OK, that’s out of the way. To me, the best part about Halloween is that it marks the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season. At Macy’s in Herald Square, just a quick jaunt around the corner from CRM magazine’s office in Midtown Manhattan, you can already see Christmas lights being strewn up in preparation.
Not only are people getting a head start on hanging lights to spread holiday cheer, but they are also shopping earlier. With an economy that make many say “no, no, no” instead of “ho, ho, ho,” consumers are looking for the best prices as early as possible as their budgets for discretionary purchases continue to shrink.
With less than two months left until floors are littered with torn wrapping paper with images of sleighs, Charlie Brown, snowmen, and other images of holiday yore, many small businesses looking to cash in during this usually prime shopping season seem to be increasingly focused on shoring up the customer experience it provides to those poring through their shelves — or online catalogs. As my fellow CRMer Lauren McKay points out in an earlier blog post, the stakes are even higher this year for businesses because of the economic downturn.
A study conducted by RatePoint, a Needham, Mass.-based customer feedback solution provider for small-to-midsize businesses (SMB) finds companies are getting the message loud and clear:
more than 80 percent said business reputation and solid customer support impacts their ability to attract and retain consumers;
forty percent report they are hiring up to five new employees for customer support over the holidays to help manage inquiries, orders, and returns; and
most will spend an average of 10 hours monitoring their reputation to safeguard against any possible early warning signs of customer issues.
To Richard Turcott, chief marketing officer or RatePoint, this shows him many in the SMB segment are realizing the importance of forging quality customer relationships, as he says this is directly correlated with company reputation. He was particularly shocked by the second survey nugget, the fact that almost half of SMB owners say they’re hiring up to five new employees despite the economic environment.
While he admits the new hires may not all be full time, it is the principle that matters most. “The SMBs are sticking their necks out, providing exemplary support, and demonstrating they are customer-centric businesses,” he says. “These [new additions] are primarily part-time employees, but [nonetheless] provide a great view in which the small business community sees feedback and service as an important driver to helping them stay strong through this tough economic climate. These [organizations] are building equity rather than short-term hits.”
In a time when Web 2.0 technology is the soapbox du jour for many consumers sounding off about a company’s products or services, having a strategy to proactively cull and act upon customer feedback is even more important. “The prevalence of social media perpetuates the ease in which competitors and disgruntled employees can say negative things about a business,” Turcott says. “For small businesses, it’s more a necessity than a luxury to actively manage its online reputation. If they don’t know it now, they will very soon.”
For the SMBs — and also larger enterprises — out there gearing up for the holiday season, what strategies are you using to manage customer feedback and consequently improve the experience your shoppers have?
“See ya later,” says Mike in the red polo shirt as he hands me my change. I grab my pack of Trident and 32-ounce fountain drink and exit the glass doors of my local QuikTrip. I say aloud, “I love how the QT guys know me well enough that they say ‘See ya later,’ to me. They know I’ll be back tomorrow.” My friend flashes her “You’ve got to be kidding me” face. “They say, ‘See ya later’ to everyone,” she says, bursting my bubble and not seeming to care. Crushed as I was that the QuikTrip employees weren’t singling me out for my repeat business, I couldn’t help thinking what a simple, yet great customer service and branding idea that is. That one phrase made the cross-over from formal to friendly. If I was fooled by the “See ya later,” surely others were too (right?). QuikTrip, although a Tulsa-based convenience store chain (sorry you coasters, it’s mostly in the Midwest and the South) still maintains that neighborhood-store kind of feel, where you think everyone might know your name.
That got me thinking about corportate catch-phrases — ones to convey brand identity and remind customers what company they are interacting with. [Sidenote: In college, I waitressed at a sports bar that insisted on its servers shouting "Game On!" when placing plates of food in front of guests. Needless to say, I did not last long at that particular establishment.] It truly can make a difference, albeit slight, in the customer experience. The trick is to make the saying short enough to not warrant a phone click. Think of being on the phone with a customer service rep. Your need has just been taken care of and now all you want to do is get off the phone, but the rep starts spealing into a memorized/read monologue to the extent of, “We value your business Mr. XXX at XYZ. We hope you…blah, blah, blah.” Do you stay on the phone until the agent has finished his required speech? Or do you try to hurry the ordeal along with several snippy “yeahs,” “uh huhs,” and “thanks.” [Hint: the agent won't speed up... no matter how ubruptly you encourage it.] Or do you simply end the call without hearing how grateful the agent is for your call and your business?
