How can you deliver a better customer experience (or prospect experience for that matter) with your campaigns? How can you achieve better customer service along the way?
The answer to that question just may be in terms of how we as marketers and advertisers take the time to engineer our programs/campaign to properly (not just adequately) deal with response - on all levels and aspects. I’m not simply talking about order-desk capabilities, the 800 number to call or landing page to visit for more details.
Are you accountable for your programs? Are you accessible to customers and prospects? Are you responsible in terms of your responsiveness? Have you ever taken the time to speak with a customers or prospects that find their way through to you?
I am speaking about how we marketers (the initiators of the initiatives) enable customers to direct their complaints, questions or compliments back to us. In other words, taking the time and effort to cover off the logical outcomes of our campaigns being in market
that go beyond simple frontline awareness and training in support of said campaigns.
More directly, are you putting your name, title and contact information on correspondence with customers so they themselves can easily find you? If you created the campaign, are you making yourself accessible and accountable for it?
If you are a marketer that creates programs and have not established a direct path for customers to follow leading right back to your office, then perhaps it may be time to adjust the formula and address the importance of accountability, accessibility and responsiveness in your mix.
As a consumer, how many times have you responded to an email or called a number and wished you had some ones name to ask for? Someone who won’t let your concerns fall through cracks? Consumers may want to contact you but give up before they tried because they know the outcome – no one probably cares enough to publicly associate themselves with the marketing effort. No one is accountable or accessible.
Granted, if you are courageous and willing to put yourself out there to be found, for the most part, people willing to take the time to call or write are likely to be complaining about something. However, being accessible and responsive creates those relationship defining moments where you can differentiate your brand.
I speak from personal experience here. It is not my ego at play when I insist that my name goes on communications. I think it is only fair and just that recipients know who sent the message and have the ability to get back in touch. It is a common courtesy just in case anyone requires a human path back into the institution - it is there for the taking.
The reality is that 99.9% of customers won’t, but it is there just in case - a reassurance.
Yes, we are all busy. But are we really too busy to speak to those who respond to what we initiated, good, bad or otherwise.
I guess my question is “What are you scared of”? If you don’t care enough to close the loop and ensure you have the ability to speak to people first-hand, then perhaps you should rethink what you do for a living. That is what the conversation is all about.
Thanks to Michelle for reminding me of the obvious hat is sometimes not so obvious.
Technorati Tags: Customer Service Accountability Accessibility Responsiveness Marketing
