With the remake of The Karate Kid coming out, I can't resist....
Paul Greenberg (aka the Mr. Miyagi of CRM - the Pat Morita Mr. Miyagi) said something February at the BPT Partners training event (aka Social CRM Summit) that has stuck with me ever since. OK he said a lot that stuck with me, but I'm focusing on this one thing for now. He cited a survey that found 40% of people calling customer service for assistance, called with no expectation of having their problem resolved. To me that is an incredible statistic - 4 out of every 10 people called customer service feeling that this call would not help them solve their problem.
Now sometimes folks will be surprised to find that their issue can be resolved by the customer service rep, but that doesn't explain why they called in the first place if they really felt it wouldn't help. Apparently the reason they called was to vent their frustration... and to be listened to... and maybe offer up ways a situation like theirs can be avoided in the future. Maybe they just want a kind ear to commiserate to...
Wax-on, Wax-off moment
Customers want their problems resolved as quickly as possible - this is not news. And when we can solve their challenges quickly that goes a long way to improving their experience as our customer. But as the 40%-ers show, they also have social needs that can have just as important an impact on that experience - providing us with a great lesson to learn without having to wax a car. And it's those situations that can provide ties that bind... if companies figure out ways to listen with empathy, turn what they hear into action, and provide opportunities for customers to help themselves and each other. This can prove to customers that we're interested in them beyond the financial transaction that comes with being a customer.
Customer Experience and Social Media
Many companies are turning to social media to improve relationships with customers by providing a better customer experience, but some are still on the fence. Jacada - a company focused on providing customer experience management solutions - is hosting a webinar this Wednesday to discuss the role of social media in improving the customer experience. They've invited CRM guru and friend Esteban Kolsky and I to join SVP of Marketing Richard Stern SVP to discuss:
- How social media is impacting customer experience
- The price of poor customer service
- Why you need to think more about customer service and less about sales (tough one here but very important)
The webinar is free. Below are the details:
Title: The Intersection of Customer Experience and Social Media
Date and time: |
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 11:00 am
Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00) Cost: Free Use this link to register. Hope you can join us on Wednesday! I bet Daniel-san will be there... |