It’s funny how words can make such a difference. When researching this topic, I came across a list of the “Top 15 Things Retailers Should Never Say.” I think many of these can be applied to CRM in general:
I don’t know
All sales are final
Calm down
Did you see any?
We’re closed
Will that be all?
It’s over there
I can’t do that
That’s not my department
We’re out of that
It’s against our policy
I’m new here
Hold on
I’m busy right now
You’re wrong
Now perhaps I’ll start paying closer attention to what retailers and contact center agents say after I give them my business. Whether it’s “See ya later,” “Game on!” or just a simple “Thank you, come again,” a little communication is always better than nothing at all. And what might really get me to come back? That’s right, service with a smile.
On Tuesday, we ran a news story about how marketers/businesses who have invested in online marketing and Web analytics are going to continue doing so. This, according to Jim Sterne, author of the report and founder of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (eMOS), is a testament to the fact that those who are using these tools are seeing results and standing by them.
The Association of National Advertisers concluded its “Masters of Marketing” conference two weeks ago (Oct. 16-19) and it, too, launched a survey to its attendees. Though this one captured a much wider audience (approx. 1,400 attendees comprised of marketers, analysts, and agencies), results still point to a similar conclusion — marketing budgets, in general, aren’t plummeting as much as everyone had feared, as long as they’re showing the numbers (and the money). In fact, BtoB magazine will be hosting a Webcast tomorrow where Stefan Tournquist, Research Director at MarketingSherpa, “explains why cutting budgets in a tight economy may be a shortsighted approach.”
Check out the survey and results after the jump, as well as a few words from Barbara Bacci Mirque, executive vice president at the ANA.
Maybe it’s a side effect of skimming the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal every morning, but I’m starting to feel really bad for people who work in finance. Not all of them, of course; the ones who got us all into the mess we’re in deserve the scorn they’re receiving, along with some corporate alchemy (turning golden parachutes into lead). But banking and financial services are huge industries that everybody depends upon, and the worldwide ugliness we’re experiencing has got to be taking a heavy personal and professional toll on the folks who are left holding the bag.
Banks and investment groups are bigger brands today than ever before in history — though I can’t say I’ve done a whole lot of research to back that up — so whenever there’s news of a crisis or misstep, everything related to that brand takes a hit, and so does public confidence in general. The latest victims are in the Persian Gulf; Kuwait is planning a bank bailout, and Saudi Arabia is about to loan some $2.3 billion to low-income borrowers. (Link may require free registration.) Qatar’s stock market lost nearly 9 percent of its value yesterday. If you think they didn’t like the U.S. before, just wait — blame for the worldwide economic ugliness can be laid at our doorstep, and I’m sure some more fists will be shaken in our direction before this is over.
How do bankers and investment brokers deal with all this, and keep their customers from putting their money in the First National Bank of Mattress? you knew I’d work my way back to this … the answer is good CRM practices. The banking industry should be marketing the safest account options for individuals and businesses, and brokers should emphasize the securities that are the most, er, secure. They have to turn a profit, but the way to do this is to restore a feeling of confidence — relative to the rest of the world, if not absolute — that will encourage smart saving and sound investment. Account managers have to be even more consultative than usual, and make sure they’re selling a good solution for what the customer wants. If ever there was a time for long-term thinking, it’s now. Well-served customers are not only more likely to keep their business with you, but to keep their business — period. With financial uncertainty comes greater risk of failure, and any further mishandling at this point can destroy lives and livelihoods.
The need for good CRM is evident in any business when times are tight; financial services companies just have it harder right now because of the huge black eye they’re sporting. As with many shakeups in the past, the key is confidence. Panic leads to disaster, and FDR’s words have never rung more true: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
There are just some things that you wish to keep personal and out of the public eye. Thanks to the amassing of information on the Web, community forums and wikis, and even social networking, social engagement and the quest for knowledge is able to be done behind a computer screen and anonymous, if the user so wishes.
Take Ask.com’s most recent adverstising campaign, for example. The search engine is taking the approach that you can ask virtually any question you want online, from whatever identity you choose.
