In preparation for the Nuance customer event Conversations '08 https://www.conversations2008.com/controller.php?action=Default_Display - I've been talking to a lot of people interested in the impact of social media on brand and business.  Ben Popken, editor of The Consumerist www.consumerist.com will be joining us in a session at Conversations entitled "are they talking about you." I was introduced to Ben through Paul Gillin www.gillin.com who will moderate the session.  If you aren't aware of this site yet - you should be. It is a very active site where consumers post their complaints about customer care, where consumers can get access to corporate email and phone directories, and where consumers get together to share similiar experiences. Very powerful. Check it out - and see if they are talking about you.  More than ever, the importance of quality service and customer care goes beyond the operational metrics.  One unhappy consumer can influence many other opinions and purchase intent.

So when does outbound messaging become a care touchpoint instead of a marketing opportunity?  The interaction is becoming increasingly blurred. Yesterday, my digital frame service password wasn't working (separate topic/issue) , and in a frantic move to send "grandma" photos of her 19-month twin grandsons raking leaves, I signed up for this PhotoShow http://www.photoshow.net/home product/service.  I stumbled upon it somehow I think via a Walgreens photo application on my desktop.  I think.  (I only have one hour during afternoon naps on weekends to get stuff done.  I'll pay more, to get a service fast. (I think I already have via another vendor but customer care wasn't opened on the weekend) (still don't have that password for the other service - well I have it - it doesn't work and I just don't have the cycles to deal with it.)

Anyway - as I sent this digital photo show to my mom - I saw an ad they had to 'package' this photoshow as a DVD for the upcoming holiday.  I thought - wow - that is a great idea for a grandma. (didn't have time to figure out how to organize photos for that that DVD in the 10 minutes I had remaining of my guys' nap time) - but I made a mental note.

Today - I received a note from PhotoShow http://www.photoshow.net/home giving me deadlines for when I needed to send them the photos in order to get a DVD in time for Christmas.  It categorized deadlines by delivery type. (i.e. my drop dead deadline is like December 17th.)

Anyway - I thought - "this feels like a service."  It was a message I wanted to receive, but didn't have the time, or the inclination to ask.  It felt like a courtesy. So thank you. 

I'm curious PhotoShow management team.  Was this idea from your care operation? or your marketing department?  I don't think outbound messaging is just for the marketing organization to think about anymore.  I felt "cared for" not "marketed towards."

 

 

Any other ideas like this out there.

Buyer Beware. We used to hear this message a lot more than we do today. Let’s face it, the consumer was vulnerable and didn’t have much of a voice in the market..  There were consumer advocates out there like David Horowitz who had a program called Fight Back, which attempted to inform consumers about corporations and other big businesses whose products were of poor quality, but only the biggest issues were heard..

In the past, if you had a bad experience or issue, you could call (and wait on hold after being told “your call is important to us…” or write a letter.) You could complain to your spouse, your neighbors, but that is about as far as your voice could travel.  You were one voice talking to a few people. The “leverage” was very much in the hands of the business. 

That was then, the whole paradigm has shifted. 

Today, if I have the time and the passion – and generally just the right level of frustration…….I can tell more than my husband, my dog......  Social Media outlets have shifted the power to the consumer.  Social software —peer networks, blogs, chat, public rating systems and more—combined with growing media interest in consumer issues has made it easier than ever before for consumers to share their care experiences with an increasingly large audience and genuinely influence public opinion.  Look at poor Jet Blue.  One bad experience, coupled with YouTube and the media at large got them “kicked off” the cover of BusinessWeek’s Customer Service Champs issue.  And another example from the world I live in, are these blogs on how to avoid self-service.  They certainly haven’t helped the image of self-service or containment rates.

Companies can no longer afford not to care.  Today’s consumers now feel entitled to great service on their terms and aren’t afraid to speak up. Those companies that choose to ignore this changing dynamic will soon find themselves lagging behind quick-reacting competitors.  Simply put – BUSINESSES beware - the company that provides the most satisfying customer experience across all access points wins.    

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this evolution.  Please share your experiences in customer care and links to others’ experiences?  Would love to hear what is good out there and what isn’t – and together learn how these new media outlets are further empowering the consumer.