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May 20, 2008
Customer Service Is a Crucial Marketing Channel
By Elana Anderson, Unica Corp.
I realize that the title of this post already has some customer service gurus cringing. No, my point is not to turn service interactions into one-way communication streams in which the customer's needs are minimized while CSRs focus on pushy "retention," cross-sell, or upsell efforts... And, if you are familiar with any of my prior writings then you know that I hold marketing responsible for customer experience. With that quick frame of reference, inbound service interactions are ideal for marketing because the customer:
But, strategies to leverage customer service as a marketing channel will fail if we approach customer interactions with the traditional marketing mindset - let's tell customers what we want them to hear. Many of us have been talking about this for years, but the time has come. Firms must shift communications strategies away from one-size fits all push marketing - to one that is responsive to individual customer behaviors. To make the shift successfully, marketing organizations must get beyond the old style campaign construct. The very term "campaign" conjures up the image of a bullhorn - marketers shouting out what they want their audience to hear. With the control and choice that consumers have today, marketing must be more flexible -- more agile. Marketing and service organizations must align their strategies and:
As I write this, I admit that I have concerns that what I write will be misconstrued or misused. I've been talking in public forums about the intersection between marketing and service since 2002. Unfortunately, while companies in many industries have taken steps to turn their customer service centers into revenue generators, I believe that most have done so to the detriment of the customer experience. That is, they view inbound service interactions only from the perspective of the potential financial benefit that could result from selling something new, extending a contract, etc. These companies are still operating in one-way mode and failing to recognize that they have an opportunity to establish a dialog with their customer.
Elana Anderson is vice president of product marketing and strategy at Unica Corp.. A highly regarded marketing software expert, Anderson previously served as vice president and research director of the marketing practice at Forrester Research. Prior to Forrester, Anderson was a strategy consultant and systems integrator for nearly 15 years.
MarketPlace Customer Service as a Differentiator: The Road to Excellence at Overstock.com Companies are beginning to realize they don’t have the option of ignoring the quality of their customer’s experiences. Overstock.com realized that customers want service that is excellent, regardless of which channel is used. But they had to overcome some serious obstacles on the road to excellence. Read their story. New Research Report: Customer Experience Maturity Monitor Discover the five levels of customer experience maturity, ranging from Limited Capability to Experiential Master. Find out where your company stands, and explore what it takes to move from the base level to the peak. Download free research report here. Selling the "New Consumer" with Smart Conversations, Not Blind Automation Learn how to engage your customers in a great cross-channel conversation that will set your company apart. CustomerThink founder/CEO Bob Thompson reveals his latest research on the multi-channel buying experience, and Lisa Abbott of Genesys explains how to solve cross-channel challenge. Four Strategies to Shift Your Support Center from Surviving to Thriving With an economic upturn on the horizon, it's time to focus on how to gain a sustainable competitive edge. In this webinar, contact center guru Bill Price reveals how to improve the customer experience, reduce operational costs and retain top technical talent. TCE (Total Customer Experience) Model Building e-Workshop for Financial Services Providers [August 27, 09:00-10:30 GMT] This program is designed to help Marketing, Sales and Service Executives of Financial Services Providers to build a TCE model to monitor, manage, and enhance the total customer experience across multiple channels and touch-points throughout the whole customer lifecycle. Global Customer Experience Management Certification Program [Sep. 30-Oct. 1, Paris] Learn cutting-edge CEM methods from a team of international gurus. This 2-day course applies CEM essentials, strategies and methodologies on Marketing, Sales and Services; provides a framework with relevant guiding principles and tools for designing the best experience to your customers. Featured Links
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Wise Words from Someone Who Understands
Elana
What a great and timely post.
As I wote about in a recent post on 'Customer Service is the New Marketing', customer service is most definately a critical marketing touchpoint. But as you so lucidly describe, not the crude marketing monologue delivered at full pitch at the customer, but rather, a two-way dialogue with the customer that both parties can benefit from.
This isn't a new idea. The legendary service marketing academic Evert Gummesson coined the term 'part-time marketers' in 1987, to describe people not in the marketing organisation, but who influence customers through contacts with them. Jan Carlzon put this into practice during the turnaround of SAS and published his thoughts on it in his now famous book 'Moments of Truth', also in 1987.
But it is a very timely idea. It underpins the current emphasis on the service-dominant logic in marketing. And as your friends Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff emphasise in their must-read book 'The Groundswell', customers are now the biggest group of part-time marketers.
Paradoxically, marketers have nothing to fear from this army of internal and external part-time marketers. Unless that is, as Seth Godin puts it, they have been lying to their customers about their products over the years.
Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant
Interim CRM Manager
Further Reading:
Customer Service is the New Marketing...Or Is It
http://www.customerthink.com/blog/customer_service_new_marketing_is_it
Jan Carlzon on Moments of Truth
http://www.customerthink.com/interview/jan_carlzon_moments_of_truth
Christian Gronroos on Adopting a Service Logic for Marketing
http://www.stratmark.fi/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Gro%CC%88nroos%20Serv...
Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff on The Groundswell
http://blogs.forrester.com/charleneli/
Seth Godin on All Marketers Are Liars
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/all_marketers_are_liars/
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