Customer Contact Insights

Talk to Your Customers? Fast Company story.

I like the magazine Fast Company.  It has interesting articles that span a wide variety of industries and professions.  I was browsing through a past issue and found a GREAT article about what is wrong with many companies today!    This article talks about some changes that Credit Suisse is making due to....get this...actual customer input.  Crazy isn't it?  Here is a sample of the article that you can find by going to FAST COMPANY.

Mothers in the small Swiss village of Bulach may have been wary of the man with a goatee staring at them as they struggled to navigate an ATM, grocery bag in one hand, fractious child in the other. But the man didn't care what their PIN numbers were or how much money they had in their accounts. He wanted to know, Why didn't they just put the bag down?  

The answer: The bags were paper, and when the ground is wet--it rains a lot in Switzerland--putting them down means getting the contents soggy. Now, thanks to the man with the goatee, Stephan Kubler, the moms using the ATM at the Credit Suisse branch in Bulach can keep their groceries dry, by resting them on an inch-high grille.

Social Media's Impact on CRM

It’s almost a cliché to write about social networks like MY SPACE.  The trend of social networking and consumer generated content is changing the way consumers interact with products and brands as I write this.

The impact of the consumer generated content and social media is going to have a profound impact on the CRM industry.

This makes perfect sense because no one knows what consumers want more than consumers themselves.

I am closely watching the social media trends so you will probably see articles and references to this subject in my blog.

Here is an interesting article that I  saw in the Austin, Texas local paper.

Value of Good Customers

There is a rule in marketing that a happy customer tells at least one or two friends about their experience.  However, an unhappy customer  tells, on average, 11 other people. So for every one customer who is treated badly, there are a dozen people who have discussed the experience.

I tell my clients and I think it is very important to remember that being polite is a company’s best marketing tool.

Besides being a marketing tool, being polite is the right way to treat other people.  I know I sound like "Miss Manners" in some of my posts but it is a very simple thing to act on.

Fantasy Note

My last entry (okay, it was a rant) about a bad example of customer care happens everyday. I know that all of you have dozens of examples from your daily life.   In my case, nothing got done and so for the extra 10% that company “V” made by using the "retail center" they pissed off a customer of over 5 years.

In my fantasy, pretend world, here is what the company could do if they wanted to make it up to me.  Keep in mind, it should never have happened in the first place but below please read what I think they should do:

Dear Ms. Wright,
We realize that you have been a very valuable and loyal customer of our company for the last 5 years!  We really appreciate your business and want you to know that we deeply regret the incident that you recently had with one of our affiliate partner retail locations.  As you know these stores were originally put in place to facilitate access for our customers to have more conveniently located sales and service centers. 

Unfortunately, they do not all equally enforce the policies and principles that our company.  We apologize and are refunding you the price of your battery, along with 2 free months airtime use on your current plan. 

I assure you this type of customer treatment will not be tolerated by “Company V” going forward and we are seriously looking into our relationship with this partner.  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and we sincerely hope that you will continue to be a loyal customer of ours for years to come!

I know I am dreaming….but let me have my dream for just a little while longer.

CRM Example from Real Life

I recently had a horrible incident with my cellular provider.

My wireless provider (Company “V”), like other major carriers, are third party resellers for various products and services.  In addition to having their own stores, these providers typically distribute these products through still other third party owned retailers (according to them) for the benefit of their customers. By the time they get to us, the customer, we are now two removed from our wireless provider.

The problem is these guys know nothing about the products that they are selling, nor do they back them up with any kind of guarantee or refund policy.  In essence, they are “not liable” for any defects that occur after the sale of any parts or accessories, even if they cause your phone to lose service and die, which mine did after they sold me a cheap, lower grade battery as a replacement.  Do I sound bitter?  Read on.

I walked into this store, unknowingly, that has a big LOGO sign on the front and says “Cellular Phones”.  Everyone in there is wearing logo shirts with “Company V” and all the products have the “Company V” logo on them, hence I think this store is owned and run by my cellular provider.  How silly of me.

After they replace my cell phone battery for $49.23, I proceed to have nothing but problems.  My phone completely shuts down and turns itself off in the middle of calls.  The only way I can use it, is if it is plugged in.  This is kind of a problem for a “mobile” phone, don’t you think?

I go back to the store and I ask for help. They indicate that they are “only a retail center and that if I have a problem with the battery that I need to take it 20 miles away to a tech center store”.

I wait in line for an hour at the tech center, I finally get a very nice and smart salesperson to help me. He informs that the battery that they sold me is not even supposed to be for my phone! 

He also shares with me that the “retail center” is just a third party reseller store and that he gets many customers that have bad experiences at the “retail” center. 

Good customer service/sales guy gives me a new battery.  He tells me to go back to the “retail” center and get my money back.  He even gives me his card and tells me to have them call him if they have any questions.

I then go back to the store and they immediately tell me they have “NO”, not under any circumstances, refund policy.  I talk to the manager, I pull out the card from the decent customer rep and am still told that I am basically S.O.L.  I know you all have been there.

However, the cherry on the cake of my day was when the little guy on the side who has been quiet all this time says “Oh yea, that’s been happening to me all week, none of these batteries work”.

At this point I realized I was truly dealing with mindless idiots, who know nothing about the life-time value of a customer, or their word of mouth ability to crucify a business.

All I can say is to companies like “Company V” is this:  Pick your partners wisely.  Do you really want a loyal customer being treated this way, because of the 10% you made on a $49.23 battery sale?

Handwritten Notes to Customers

It sounds simple but in today’s email-IM-mobile world, notes to people that are actually mailed are often overlooked.  A short note or card to a customer that had a bad experience with your company is not only the nice thing to do but it pays off in terms of CRM.   The note doesn’t have to be from the CEO-----the impact of a handwritten note can be extremely effective.

A handwritten note, preferably on a personal notecard, is a powerful way to reach out to a customer.

For $25.00 you can order some nice note cards with your name, put your business card in it and send it out to a customer or potential customer. Go to Fabulous Stationery.

Fabulous Stationery has great note cards. It’s good business AND it would please your mother.

Another Business Blog

Alert the media.  Another business blog.

My business is customer relationship management.  If you want to use a "buzz" word, CRM.   This blog is to try to reach businesses that have customers.  I think that includes just about all of them from the small business owner to the giant corporatios. 

Here is my battle cry:  There is much time and money spent on fixing customer problems, soothing angry customers.  Businesses and corporations spend a fortune to advertise.  I am passionate about the fact that if businesses take care of their existing customers and understand their customers----there are fewer problems down the road.