, are impacted by context.
As marketers, we need to know the context of a situation before we start spewing marketing messages. Some contextual information can be gathered fairly easily from examining current news, the rest of the market, and the marketing efforts of partners and competitors. Other information (like the number of marketing emails one customer has received, or a customer's attitude toward a particular brand, or the current state of a customer's life) can only be gathered by having a relationship with the customer. By caring about what the customer thinks, feels, and has to say. By keeping track of how (and how much) you have communicated with the customer in the past. By asking for - and listening to - the customer's comments, expectations, frustrations, and concerns.
As marketers, we have to pay attention to context. Our audience's perceptions are acutely shaped by it; our messages are changed by it. We must listen to it.
For example:
"Alright, Stacey, the show is starting. You're on in five minutes."
"Thanks, Joe."
"Break a leg, kiddo."
versus
"Well, Tony, did you get it?"
"Nah, Boss. He doesn't have the money. What should I do?"
"Break a leg."
In each of these examples, the phrase "break a leg" is given a distinct meaning based on the context of the conversation. The context is affected by the characters involved, the location, the timing, the events leading up to the conversation, and the other words spoken in or before the conversation.
Marketing messages, too, are impacted by context.
- $2.01/gallon for gasoline is a terrific price - on June 3, 2010. In America. When the gas station across the street is selling gas for $2.47/gallon. It's an abominable price on June 3, 1990 in America, when the guy across the street is selling gas for $1.19/gallon.
- An OxiClean commercial starring Billy Mays was a mundane occurrence on June 27, 2009 (the day before Billy's death). The same commercial had a very different effect on June 29, 2009.
- An email offering a 25% discount on an item could be a welcome surprise to a customer - unless the customer is an overworked businesswoman whose inbox is full of 80 similar unread messages and who has just sworn to forever boycott the next company who sends her an email.
As marketers, we need to know the context of a situation before we start spewing marketing messages. Some contextual information can be gathered fairly easily from examining current news, the rest of the market, and the marketing efforts of partners and competitors. Other information (like the number of marketing emails one customer has received, or a customer's attitude toward a particular brand, or the current state of a customer's life) can only be gathered by having a relationship with the customer. By caring about what the customer thinks, feels, and has to say. By keeping track of how (and how much) you have communicated with the customer in the past. By asking for - and listening to - the customer's comments, expectations, frustrations, and concerns.
As marketers, we have to pay attention to context. Our audience's perceptions are acutely shaped by it; our messages are changed by it. We must listen to it.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
My Apologies to the Twitterverse
Yesterday I was enlightened by a survey.
Not a survey that I administered. Not a survey in which hundreds or thousands of consumers responded, and which I, the marketing researcher, analyzed to glean data on consumer attitudes and interests and perceptions.
No. I was enlightened yesterday by a survey that I took.
It was a survey from Twitter, asking about respondents' Twitter usage. In addition to basic demographic information, it asked things like, "Through which applications do you use Twitter?" and "What kinds of information do you like to find on Twitter?" and "What kinds of information sources would you like to find more easily on Twitter?"
The part that enlightened me was my response to this question:
"What is your main reason for using Twitter?"
The choices were something like (a) To give information; (b) To receive information; (c) To connect with other people; (d) Other.
My first instinct said "a". I use Twitter to give information - blog posts, local news, funny quips, interesting retweets.
And then my marketing brain kicked in. I remembered all of my marketing training - that marketing is about building relationships with customers so that marketers can learn how to serve them better, not just throwing products and advertisements at consumers. That marketing should be interactive. That marketing communication is about dialogue, not monologue. That marketers need to listen to their audiences, so that they can learn what customers want and need and desire and prefer and like and dislike.
And so, for a moment, I was tempted to choose the "right" answer - (c). But, for the sake of honesty, I had to stick with my original answer, (a).
Now don't get me wrong - using Twitter to provide information is a fine thing. People want to gain information from the individuals they follow - be it local news information, lifestyle updates from celebrities, sports scores and standings, personal comments about life from friends, or any other of the many types of information.
Providing this information to one's followers is a good thing. But one needs to be listening to his followers, customers, fans, audience members, critics, etc., before he can provide them the information that they are interested in hearing.
Celebrities and organizations and marketers who do not interact with their Twitter followers can still be listening through other sources - other online forums, blogs, polls, other social media networks, focus groups, surveys, in-store conversations with customers, etc. I, however, have not made it a priority to do these things - listening to people on Facebook, on my campus, on other authors' blogs, or on Twitter. This act of only pushing, never listening, is what gives marketers a bad name.
And for this, I apologize. To the Twitterverse, and to the universe of customers out there. I'm sorry that I haven't been listening.
And to my readers especially, I want to do a better job of listening to you. I want to hear what you are interested in, what you are passionate about, and what you would like to see my write about. Please feel invited to share your thoughts with me at any time here on my blog, or on Twitter (@HaleyDD).
