This video I just snatched off the tweetsteam like a Pooh Stick encapsulates a couple of things I've been thinking about of late.
This dude had his guitar damaged in handling on United. Shame.
These things happen though [I've never had the nerve to take a guitar on a flight], and, ultimately, I think he would have been cool with it if a United Representative had accepted blame [they appear to have accepted that it happened, but passed the buck endlessly around the system.]
This is what really, really, really gets me hot under the collar.
Customer service representatives that won't give you a name or way to contact them back directly, that bounce you around the system, leave you on hold, and finally drop the call when you become too irritating – and there's NOTHING YOU CAN DO.
Each individual wants an easy life, working in a call centre or late night customer service desk for minimum wage desk doesn't tend you make you especially invested in the BRAND, so you palm them off, get rid off them, drop the call.
In fact, most call centers bonus you on volume of calls handled – so it's actually going to cost you money to keep talking to this person with a problem you simply haven't been empowered to solve.
One of the the things that social media is driving is the breakdown of the corporate firewall.
Tony from Zappos tweeted recently:
Whilst this is a nice thought, it's a lot easier to be open like this if you are small and act that way from the start.
Big corporations have structures and legal departments and lots of other inertia that makes this harder.
But there is a huge opportunity here.
Until recently, these complaints were locked into an individual's sphere of influence, which was limited until social media gave everyone a voice.
Additionally, social media is, usually, overheard, as I mention in the cultural latency piece.
So there are two directions this can go in.
1. Keep acting like one person doesn't make a difference and see how much time, effort and creativity that one person will deploy to get his frustration out in to the world [as above] and see how receptive the world is to such messaging because we have all experience the same [as in this post and the tweets that sent it my way]
2. Decide Customer Service the MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU DO, because the only route to profit is MAKING CUSTOMERS HAPPY and do it in PUBLIC, reach out to people, don't put the onus on the individual to battle through the firewall, constantly monitor the social web for people who are unsatisfied with the product or service you sell and MAKE THEM HAPPY.
Then, customer service becomes marketing, and every person you make happy will sing your praises across the web.
[UPDATE: United have responded. One of my mentors, Nick Kendall [Global Head of Strategy for BBH], once told me that one of the things he loved most about brands were that they were accountable. You could always track back from the trustmark to the company and demand satisfaction. Now, in a world when an individual's voice can be as loud as a brand's, they are more accountable than ever.]
This deck I just saw from the Global Director of Digital Strategy touches on some of the same thoughts.
22 responses to “Customer Service is Marketing”
Grrr… bad customer service makes me so angry! On my last trip to the States I flew on no less than 10 different United flights. Overall customer service was all right – if you could find someone. I was in Denver searching desperately for my connecting flight and instead of customer services reps in the customer service centre they had phones – phones which connected you to a call centre somewhere in a cloud… Not in Denver and not very useful. Anyway – that’s just a rant. But speaking of airlines BA is a FANTASTIC example of how horrific customer service results in some passionate, negative PR – just Google ‘British Airways Sucks’. Customer service is one of the most important touchpoints a consumer has with your brand and it AMAZES me that big, service oriented brands can seemingly ignore this channel.
People love to talk about the service they receive, both good and bad. The good news is that great customer service makes for powerful marketing.
It’s the perfect stimulus for sharing. A funny video on YouTube can get attention, but when someone raves about the great service they get from your brand, it engages others: those people then recount the experience with their friends too, and people actually connect with the brand’s story.
Brands are supposed to make our lives better, and that’s what good customer service is all about. So, rather than spending huge sums on a ‘viral’ video, why not invest more in service people, and inspire them to become your brand’s heroes? More thoughts here: http://eskimon.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/bounce-back-better/
Accentuate the negative and then eliminate it. That is – work out what will make customers unhappy and make sure it doesn’t happen. Given that unhappy customers tell way more people about their bad experience than do satisfied ones, it’s arguably a much better approach than proselytising about supposed customer benefits via advertising (oops).
Was given this book by the head of global marketing at Vodafone. It makes utter sense and totally re-arranges priorities. Awesome post dude
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Through-Implementing-Enterprises-Professional/dp/1403935033/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247133999&sr=1-11
…ha ha ha…having said that the review of my recommended book reads:
Curiously unsatisfying work
Hi mate,
I bang on about this a load on my blog. It’s a pure relationship with a brand. How often do you usually get a chance to ring up a brand and talk to them on the phone? Brands need to realise that every negative call from a consumer is a superb opportunity to turn it into a positive.
