As a favor, I do the advertising for a friend who owns a small business in San Francisco. We're not a huge radio client, but we spend just south of $100 grand a year there. Things have been pretty smooth, except for an AE I had to scold for going around me and getting my client all worked up that perhaps we should spread our schedule across wider dayparts. I had to ask him not to go around me, and ask the client to simply say "talk to Eric" next time he tried to do something that was contrary to the strategy.
Yesterday my friend asked me to stop all of his advertising for strategic reasons. I e-mailed the rep, but the message came back as undeliverable. When I called his direct line, it simply said, "There is no one at this extension. Click."
What do I do now? I happen to know another seller at the station, so I shared my experience and hoped that the word would get to someone to cancel my schedule. He responded that this person had left the station and that he would forward my request to the sales manager. Then I got an e-mail from some rep I don't know, who knows nothing about the account: “I dug into this and found where your ads were running and cancelled them. Hope you're not canceling because you did not get response.”
Maybe I'm insane, but my mere $100,000 investment seems worth a little attention.
What about:
• The AE letting me know he left — either as a courtesy to his former employer, or even to try and switch me to the station he now works for. The fact that he had been gone three weeks and did not notify me says, "You're not important enough to me."
• The station that never bothered to say, "We made a change and we're asking someone else to work with you." What a novel idea. I must not matter.
• The station that disconnected the AE’s e-mail instead of having it go to someone who could respond to my request. What if it had been an insertion order instead of a cancellation?
• The salesperson's direct line not having a message that the person is no longer there, or ringing to someone else.
• The new AE who did not bother to introduce herself, call me, get to know me, or try to reengage me. What a missed opportunity.
This is not rocket science. Clients want to be kings and queens. When they spend — or consider spending — money, they expect some basic services. They want to be appreciated and wooed.
Write these words on an index card and staple it to your forehead: THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE NEEDS TO DAZZLE CLIENTS. Have you designed the ultimate customer experience? Have you trained your people in every possible point where they interact with clients? Have you asked your customers what would make their experience better?
Customers don't speak up if they’re not asked — they simply get even. Most people who had the experience I had would simply go elsewhere. If I don't matter, why should I spend my money with them?
There are other stations and other options. Don't forget it. Customers are hard to get. Don't lose them because your customer experience is awful.
Yesterday my friend asked me to stop all of his advertising for strategic reasons. I e-mailed the rep, but the message came back as undeliverable. When I called his direct line, it simply said, "There is no one at this extension. Click."
What do I do now? I happen to know another seller at the station, so I shared my experience and hoped that the word would get to someone to cancel my schedule. He responded that this person had left the station and that he would forward my request to the sales manager. Then I got an e-mail from some rep I don't know, who knows nothing about the account: “I dug into this and found where your ads were running and cancelled them. Hope you're not canceling because you did not get response.”
Maybe I'm insane, but my mere $100,000 investment seems worth a little attention.
What about:
• The AE letting me know he left — either as a courtesy to his former employer, or even to try and switch me to the station he now works for. The fact that he had been gone three weeks and did not notify me says, "You're not important enough to me."
• The station that never bothered to say, "We made a change and we're asking someone else to work with you." What a novel idea. I must not matter.
• The station that disconnected the AE’s e-mail instead of having it go to someone who could respond to my request. What if it had been an insertion order instead of a cancellation?
• The salesperson's direct line not having a message that the person is no longer there, or ringing to someone else.
• The new AE who did not bother to introduce herself, call me, get to know me, or try to reengage me. What a missed opportunity.
This is not rocket science. Clients want to be kings and queens. When they spend — or consider spending — money, they expect some basic services. They want to be appreciated and wooed.
Write these words on an index card and staple it to your forehead: THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE NEEDS TO DAZZLE CLIENTS. Have you designed the ultimate customer experience? Have you trained your people in every possible point where they interact with clients? Have you asked your customers what would make their experience better?
Customers don't speak up if they’re not asked — they simply get even. Most people who had the experience I had would simply go elsewhere. If I don't matter, why should I spend my money with them?
There are other stations and other options. Don't forget it. Customers are hard to get. Don't lose them because your customer experience is awful.
I'd go so far as to say that everything we do or neglect to do conveys one of two messages:
[ ] we care
[ ] we do not care (enough)
It may be subtle or blatant, but the message is there, one way or another.
Posted by: Rod Schwartz - Grace Broadcast Sales | November 23, 2009 at 10:44 PM