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You’re Probably not in the Business You Think You are In
Not too many products are guaranteed, shoe-in, hands-down viral marketing winners. Ever seen an advertisement for the ubiquitous BlackBerry – from the manufacturer, RIM, that is? Me neither. So there’s one. Also, anything from Apple with the “I” prefix – iMac, iPod, iPhone. TiVo is maybe one we don’t think of off the top of our heads - but it’s a case study in customer loyalty and viral marketing – with relatively little trad-marketing.
C2C marketing is not going to happen by itself (unless you have an iBlackBerry on your hands!) Needless too say, the better your product, the easier it will be to start the buzz. But, as more companies meet or exceed acceptable quality standards, it becomes increasingly difficult to compete on quality alone.
Customers are looking for something other than good product. More and more studies show it’s the level of service provided that gets customers chatting. In a way, that means we all have primary and secondary products – but, what we thought was our main line is actually the secondary one.
All of us, bricklayers, bankers and bloggers, are in the business of customer service.
The easy example is restaurants. They serve food, that’s their product - but it is how they serve their food, their customer service, that is most important to their clientele.
The recent buzz generated by Netflix’s decision to go with “all human” customer service is another example. The conversation is not about who has the better selection of movies, or lower prices, but about who provides the best customer service.
We all gripe about banking fees, low savings interest and high mortgage interest – but that’s not what gets us to change banks – how about toxic servicing.
Obvious examples, you say; these can all be considered service based businesses. However, in more and more business sectors, good customer service is trumping bad reps, bad raps and even bad product:
- Johnson & Johnson used unprecedented customer service (most people called it crisis management, but it boils down to customer service) to avert corporate doom in the high profile Tylenol scare.
- The original Dell Hell case shows that good customer service can turn around even a viral bad product buzz. Word about the improved customer service itself went viral and was a PR bonanza for Dell. Unfortunately, “Dell Hell” is such a catchy phrase it has become common to many complaints about Dell.
- A quick web search revealed customer service buzz in:
- The airline industry - finding customer service chatter about airlines is just too easy
- High-tech – does anyone have anything good to say about Microsoft?
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Insurance – why do you stay with your insurance company or broker
- Even online communities (if you read nothing else in this blog, read this, it’s very short)
So, like it or not, customer service is not just an aspect of your business – it’s very likely your most important product. Don’t forget – having a good product is your first step towards successful C2C marketing.
The good news is that, in most cases, it is easier to improve customer service than it is to improve your product. The bad news is that the vast majority of companies still don’t get it.
But maybe that’s good news for you. The dearth of good customer service makes it a ripe for the picking as a competitive advantage – and a topic of conversation among your customers. They will promote your company purely based on the service they received – not the product. Here’s an interesting one about a hair salon and coffee!
There’s more good news. It’s an advantage that feeds on itself. By starting or participating in conversations about your company, you are indeed providing excellent customer service by listening to your customers, addressing their concerns and generally making yourself available – and the buzz gets even louder.
Well, obviously I’m convinced – are you?
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