If a customer who complains is a gift for business why do customers ignore them?  In my particular situation I wrote a detailed letter (yes very old school on paper with an envelope) to Qantas over really really bad service I received, I also emailed as well just to make sure and 6 weeks has gone by without hearing a peep from them.  Business statistics say that only 3% of all customers complain which doesn’t mean that only 3% have reason to complain but only 3% take action.  97% choose to let it go or clearly go somewhere else.

It’s been proven that the customers that complain actually care about the product and in marketing speak are ‘advocates’ for the business i.e. usually do the company’s marketing for them through word of mouth.  76% of most business comes from word of mouth so how can businesses ignore this?  Just to throw another statistic on the fire, each customer complaint usually represents 26 other customers who have had a similar problem.  That’s 27 customers Qantas almost enough for a Qantaslink flight!  I invested 2 hours of my time to alert Qantas to a major problem and they haven’t got the courtesy or businesss sense to contact me to discuss it.  Somehow I don’t think it’s just Qantas who is looking this gift horse in the mouth.  Hmmm I wonder how their share price is doing?

What can I say just because you can doesn’t mean you should!  I’m sure you have experienced the sudden increase in email newsletters promoting everything in the shop using a ‘one size fits all’ method. It is unwanted, untargeted and e-nnoying!  When times are tough it is important not to don’t give in to negativity instead roll up your sleeves get out there and market.  But let’s do it smart people!  Let’s use marketing principles along with technology to save people’s sanity and save your customers.   Technology has given businesses the tools to do really great stuff like personalising emails, tracking who reads what and the ability to contact thousands of people at a time for almost no cost at all.  Great for businesses but what about customers?  You may be scaring them away and with the anti-spam laws you may lose them forever.

Marketing is about looking at things through the eyes of the customer.  For marketing activities to be effective they need to put customers top of mind.  Email communication needs to follow the same principles as any other effective communication.

1. Permission from the customer

I have ended up receiving emails from businesses have asked my permission to contact me but haven’t ask me if it was ok for that contact to be every day.

2.  Relevant

I get sent the same email that everyone else is being sent even though it is address specifically to me.  It doesn’t take into account what I’m interested in.  I don’t want to fly to Byron Bay without any luggage.  So stop sending me this stuff it’s e-nnoying.

3.  Delivered in the way the customer wants

I recently spoke with an advertising representative from an online and paper business directory.  They gave me the sales spiel and I said very clearly “I am interested in receiving this information if you can mail it to me with full costings that would be great.”  I even told the sales rep that I was about a 50% chance of purchasing.  He then asked me for my email address.  I said “why do you need my email address?”.  He answered “so I can send you out some information”.  I again reiterated that I wanted to receive the information by mail.  No surprises here…. I never received the letter and I guess they never got my business!

Last Thought:

Never forget that the customer has the last say and it’s goodbye or…. unsubscribe.

It can take years to build up a brand.  As well as lots of money, hard work and consistent performance yet it just takes months to unravel a brand.  Let’s look at Qantas.  Qantas 10 years ago was undisputably one of the world’s best airlines known for safety, reliability, quality aircraft, professional and capable staff, generous membership programs and a choice of extensive travel routes.

Something seems to be going wrong.  In recent months the media is full of stories about the poor performance of Qantas.  It seems as though this magnificent Australian brand which had an enviable position in the market place is truly unravelling before our very eyes.  There have been reported issues of safety, issues of reliability and my recent experience suggests a serious decline in customer service.  From a marketing perspective Qantas has mucked around with its most valuable assets - a strong competitive advantage difficult to copy.  Sadly they seem to becoming mediocre like many other airlines and with a new budget airline specialist as chief I am concerned what other poor decisions will be made that affect the customer experience.  Qantas should never have risked their safety and reliability.  An exceptional safety record is hard to achieve, hard for anyone to compete with and something most people are prepared to pay for.

Where is the original value proposition gone?  I don’t think the poor performance of Qantas shares can be solely blamed on the economic crisis!  Without turning this blog into a bash Qantas site, what are your thoughts?

Tips for a strong brand

• Don’t muck with your best assest
• Identify your key value proposition and protect it at all costs
• Consider the impact operational decisions may have on your brand

What’s going on with sales teams?  I thought everyone was desperate for sales.  We hear it on the radio talk back about times being tough and needing customers. Apparently not!

In Melbourne this week.  A woman (let’s call her Mary) who has the money and the need was looking for a car.  She walked into three different car dealerships.  Her behaviour suggested she was interested in buying a car e.g. opening car doors, looking at features, reading information etc.  The sales staff of two dealerships didn’t come out to say hello or assist Mary.  They remained in their offices talking to each other.   Mary left disgusted that there was no customer service and that no-one seemed to want to sell her a car.  Mary was perplexed as the car market in Australia is predicted to hit ‘hard times’ and Mary was under the impression that car dealers would be desperate for any sale.  At the third dealership Mary was greeted warmly, questions answered and Mary was taken on a test drive.  Mary loved the car and is considering purchasing.  She is no longer interested in test driving the other possibilities as service and responsiveness was more important and the third dealership seemed like a great place to buy a car from.

Major points

• What is keeping your staff from servicing customers? Is it worrying about the economic environment?
• If there is no one to serve customers how are you going to make sales?
• Beware of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy “times are tough no-one is buying” - maybe they can’t buy off you.
• If a person has made the effort to come to your show room at the very least they are a warm lead.
• How hard are your staff working to achieve a sale?
• Customer service is generally so bad that adequate service can delight customers
• People are still buying in “tough times”.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

One of the major advantages of small business has always been the relationships that staff and owners can develop with customers. Customers usually have direct access to the business owner and staff turnover, particularly if staff is family, tends to be low so customers get to know staff as staff get to know customers. In the best cases, customers become friends and strong advocates for the business resulting in high loyalty and strong repeat business. Traditionally for larger businesses developing these strong relationships has been almost impossible. Many businesses come across to customers as mechanical, uncaring and inflexible adhering to strict opening and closing times, policies and procedures. Staff turnover is high so there is little chance for relationships to form. Until now……

Has the onset of social media specifically product forum pages and company blogs, enabling heads of companies to communciate directly with customers and build relationships, taken this traditional advantage from small business?