Some from my blog: VW:
http://markhadfield.typepad.com/that_gormandizer_man/2009/06/so-what-follows-is-a-blog-post-about-twitter-not-sure-if-anyone-has-written-a-blog-post-about-twitter-before-so-obviously-e.html
Diner:
http://markhadfield.typepad.com/that_gormandizer_man/2009/05/being-better-than-acceptable.html
thetrainline.com:
http://markhadfield.typepad.com/that_gormandizer_man/2009/03/thetrainlinecom-fail-part-two.html
There are a few others on there too if you can be bothered to root around.
yessir.
and this goes hand-in-hand with Adrian’s broader notion of operations as marketing:
http://www.zeusjones.com/blog/2009/great-examples-of-how-operations-can-become-marketing/
I heard somewhere that Amazon don’t have a marketing team anymore, they just have a highly-developed customer service team. Not sure if it completely true (search marketing needs to happen for example), but it is an interesting development.
I think all of us would say that good customer service is marketing, but perhaps we can also say that most good marketing is actually customer service. If you can service your customers pro-actively, rather than waiting for complaints, then that is even better.
I agree wholeheartedly with you, faris. But I’m wondering – what truly inspires reps to feel compelled to carry out their company’s commitment to great customer service? How can companies reward their public-facing employees in more effective ways? It seems some (jetblue, Trader Joe’s) have figured it out, while others are failing to offer the right incentives. having worked in the service industry, I know how important the element of validation (tips, mutual respect/kindness, healthy work environment) was for me. Reps can almost always count on having to endure a day full of pissed off customers and complaints. What can we offer (equity? more $$?) to motivate them to do better?
Having lived in the states I truly hate United. Like traveling with a sick Aunt.
However, BA saved me on a trip to London. A very nice air-hostess allowed me to sneak my Gibson onto the plane between seat and window rather than leave it to the handlers in the hold.
A little action such as that has gone a long way to secure my loyalty. The problem as always is consistency. Amid the deluge of emails I receive from BA is one that states that despite millions of miles, my points don’t make the grade and I lose premium status. I am back to being one of the masses not an individual.
It’s a shame that there isn’t a more discerning / less mechanical and more personal approach to customer service.
I would prefer to be classified as a “person” in these days of individual choice, rather than a “customer” and would prefer “personal service” rather than an anonymous “customer experience”.
interesting thing is on customer service
A recent trip to the Future Foundation changing lives seminar in London showed that across Europe customer satisfaction levels had generally increased during the recession.
I guess the real fear of loosing customers has finally made brands take a little more notice
Le sigh. Being a person that transports his guitars all over the place with him, the thought breaks my heart. Last year I wrote a short marketing mantra that ended in a fifth point – the most remarkable thing you can do is have remarkable customer service.
End of.
hope so – i guess marketing as retention may finally come to the fore 😉
Hi,
Nice post! You have worked hard on jotting down the essential information. Keep sharing the good work in future too.
Professional Business Plan
Yeah, bad customer service makes me so angry too!
-Daniel
Hi,
If you want to run your business successfully and it all based on customer service, than it is necessary that you hired those employees who have the ability to tell clients each and everything. Bad customer service makes me so angry…huh. This will ruin your business reputation. A good customer service makes your business powerful and people will remember about your product or business. You have shared good post on customer service. Thanks, keep up the good work.
Help Desk Outsourcing
I think this post is brilliant. This article really resonated with me.Customer service is an integral part of job and should not be seen as an extension of it. A company’s most vital asset is its customers. Without them, we would not and could not exist in business. When you satisfy customers, they not only help us grow by continuing to do business with you, but recommend you to friends and associates.
Charlie
Yeah! Customer service is marketing. Anyway, I believe that Customer service is vital to the success of any business. Despite how good your product or service is, customer service can make you or it can break you. Thanks for sharing.
-fern-
I totally agree that the only route to profit is by making customers happy. Whenever a customer is happy or satisfied with your product or service, it will generate more customers in the future. And the more customers are satisfied, the more profit it will produce.
Poor customer services is always been not a good image for everyone,customer service for me cannot be a marketing,most of the customer services only give good info for everyone to satisfied.
Thanks for this. I really like what you’ve posted here and wish you the best of luck with this blog and thanks for sharing.
http://www.surveytool.com/customer-complaints/
the simple golf swing system by david nevogt
Talent imitates, genius steals: Customer Service is Marketing