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August 21, 2009
How To Blow $1 Million In Under 1 Minute
It all started with the AT&T customer service person who said "You need to call this other number and start your service call there." after I'd already dialed 6 previous numbers. In those few seconds when he uttered those words, all the advertising AT&T has been blasting my way became a big waste of money. Worse, I took out my frustration on blogs and Twitter, helping further erode the value of their marketing. As @MotrinMoms and others have shown, it takes only seconds to obliterate millions in marketing expenditure.
It seems bad service has become the cultural norm. Gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement centers, transportation centers...it is like we've perfected the art of surly service, bad service, or no service at all. I wasn't always that way. And as more smart companies catch on, the purveyors of service pain risk replacement by competitors who again realize that customer-centricity is more than a buzzword, it is a path to busines success. For companies like:
Zappo's (purchased by Amazon)
H-E-B / Central Market
Cabela's
service is a culture. Have you ever met a Cabela's customer? If they find out you are an outdoorsman, they'll practically throw you in their car and drive you to the nearest store. For them, a trip to the store is a pilgrimage, not a chore.
Compare that to my recent visits to regional supermarkets BigY, ShopRite, Stop&Shop and even local "superstar" Stew Leonard's, I felt a wide range of emotions: frustration (over item unavailability), anger (over product quality), amazement (over advertising practices), annoyance (over lack of service availability)...but only rare bursts of satisfaction. Trust me, I am not out singing the praises of these stores. Instead, I spend my time trying to outwit their pricing policies and wishing a Whole Foods would move in.
Day after day, corporate marketers spend hours in conference rooms plotting the next product campaign, the next promo, the next social media outreach. When great marketing is paid off with lousy service, all it does is punctuate customer annoyance. "AT&T. Your World. Delivered." I don't think so! How about "AT&T. Two Tylenol Delivered. (You'll Need Them After Dealing With Us.)"
I actually admire AT&T, a company that has emerged phoenix-like from the ashes of its all-to-recent fall. But like any other customer, I have a voice. And thanks to blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Consumerist, and on and on, when a company crosses me, I have a way to use it. And that is the formula that is turning traditional marketing on its head. Today, product performance and customer service matter more than ever...and failing the customer can undermine a million dollar campaign in under a minute.
Posted by jcioban at August 21, 2009 6:30 PM
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