Hack:
Business engagement with customers

By Nancy Joel

March 16, 2011 at 7:09pm

Moonshots

Focus the work of management on a higher purpose

Summary

This hack is on how Management could try and improve customer experience

Problem

A common question that goes around any CEO's mind: “What will make me and my organization successful?” While no two companies are exactly same, there are three common things that help define their success: They solve a pain point for customers; they have a great location (either physical or online); and they know how to engage with customers and prospects in a way that maximizes the likelihood of success.

Solution

Let's assume we have a good location that allows customers and prospects to easily find us, and that we offer a product that solves a problem or need. We'll focus on taking a look at how we engage and market to customers in a way that produces the maximum return on investment. It's a beleief that the competitor with the best ROI will ultimately win the battle for customers and their dollars.

The ROI story isn't always told because it scares people. But it's all about engagement marketing. There are three keys to a successful engagement strategy:

1. Understanding the customer's experience and constantly striving to improve it.

2. Connecting and building relationships with our current customers.

3. Setting up our passionate customers -- those who know and love our products or service -- to drive word-of-mouth marketing about our business.

We may or may not have the greatest product in the world, but our customers' experiences in trying to acquire that product may be terrible. How do we know? We need to be constantly monitoring our customer experience to look for any areas of friction or dissatisfaction.

We don't have to be a large national chain to do the same. If we collect an e-mail address from customers during their transactions, send them a quick online survey asking them about their recent transaction or interaction with your business. When they reply, follow up by thanking them for their time and effort. Better yet, reward them with something of value so they feel their time and effort was worth it.

Additionally, when we collect that e-mail address as part of a transaction, ask permission to add the people to the e-mail marketing list. Make sure to set the expectations for what people will be receiving from you (discount offers, tips, articles, advice, etc.) and how often. Getting people on the e-mail list is the key to building a relationship with them that allows you to stay top of mind. Of course, we should be collecting addresses from customers and prospects all the time, not just during transactions. Make sure they can sign up for our e-mails through your website and other touch points

When done right, having this list of customers and e-mailing them on a regular basis will help drive that highly desired word-of-mouth marketing. In the e-mails, we can ask customers questions about how they use our products or how our service affects them.

Credits

Eric Groves' speech on Small Business administration, U.S chamber of commerce

You need to register in order to submit a comment.