From now on, I'll be listening.
Not a survey that I administered. Not a survey in which hundreds or thousands of consumers responded, and which I, the marketing researcher, analyzed to glean data on consumer attitudes and interests and perceptions.
No. I was enlightened yesterday by a survey that I took.
It was a survey from Twitter, asking about respondents' Twitter usage. In addition to basic demographic information, it asked things like, "Through which applications do you use Twitter?" and "What kinds of information do you like to find on Twitter?" and "What kinds of information sources would you like to find more easily on Twitter?"
The part that enlightened me was my response to this question:
"What is your main reason for using Twitter?"
The choices were something like (a) To give information; (b) To receive information; (c) To connect with other people; (d) Other.
My first instinct said "a". I use Twitter to give information - blog posts, local news, funny quips, interesting retweets.
And then my marketing brain kicked in. I remembered all of my marketing training - that marketing is about building relationships with customers so that marketers can learn how to serve them better, not just throwing products and advertisements at consumers. That marketing should be interactive. That marketing communication is about dialogue, not monologue. That marketers need to listen to their audiences, so that they can learn what customers want and need and desire and prefer and like and dislike.
And so, for a moment, I was tempted to choose the "right" answer - (c). But, for the sake of honesty, I had to stick with my original answer, (a).
Now don't get me wrong - using Twitter to provide information is a fine thing. People want to gain information from the individuals they follow - be it local news information, lifestyle updates from celebrities, sports scores and standings, personal comments about life from friends, or any other of the many types of information.
Providing this information to one's followers is a good thing. But one needs to be listening to his followers, customers, fans, audience members, critics, etc., before he can provide them the information that they are interested in hearing.
Celebrities and organizations and marketers who do not interact with their Twitter followers can still be listening through other sources - other online forums, blogs, polls, other social media networks, focus groups, surveys, in-store conversations with customers, etc. I, however, have not made it a priority to do these things - listening to people on Facebook, on my campus, on other authors' blogs, or on Twitter. This act of only pushing, never listening, is what gives marketers a bad name.
And for this, I apologize. To the Twitterverse, and to the universe of customers out there. I'm sorry that I haven't been listening.
And to my readers especially, I want to do a better job of listening to you. I want to hear what you are interested in, what you are passionate about, and what you would like to see my write about. Please feel invited to share your thoughts with me at any time here on my blog, or on Twitter (@HaleyDD).
From now on, I'll be listening.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Social Context, part 1
In the first century A.D., a Jewish rabbi from the town of Nazareth in Galilee hand-picked twelve men to be his disciples. After a period of time, he sent these disciples out by twos to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick and afflicted among the people of Israel. And he gave them some interesting instructions for the task:
"Take nothing for your journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra undergarments. And whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from that place." (Luke 9:3-4)
Strange requirements. If you travel extensively as part of your work - as a touring musician, or a motivational speaker, or a political candidate, or a sales representative - don't you usually take a suitcase? and a change of clothes? and, above all, a credit card?
So why would this Jesus of Nazareth instruct his disciples to leave these things behind as they traveled around the countryside to preach?
Likely there were multiple reasons. But consider this one:
If you're traveling from town to town for weeks (months? years?) on end, without having any money to buy food or a hotel room, you are forced to rely on the people you encounter in each town. You are forced to speak with people in each town - to meet them, to engage them in conversation, to tell a compelling story to them, to pique their interest, to build a relationship that benefits both yourself and them.
If, on the other hand, you have the ability within yourself to supply all of your own needs, you may find it easier to become an island. To be totally self-reliant. To avoid community and collaboration. To isolate yourself from others, never to connect with others (i.e. your clients, your potential clients, your coworkers) at all.
If your success and survival depended entirely upon your relationships with other people, how would that change the way you approach your work and your life?
"Take nothing for your journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra undergarments. And whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from that place." (Luke 9:3-4)
Strange requirements. If you travel extensively as part of your work - as a touring musician, or a motivational speaker, or a political candidate, or a sales representative - don't you usually take a suitcase? and a change of clothes? and, above all, a credit card?
So why would this Jesus of Nazareth instruct his disciples to leave these things behind as they traveled around the countryside to preach?
Likely there were multiple reasons. But consider this one:
If you're traveling from town to town for weeks (months? years?) on end, without having any money to buy food or a hotel room, you are forced to rely on the people you encounter in each town. You are forced to speak with people in each town - to meet them, to engage them in conversation, to tell a compelling story to them, to pique their interest, to build a relationship that benefits both yourself and them.
If, on the other hand, you have the ability within yourself to supply all of your own needs, you may find it easier to become an island. To be totally self-reliant. To avoid community and collaboration. To isolate yourself from others, never to connect with others (i.e. your clients, your potential clients, your coworkers) at all.
