Give the Gift of Superb Customer Service
I have posted a fair amount recently about the increasing importance of delivering great customer service - http://bit.ly/nf0or. I was reminded of this again when I came across another reference to what has become known as the "United Breaks Guitars" phenomenon. United repeatedly refused to listen and take corrective action after damaging the guitars of Dave Carroll. He eventually wrote a song in response (see video below), and the rest is history with 6 Million views and untold damage to United.
In a world where consumer and peer reviews are available via social media, positive customer experiences become amplified and produce word-of-mouth referrals. On the flip side, negative customer experiences become amplified as well and can be kryptonite to even great companies. Compare and think about the impact of the two videos below.
Customer Service is Where Marketing Begins
It's not rocket science. Listen to your customers. Try to deliver value to them and give them the tools to share their positive experiences. When they have negative experiences, be the first to hear them, take responsibility, and "make it right". You'll be surprised at how many of them you can convert into advocates.
There are no excuses. There are great tools available that cost almost nothing and enable you to be found, listen, and engage your customers in minutes a day.
So step up and give the gift of superb customer service this holiday season. Your customers and your bottom-line will thank you for it!
Links
Videos
- 2 years ago
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Just saw your post on Battelle and clicked over. Well said and ties in with something I heard a few months ago - "customer service is the new PR"
2 years agoIt's so simple yet so very few companies get it. Provide great service and customer kudos will naturally follow. They'd rather just try to cram their standard PR and marketing down the social media channel.
So true. This study released today http://mashable.com/2009/11/17/fortune-100-companies-twitter/ makes it even more clear that large businesses are missing the opportunity and wrongly using Twitter and other social media primarily as broadcast mechanisms.
2 years agoThis will change a LOT in the coming year because customers will reward the businesses who exhibit the right behaviors and fully engage with their customers online.