"This is the Corp Comms Dept. How May We Serve You Better?"
Several PR bloggers have talked about the “Customer Service is the New Marketing” theme. (I can’t add much but I recommend you click the many links you’ve just skimmed past, when you find some time.)
This idea came up again in a meeting of the Advisory Board of the Society for New Communications Research today. We were discussing “what WILL happen, what MIGHT happen, in the next 12 months?” and this intersection of Corp Comms & Customer Service was widely agreed to be an emerging trend of interest.
It’s the essence of what we talk about in the Social Media geekosphere: for the first time in HISTORY, every customer has a voice that can be heard worldwide, if they choose to chime in online. That’s HUGE.
The old comms method was reactive. “Dell Hell” was a picture-perfect example of how Corp Comms was disconnected from Customer Service and had to react to the fast-growing outcry against the company’s lame support systems.
The emerging comms method will be proactive. In order to avoid “Dell Hell”-style situations, savvy companies will find ways to interact with their customers on an on-going basis; to monitor outlying conversations for signs of discontent; to respond almost instantly – and meaningfully – to challenges raised online. And to be “meaningful” will require that the Customer Service group has a tight degree of interaction with Corp Comms.
Dell’s figured it out, at great cost. Will other corporate citizens learn from their example?
Posted on: December 5, 2007 at 6:46 pm By Todd Defren
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Is customer service important? Yes. Is customer service more important than ever before? Yes. Is customer service the new marketing? Of course not!
Read my rather contrary post here.
Yup, totally agree. Along those lines, check this out. I’d say Comcast better wake up and smell the coffee: http://www.ComcastMustDie.com
I like the topic – and have my own post up about it here:
http://humanvoice.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/customers-are-the-service/
Tom O’Brien
http://www.motivequest.com
I like the topic – and have my own post up about it here:
http://humanvoice.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/customers-are-the-service/
Tom O’Brien
http://www.motivequest.com
Hi Todd – it’s interesting (and good!) to see so many people deciding at the same time to post about customer service as the important face of marketing.
I’ll add my own blog to your list … http://www.harrybishop.ca … I’ve been talking for a while on my belief that all recent online trends have just made it even more important that you have to be true to your branding, and then that turned into talking about Tom Peters and his ongoing customer service writings, and then about my own thoughts on how customer service is how you walk the talk on your branding. It’s all connected.
There’s a lot of companies who either still are not, or have have moved away from, being customer-centric. Those who understand today’s online consumers and the impact of social networks (sorry for the over used buzzword but it’s still a good descriptor) have moved back, and hopefully more will do so.
Geoff, you are right of course. I think the difference is that, now that 1 person’s complaint can be heard by thousands (who can also take up the cause; share their own grief), it is more imperative that Corp Comms be involved, to make the case that “you can’t get away with bad service” anymore, to members of the penny-pinching C-suite…
Customer service is the… old marketing. Main Street style!
This is so critical, we need to start helping our clients figure this one out, and fast. I am glad to hear it was on the agenda in Boston.
It really makes a lot of sense for corporate communications and customer service to work together. Internal alignment and external brand impressions and experiences should come together. I’ll be interested in what action items or discussion points emerge from the organization.