Let's Talk ... To Our Customers

04/07/2005

Last week I was in a little fender-bender accident. I was ok but my car needed some attention. Into the shop it went where it stayed for a week. Living in Atlanta it’s tough to get around without a car so I leased one from Enterprise…they pick-up and deliver.

I was surprised to receive not 1 but 2 customer service calls - the day after I got the car and the day after I returned it. It was a nice gesture and since nothing was “wrong” they scored high on their 4 point scale.

A few days later the DSL glitched out - once again(!). Minutes after Earthlink’s customer support guy walked me through resetting the computer I received an email customer service survey

With both companies the surveys were brief and structured. Enterprise offered an opportunity for an opened comment or two. Earthlink did not. Although it seemed like they were doing the “right thing” my feeling was it was a numbers game to show the powers that be that all was fine and dandy in the trenches. But did they really find out what I needed or wanted? Was there an opportunty they could have tapped into?

Do you know what your customers want? Marketing strategist, Jim Lange of The Media Center, recently reminded me that our best clients are the experts when it comes to what they need from us and they are experts about us too. According to Jim “the best communication is recipient-based.”

Here’s an easy question for you. When was the last time you talked to your best customers? I don’t mean a ten question scale survey. I don’t mean an email or a blog conversation. But a sit across the table do lunch conversation. If longer than 6-months consider this a gentle nudge…It’s Q2 2005…do you know what your customers want? If you don’t someone else might. 

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Tracked on May 11, 2005 10:41:55 PM

Comments

I've been a big fan of Enterprise for some time now, for this very reason. They hold a key to training staff that many business owners should be hungering for - make customer service and the need for real answers from customers a high priority. A simple recorded phone call won't cut it anymore - the human connection rules!

Posted by: Michele Miller on Apr 9, 2005 1:41:31 PM

I've found in my own business that people WANT to tell you what they think, and if you ask provacative thinkers, they may actually learn something from it. (I sell info-products, so the focus is often on how did you use this product, etc..) Best of all (and this certainly helps responses, I offer a nice digital gift in exchange. Now I realize I'm seldom motivated to complete a survey without a gift at the end. I think it's important to say thanks that way.

Suzanne Falter-Barns
Want to win a $4500 Marketing Makeover? Go to www.getknownnow.com/MMMentry.htm

Posted by: Suzanne Falter-Barns on Apr 11, 2005 10:35:00 AM

Your observation about business talking to their customers and asking them questions about their services is suppose to be common sense but often times it is not really too common and a lot of those customer service process don't make sense.

If only business ask their best or worst customers what it is that make customers like or hate them, they would not need expensive consultants to do needs analysis or niche identification research.

Posted by: Virgilio Paralisan on Nov 11, 2005 12:54:28 AM

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