At last week’s Teradata Partners conference in Las Vegas, a rep from retail store JC Penny presented on the benefits of online communities. When JC Penny launched its newest –and the biggest private brand launch for the Penny Co.– lingerie brand named Ambrielle, the Customer Relationship Marketing team wanted to create better brand recognition than it has with its existing lingerie brand Delicates. The team decided to launch a community site for Ambrielle to engage customers with a forum, feedback outlets, and news and promotions specifically for those community members.
The campaign began with trigger postcards, inviting recipients to visit the Ambrielle site, give feedback, and opt in for the Abrielle “Advisory Team” — a group in which, the presenter, admits they hadn’t really formulated. 65 percent of those who visited the site, opted in to join the team — a whopping number. Perhaps that shows that the topic of lingerie interests women; however, isn’t exactly a topic they would want to contribute about face-to-face.
What I’m getting at here is that social media and Web 2.0 are breaking barriers with customers. Companies are now able to communicate and converse with them about subjects that might have been taboo or just too personal in the past. Look at online dieting sites. The traffic is immense and the marketing targeted and valuable. User participation runs wild. Why? It’s a subject people care about, but need the shield of a computer screen to feel comfortable contributing.
Source: Official Website of Debt Advice in Austria
When life gives you lemons, they say, make lemonade.
When millions of people are in debt, banks say, give them financial offers that suit their predicament.
The New York Times today launched a multimedia series called The Debt Trap that examines how people fell into debt — which, for one woman, amounted to more than $280,000 — and the struggles they faced going in and climbing out.
The worst part of it is, while individuals and families are trying to get out, highly-targeted campaigns that were once viewed as serendipitous during the housing boom, are now viewed as tormentors.
Last November, in Cast a Narrow Net, I discussed the effectiveness of the trinity in targeted marketing: right time, right place, right message. The article discussed the value of knowing who your customers are in order to create a valuable relationship:
According to [Richard] Hren [of SPSS], the characteristics that affect the receptiveness of a consumer include family lifestyle, life stage, previous purchase patterns, and individual interests — but the story extends to more abstract components like attitudes, wants, needs, and desires. Getting that deep requires insight: “Take a close look at what data you already have,” [Rebecca] Wettemann [of Nucleus Research] says. “Look at what you can buy, or what you may be able to ask your customers for, through a survey or other means.”
Eventually, the parts will paint a clearer picture of the whole and targeting only gets better with time and attention. “You know you’ve got this whole ball of data,” Hren says. “The more refined and the more clear you can make that, then reaching out to customers, building lists, communicating, and effectively driving that customer relationship management [can be done]. It’s never easy, but without that it’s nearly impossible.”
But what many marketers don’t understand is that aggregating data and building a list is “only the start of an optimization journey,” Forrester’s [Suresh] Vittal says. Basically, after you’ve caught the customer’s attention, you can’t stop playing until you hear the whistle. “You need to think about your list optimization,” Vittal says. Marketers “think about the fact that they have a list, but they don’t think about the fact that, ‘OK, now I need to maximize the usage of this list.’ ” He recommends that each marketing department think about its list as one of that company’s most valuable investments. “You’ve put some initial skin in the game, if you will, to build a proper list, a targeted list,” he says. “Now what you have to think is, this is your asset.”
…
Your company’s customer list “needs to be managed, nurtured, maintained, and basically respected for the value that it has,” Hren says. “It’s not just a list of names — it’s much more than that.”
The ideal situation portrays the marketplace as a happy-go-lucky environment where companies give customers what they want and customers return the favor with their business. In today’s economy, however, is that banks may be giving customers what they may want — “2 platinum credit cards…offering a $10,000 credit limit if only she returned a $35 processing fee with her application” — but in reality, it’s the last thing they need.
Through aggregated databases from data firms, predictive modeling, and what one institution refers to as its “secret sauce,” banks are targeting those in debt. “It almost seems like they are trying to get you into trouble,” one homeowner told the NYT. Wasn’t this how we got into this mess in the first place?
A challenge with targeted marketing is knowing where to draw the line. Companies are hopefully already aware of avoiding the Big Brother, creepiness factor. Still, businesses dish out campaigns, but to what extent are they at fault for the repercussions? Does “TLC” include knowing what’s good for them or does it just come down to what’s good for the company? We all know what the answer should be, but to what degree is ethics actually driving the corporate world? If people aren’t dying as a direct result, is it fair game? Everyone’s pointing fingers — the data firms say it’s up to the banks to use the information responsibly, as I’m sure the banks assume consumers will make responsible decisions. Clearly, it’s all worked out so well.
