Marketing staff are always looking for a competitive advantage. Better copy, a new glossy brochure and perhaps a redesign of the Web site. These are all positive elements, but these are tactical, rather than strategic initiatives. Oddly enough, over the years I hear excitement in the voices of coworkers and clients how “X” will change how the business is marketed.
The growth of social computing, particularly blogs, point to a marketing that most businesses fail to recognize. Customer service has a massive impact on marketing efforts. This isn’t the forum for a review of companies, although Dell comes to mind.
I recently ordered a few bookshelves from Land of Nod, a children’s furnishings retailer owned by Crate and Barrel. The units came quickly and had one problem: there was a critical piece missing from the package. So we called ‘Nod and asked that this piece be sent to us. Simple, right? Well, they thought otherwise and would have to send us an entire bookshelf! In this period of heightened environmental awareness, you would think that this would not be the case. Let’s ship a 75 - 100 lb box instead of a 5 lb part. Al Gore would not be pleased.
This isn’t the worst part. I sent an email to Land of Nod, politely but firmly conveying the foolishness of this approach. Along with fuel and other resources, they wasted my time. Days later, I have yet to receive any response. Boo Land of Nod for terrible service! I was going to buy two new bedroom sets, but given this poor level of service, I will take my money elsewhere.
Take away items:
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When examining your marketing strategy, include your customer service policies. This includes people on the front-lines (CSRs, account executives and project managers) but also those involved with secondary connections to the customer. Shipping/receiving, billing and product development. Make sure there is an executive policy governing their activities;
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Use tactical elements to support policies. Success is not driven by print materials or a new Web site alone;
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Word of mouth is extremely powerful, thanks to todays Web culture; and
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Learn the Kano model.
UPDATE
I received a response from Land of Nod, albeit several days later. I have to say, the response was both honest and thoughtful. As keywords in the social computing movement, their customer service manager gets high marks. Perhaps more for another night. This was a long week.
