Forget Customer Service. Think Experiential Marketing.
By Michael Pollock in Marketing
Harry Joiner repeats an old joke that, unfortunately, contains more than a seed of truth. In the joke, a man chooses to spend eternity in hell rather than heaven because Satan did such a fantastic job of selling the “hell experience.” Naturally, the situation ends badly for the guy:
“Immediately, Satan’s sales rep reappears and escorts the guy to
hell, where he’s shackled to a stone wall. ‘Here’s your new home!’ the
man is told. ‘But wait! You can’t do this!” the guy yells. ‘I was here
just yesterday, and everyone was having a wonderful time. What’s going
on?’“Satan’s sales rep says: ‘Yesterday you were a prospect …
“‘Today you’re a customer!’“
More often than not, the customer service function is disconnected from the sales and marketing function of winning customers. And I’m not here to beat up on customer service people. Their job isn’t easy. After all, most of the people they talk to are complaining about something, and when you work in that kind of environment day-in and day-out, it’s easy to develop a defensive posture.
However, I am here to beat up on the concept of customer service. It’s an outdated concept that’s rooted in the notion that customer service is about solving customer problems. While it’s true that solving the problem is part of the formula, the larger context to consider is the customer’s experience. I can get my problem solved, yet still have a terrible experience.
As an example, I went to a restaurant with my daughter yesterday. Olive Garden. Normally a pleasant experience. Good food. Relatively low price. Pleasant atmosphere. Service above average (usually). This day, however, not the case. From the get-go, the waitress was surly. Direct. Abrupt even. Bordering on rude.
She brought the initial appetizers, but forgot the bread sticks and grated cheese (problem). After I realized she forgot them, I asked nicely if she could bring them. Really. I was very nice. She brought them and offered some bullshit excuse for why she forgot them. In a surly tone, no less. Did I wait 45 minutes for a table just for this (it was a busy day)? Problem solved. Experience sucked.
Fortunately for Olive Garden, I’ve had enough pleasant experiences with them, and I’m willing to overlook this bad one. It was a very busy day after all. But what about the next time? Every experience your customer has becomes part of the brand (the customer’s gut feeling about you).
Forget customer service. Think experiential marketing.
On Mar 14, 2005, Michael D. Pollock said:
Stephen - I agree the staff needs to be invested in the customer’s experience. How that happens is up to leadership/management. Maybe the first step is for management to forget customer service and start thinking experiential marketing.
In the example cited, the waitress’s motivation was the 20% (or more) tip I WOULD HAVE LEFT had I been provided and outstanding experience. Suddenly $5.95 an hour becomes $11.00 an hour. Multiply that by 3 (or more)customers per hour.
On Mar 15, 2005, T. L. Pakii Pierce said:
There’s the end and means. At the end of the day you have the customer experience and in these days and times it builds equity or doesn’t (barring undecideds).
For a lot of companies and especially service companies, that means is “minium wage” staff. The idea that minimum was isn’t motivating and can be a source of a two-fold issue. Once the worker needs another job if they aren’t happy in the current one. The will an attitude change before a wage change will come, second, the company must invest in their people.
Create that sense of ownership for the customer experience. It’s top down thing. When you care your people (employees) then they will care for your other people (customers).
In these days of intelligent consumerism and demanding customers it isn’t easy but if you sign-up and are seeking revenue through service then the customer experience starts with you.
~T. L. Pakii Pierce
On Jun 11, 2007, Gerry Lennon said:
Like the blog, come and have a look at mine if you like - concentrates on whether it’s time to just ban tobacco outright, or is Government and The Corporate World simply making too much money from it?
On Jul 19, 2007, Paul Keetch said:
Interesting post - thanks for relating your Olive Garden experience.
I used to work for a company that I think very much represents this problem. I won’t say the company name, but they are a prominent “personal growth” company in North America.
Their courses are staggeringly good - powerful processes, fun exciting times spent truly developing and growing yourself.
But the experience of registering (by phone - they don’t even have internet registrations yet) and the experience of getting any “service” after the course is over (particularly if you purchased more courses) is staggeringly bad.
There is no congruence between the actual product experience and the delivery of that experience, pre- and post-event.
What they haven’t figured out is exactly what you’re talking about. Every interaction with the company *should* be as powerfully transformative (even in very simple ways) as the actual course experience.
I guess they’ll figure it out one day… possibly after they’ve lost all the customers they “marketed” so hard to get in the first place.
~ Paul
http://www.makeanythingwork.com