Everyone has heard about — or experienced — at least one poor customer service experience at a local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office. Whether it’s waiting in a long line to simply take a new photo for your license, or ironing out the small registration problem you may have with a recently purchased car, the negative stereotype is ingrained in our brains.
Last night, on CBS’ show Big Bang Theory, there was a scene in which Sheldon Cooper — played by Jim Parsons — was trying to get his learner’s permit at the local DMV. Check out the two-minute clip here courtesy of cbs.com (please note that there is a 30-second advertisement at the beginning of the clip before launching you into the actual scene).
To sum it up, the depiction doesn’t put the customer service representative at the DMV in a good light whatsoever. Granted, Sheldon is asking a lot of questions that fall outside of her purview, but simply stating “I don’t give a damn” repeatedly is an awful example of customer service. At the same time, it reinforces every ancient notion of the horrid experiences many may have had at the DMV.
While I can’t speak for every single outlet, I can attest to the fact that the DMV office in my hometown has taken great lengths to improve the customer experience. It allows you to sit in comfortable chairs instead of waiting in line, and allows you to take a ticket for your specific inquiry. So, you’re not waiting in a long line of 16 year olds trying to get a permit when you simply need to handle a title or registration issue.
It’s popular media clips like these that leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, when in many cases it is not warranted. I know it personally bothers me as a journalist when I continually see blown-out-of-proportion scenarios depicting the media as creepy scum in shows like NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but I’m curious to know how customer service organizations handle these situations.
For the customer service managers and supervisors out there, do you find you need to boost morale for yourselves and your employees after examples of poor experience proliferate in the media? Do you use it as a motivating tool to break the stereotype?
New York Times columnist Judith Warner wrote a piece entitled “Waiting for Schadenfreude,“ where she made the astute observation that,
Schadenfreude is impossible because the fat cats — the ones who bent the rules, the ones who pushed the envelopes, the ones who paid lower taxes because capital gains were most of their income, the ones who opposed regulations on the banking and mortgage industries — are taking us down with them.
The very wealthiest are, as always, likely to do just fine. Real, hard-core Wall Street, as Tom Wolfe reminded us last weekend, long ago decamped for the hedge funds of Greenwich. The political leaders who allowed this mess to develop have turned into the great defenders of “Main Street.” (If I have to hear the juxtaposition of “Main Street” and “Wall Street” one more time, I will be the one drowning in a pool of vomit.). It’s a whole host of other people — vulnerable middle class homeowners and small business owners and, now, universities unable to make payroll — who are hurting.
I got a pitch today from restaurant chain Denny’s about its latest promotion, the $4 Weekday Express Slam. [Press release can be found here. Click the image to watch the video.] The commercial begins with, “It’s one thing to bail out Wall Street, but who’s going to bail you out? Denny’s!” The combo includes two buttermilk pancakes, two eggs and the choice of two bacon slices or two sausage links, and it’s all served in 10 minutes or less. Families can also enjoy a Kids (10 and under) Eat Free program, a free kid’s meal with the purchase of one adult meal.
So now Joe Six-PackJoe the Plumber the average Joe can enjoy some benefit from this crisis; but even as we revel in the comfort of comfort food, it seems we still won’t be enjoying it with a side of Wall Street misery. Inasmuch as we hear about big banks closing and merging, we only really hear deals that help one person spend for an entire meal what another might spend on a bottle of water.
In a report released in August, ABI Research predicted that “revenues from branded handsets will exceed $11 billion next year, increasing to more than $43 billion in 2013.” Handsets! Then again, luxury brands were always selling more than just a name — it’s an image, a status symbol.
I’m waiting for Denny’s to get back to me, but I’m wondering how the food and service sector — particularly fast food — is faring at this time. (I, for one, would certainly be up for a 50¢ menu.) Loyalty and engagement have long been thought of as recession-proof strategies but when push comes to shove and your customers are reluctant to take out their wallets — well, it’s not hard to see why companies are backed into a corner feeling like price cuts are the antidote.
