While all the marketing buzz is about "permission marketing", "driving traffic to your web site" and "finding new customers", not too many people are talking about the old fashioned concept of providing quality customer service. And yet, this summer has been a horror story of how airlines, phone companies and public utilities have not only inconvenienced their customers, but in many cases, acted in complete disregard of their customers. Verizon even came out and said that their solution for dealing with the huge backlog of phone installations, due to their unwillingness to quickly negotiate their union contracts, was for the customer to have "patience". Patience! I don't know about you, but I have run out of patience and am actively looking for alternate supplers!

There has been a significant decline of personal customer service as more technology enables companies to shied themselves from real interaction with people and "let the fingers do the walking" such as "press 1" ad infinitum until the person finally hangs up the phone and goes away. I ask you. It this a good way to enhance customer loyalty? Is this a good way to ensure that customers order again?

I challenge each of you to put yourself in your customer's shoes and test out your own "customer service experience". Better yet, ask your friends to do it for you. Some things to look for are:

1) Ho easy do you make it for your customers to contact you?

Many times, the only contact information is available on an invoice. (Just try calling 411 lately!) Invoices state" Call this number to speak to your personal representative". Often, this number goes into an automated answering queue and it can take 30 minutes to find out you are in push-button hell. Or, you've found out that by the tenth option, you should have pressed a different key in the very beginning and you have to re-dial to start all over again. I've also noticed that the old notion of pressing 0 no longer works in by-passing the options. Companies are determined to put you through their system, no matter what. What do your customers experience when they call the number of their invoice?

2) Evaluate the "3 click rule" on the Internet and how it relates to your phone service.

We know that more than 3 clicks to get to information on a web site turns people off. Give yourself a real assignment such as "I'd like to talk to my sales rep" or I don't know who I should talk to, I just want some information". Find out how often you actually get to talk to a person rather than leaving a voice mail. Evaluate your experience and see how your own customers might be feeling.

3) Look a your web site.

Because of the high frustration people feel about locating information about a company through the traditional information services, many people are beginning to realize that the Internet is a more friendly place to begin their search. Visit your web site with only one question in mind. Where is the company located and what is their phone number. Assuming you don't know the exact URL, go through the searching process and find out how long it takes to access that information. And, of course, once you find the telephone number, go back to suggestion #1 and evaluate the customer experience by calling it yourself.

I've always been a proponent of having the customer service department report to marketing because I always believed that while marketing can take responsibility for generating new business, customer service had all the power to generate customer loyalty. And that's the key to future profits.

I remember my first job in educational publishing and when I found out that the customer service department was located in Altoona, PA and the marketing department was located in New York City, I began flying to this small town and developing relationships with the people who really mattered. Sure, it meant I had to take a tiny plane (I hate flying!) and leave my New York roots. It meant I had to learn how to talk about bowling instead of the latest Broadway show. But it gave me a lesson I've never forgotten. Customer service people are among the most important people in the company. They can be strong advocates for the customer. They can forge personal relationships. They can be a great source of customer needs and reactions to the policies established at "corporate". And, they can help your business grow.

So, don't make their lives hell. When a customer gets frustrated – just trying to speak to a "real" person and get their questions answered or their problems solved, don't let your reps feel their wrath. Don't let the lure of "productivity software" get in the way of a great, and personal customer experience. Your customer service reps will thank you and so will I! And, believe me, this will pay off big dividends in the future. Everyone's trying to get "new customers" and I'm saying that if you treat your existing customers well, you won't need to get so many new customers over the next few years to make those high revenue projections. Existing customers are gold. Treat them like it!

My own personal rebellion has been my refusal to fly United Airlines. Yes, they have the most direct flights from Denver. Yes, I have most of my frequent flyer mileage with them. Yes, sometimes I have to pay a higher price for my ticket. But in the end, I'm willing to make these personal sacrifices because I know there is a better chance of getting to where I need to go. And, even when they "fix" their system, it will take me a long time to forgive them and maybe I'll never come back. This is the risk companies take when they ignore their customer responsibilities. And you know? As marketers, we know that getting a new customer is more expensive than maintain our existing customers. So in conclusion, companies that don't take care of their customers are wasting their scarce marketing resources. Don't let this happen to you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This tip was written by Carol Ann Waugh, President of Xcellent Marketing, a marketing and new business development firm specializing in the education and library markets. Xcellent Marketing offers a variety of marketing services to help publishers increase their sales and profits from identifying new markets, providing critiques of web sites and marketing communications such as direct mail, catalogs, space ads, etc., as well as developing effective marketing plans. Carol can be reached at mailto:cwaugh@xcellentmarketing.com or by calling (303) 388-5215.