Customer Service is your brand, and is part of Marketing

I have personally been on the back of a couple of abject customer service experiences the last month while in the process of moving into a new place. Companies which I won't name, but one of which is a major provider of consumer services. Given their stature and alleged category leadership, their lack of empathy combined with plenty of buck-passing has rendered a simple thing complicated and an uncharacteristically angry customer.

Not saying it is the worst ever, but if they sent me an NPS survey now I would fight for minus figures - put it that way!

As a reasonably trained marketer who realises the value of the 4 Ps of Product Price, Place & Promotion (and ignoring the 'evolved' 7Ps which feels like an unnecessary breakout) you need to think that after-sales service is part of the Product, the experience, it is a touchpoint and customer service indeed maketh the Product in the service industry.

This is a potent reminder that Ps are there to help marketers think beyond Promotion. Ads, comms and promos are not the entirety of marketing. The customer experience is the whole shebang that matters and that good marketing can affect; brands are what are in the customer's hearts and minds. Furthermore, to have focus on one area (e.g. Promotion/great comms), positioning your brand as the panacea that writes cheques the call centre and service ultimately can't cash, you make the brand more jarring.

Sadly my adage/belief that new customers get all the perks/schmoozing and existing ones are afterthought remains.

Customer relationship management is now the acronymmed CRM - co-opted by mailing lists and discount codes for comms purposes and 'retention marketing'.

But for the actual management of customer relationships (lower case), it has the energy of AI chatbots, lack of accountability, and general vibes of email [email protected].

In a world of hyper connection and saturation, and all the AI tools, service seems to be left behind. The whole Jeff Goldblum Jurassic Park quote springs to mind

"our (scientists) were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

Alas, that is a lot of the automated customer experience now it seems. Chatbots that don't understand the very human request in its decision tree. Or my personal favourite, the telephone service line's hold music telling you to do it on the website (I would if I could!)

Acquisition/Retention marketing is a separate conversation by the way, penetration v loyalty is a comms challenge and acquisition should never be sacrificed, but that does not mean the practice of customer care should be so neglected.

COMPANIES : please remember - your complexity is never the customer's problem, what is the point of bluster and comms of improvement when the service is absolute shite?

Anyway I will write more about Customer and Loyalty next year in my newsletter, but my visceral feelings on the matter must be shared.

Now that is done, I will switch gears, celebrate that it is Friday, return to my Strepsils and start to (try to) get festive soon, excuse the Marley vibes.

Have a lovely weekend, but remember the BREAKING NEWS :

Business is good if customers are spending and happy. Wild eh?

SA