Imagine this marketing scenario: You have a chance to talk one-on-one, not with mere prospects, but with actual customers. And they’ve gone out of their way to talk to you. With an issue of great concern to them.
You’d kill for that, right?
But companies kill that opportunity all the time. When customers call for help, that’s when you should really shine if you want to make a lasting, favorable impression.
Case in point: Friday, I had to resolve some difficulties with an Amazon book I had tried to send to a friend. It didn’t get to him, but was instead routed to an unknown post office. So I contacted Amazon.
First of all, they had a feature on its site for an immediate call-back and they were true to their word; I had hardly finished typing when the phone rang. Within seconds, I was talking to a live human being — a real person, not a “if you want X, press 1 now” virtual anger-stimulator. And she was competent; once she understood the nature of the problem, she called USPS herself, while I was on hold, to reroute the package. Then she returned to me with a promise that she’d call me Monday with the latest update on the package.
Now, how do you think I feel? Yes, I’m satisfied. And I have renewed appreciation for Amazon; I can shop with them confidently, secure in the knowledge that one way or another, this is a transaction that’s going to work.
But is your call center making the same impression with customers? Or are you so enamored with cost-cutting that you’d rather blow a critical brand opportunity to save a few cents on customer service? Instead of “saving” money, save your customers. Your bottom-line will thank you.
Another way to seize an otherwise missed opportunity, this time with surveys you can turn into ebooks.