If your success and survival depended entirely upon your relationships with other people, how would that change the way you approach your work and your life?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Text Messages and Serving the Customer
A friend of mine told me recently about a smoothie shop in her town that is making good use of mobile technology to serve their customers.
Visitors to the smoothie shop can sign up to receive SMS updates from the store. The shop sends a daily text message to its subscribers, telling them about the special of the day and sometimes offering extra discounts, such as "Visit us today and show us this text message to receive 50% off any large smoothie!"
Social media and other digital communications tools like SMS, Twitter, Facebook, and email can be a great way to offer something extra to your customers and to build a better customer relationship. Here are a few reasons (and rules) for why this works:
For building customer relationships, these communications methods can be a great tool. But remember, as with any marketing effort, your SMS and social media communications should serve the customer, not just serve you.
Visitors to the smoothie shop can sign up to receive SMS updates from the store. The shop sends a daily text message to its subscribers, telling them about the special of the day and sometimes offering extra discounts, such as "Visit us today and show us this text message to receive 50% off any large smoothie!"
Social media and other digital communications tools like SMS, Twitter, Facebook, and email can be a great way to offer something extra to your customers and to build a better customer relationship. Here are a few reasons (and rules) for why this works:
- It's welcome. Perhaps the number one reason why these forms of communication can be successful at building customer relationships is that they require the organization to ask the customers' permission. (Seth Godin wrote a great book back in 1999 that explains how and why Permission Marketing works.) Your customers must opt-in to this service. They - not you - get to choose whether they receive your communications every day (or week, or what-have-you). Customers who view such messages as spam will not receive the service. Those who do subscribe to the service will not view your messages as spam (and if they did, they could unsubscribe).
- It's expected. Your customers know what messages they will receive from you, and how often, because you tell them before they even sign up. You post point-of-sale advertisements in your shop that tell them how they can "sign up for free [daily/weekly] messages containing [updates/news/coupons/special offers] via [text message/email/Twitter/Facebook]." Or you print this information on your packaging. Or your sales clerks ask them if they would like to sign up as they check out (and then direct them to a paper or digital sign up sheet, rather than putting them on the spot by asking for their contact information verbally).
- It's easy. Your subscribers get your information pushed to their email inboxes, Facebook accounts, or mobile phones. They don't have to go searching for your news and coupons on your website, via Google, or in your store. And your messages are short, so they don't take long to read. If you have too much to say (i.e. more than 140 characters, whether or not you are using Twitter), you give the customer a headline and a link to a webpage that contains all of the information. If they are interested in the headline, they can follow the link. If not, they can delete your message.
- It's helpful. You send these messages for the purpose of serving the customer. You give them information that they would like to hear. You give them information that they care about. If your organization serves smoothies, you distribute links to articles about healthy foods and healthy living. If you sell bicycles, you distribute links to news about cycling and cyclists. If you provide business services, you distribute links to information about industry developments and best practices. And, when appropriate, you distribute special offers for your products and services. Every message you send to your subscribers should serve your subscribers.
For building customer relationships, these communications methods can be a great tool. But remember, as with any marketing effort, your SMS and social media communications should serve the customer, not just serve you.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Few Favorites, and Merry Christmas
I write this post from Terminal C of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, as I await the magical metal bird that will carry me home for the holidays. Tonight I will not be sharing any profound marketing wisdom with you, other than this:
Whatever holiday you celebrate, take some time this December to spend it with people who care for you. Shut down your laptop, disable the wireless connection on your iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, or what-have-you, and devote time to really matters: the people in our lives. You can't be a good marketer without first being a healthy person.
That said, below is a brief selection of some of my personal favorite (read: funniest) marketing efforts that I've seen in the past month. Evaluate their effectiveness on your own.
Enjoy! And merry Christmas!
Volkswagen New Polo - Rumour commercial
Last year's viral video from JCPenney, "Beware of the Doghouse"
And the recent sequel, "Return to the Doghouse"
Last but not least, take a moment to call the Nestle Crunch hotline at 1-800-295-0051. After the prompt asks you to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, wait 10 seconds. What you hear next is worth it! (Friendly commenters, please don't spoil the surprise!)
Whatever holiday you celebrate, take some time this December to spend it with people who care for you. Shut down your laptop, disable the wireless connection on your iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, or what-have-you, and devote time to really matters: the people in our lives. You can't be a good marketer without first being a healthy person.
That said, below is a brief selection of some of my personal favorite (read: funniest) marketing efforts that I've seen in the past month. Evaluate their effectiveness on your own.
Enjoy! And merry Christmas!
Volkswagen New Polo - Rumour commercial
Last year's viral video from JCPenney, "Beware of the Doghouse"
And the recent sequel, "Return to the Doghouse"
Last but not least, take a moment to call the Nestle Crunch hotline at 1-800-295-0051. After the prompt asks you to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, wait 10 seconds. What you hear next is worth it! (Friendly commenters, please don't spoil the surprise!)
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