Airlines, for example, are trying to push out flight deals — charging for blankets and snacks, and refusing to give you the full can of soda! — but they still lose money on each customer. I spoke to someone sitting next to me on the plane yesterday, an accountant-turned-English-teacher, who said, “The airlines should just charge more, people will get used to it.” — would you?
I had an interesting conversation with Christopher Faulkner, vice president of sales for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based contact center solution provider TDI about its newest outbound communications offering, Liberation Connect!, and how it fits into the grand scheme of our helter-skelter economy today. We’ve had several stories in the past few months at destinationCRM.com from Soundbite Communications and Varolii about similar offerings–and how important it is to be able to connect, especially on debt collection calls.
Faulkner explained that his company identified a shift around the Summer 2006 from just straight telemarketing to more emphasis on debt consolidation and credit collection than just sales. “We watched the business go from selling to, ‘Oh my God, the customer is really hurt,’” he recalled. “We had to get out ahead of the trend … because dialing automation is needed more so in a down economy than [otherwise].”
Bearing this in mind, business should be booming right now for TDI and other CRM vendors … right? Maybe not.
When I asked Faulkner about the most important decision he would have to make in the upcoming year, he quickly said turning away bad business. “We all want business, especially as times get tighter but [potential clients] have more difficulty in obtaining financial approval,” he continued. “We can’t do that to ourselves or to our peers. We want to win business based on virtues, not because of margin.”
This reminded me of my conversation with Jason Mittelstaedt, chief marketing officer for RightNow Technologies, at the company’s user summit last week. He did admit that the current situation can provide great opportunities for his organization and the CRM industry in general. However, if companies are put on hold in regard to purchases, then what? “It’s a question of staying power,” he said. “People still have businesses to run, and budgets can’t stay frozen forever. Ultimately the money will come.”
For CRM vendors today–are you finding yourselves almost closing a sale just to find the potential client has had its budget frozen? If so, how are you dealing with that … and what are your plans to continue to forge ahead despite the economic landscape?
Cancer survivor. Seven-time winner of the Tour de France. Marathon runner. Comeback King. Fundraiser.
Lance Armstrong wears many hats. Recently announcing that he is getting back on the bike to race again, Armstrong has a vigorous training schedule in front of him.
[Update from the editors, 10/18, 4aET: Here's Armstrong's announcement, from September:]
He did make the time, though, to deliver a inspiring closing keynote at today’s Teradata Partners User Group Conference at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I am no stranger to Armstrong’s story; I’m sure the majority of attendees were aware that Armstrong fought — and won against — advanced testicular cancer. He battled the disease and then went on to make one of the biggest athletic comebacks in history — winning the Tour de France after eradicating a disease that had spread to his brain and lungs.
Armstrong shared his survival story — and while I couldn’t help thinking how tired he must be of telling it, it was truly motivating. He said that after his brain surgery, the doctor confronted him about The Obligation of the Cured. He told Armstrong that he had two choices of exits. One exit was out the back door, away from inquiring minds. The other was out the front door, wearing his bandages for all to see and saying, “Yes, I am a cancer survivor. Here’s my story.” Armstrong obviously took the more public route, but he admitted that he never thought sharing his tale would evolve to this:
I didn’t know that I’d ever get on a bike again. I thought that [sharing my story] was sitting on an airplane talking to someone or talking to a neighbor. I didn’t think I would win tours, start a foundation. I didn’t think it would be on that scale. What was important is that I accepted his challenge, the Obligation of the Cured. This cuts through every issue. Someone that cares is standing up and saying, ‘I care about this and I want to see change happen.’ It was the greatest challenge I’ve ever had to accept.
In addition to the accolades listed above, Lance Armstrong and his foundation LiveStrong has evolved into a huge global brand. (No wonder… it was developed by Nike). In 2004, millions of Americans began sporting yellow LiveStrong wristbands to show support of the American Tour de France team, as well as the overarching cause, the fight against cancer. And during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, a Moroccan runner sported a LiveStrong bracelet, spreading the cause — and brand — globally. Since 2004, more than 70 million wristbands at the cost of $1 apiece have been sold. The foundation has reached well beyond bracelets. The LiveStrong.com Web site includes health and fitness articles and tips, as well as a community forum daring members to share their stories.
Armstrong said the support can’t just stop there. He talked about the need for a reordering of priorities in terms of health care in the U.S. Something tells me that Lance Armstrong is never satisfied with second-best.
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