The phone call from this company came less than 24 hours after the initial request, by which time I had found an alternative source. I told the customer services representative on the phone, that this was the case, and thanked him for getting in touch, but I was quite specific that I would not now be needing their services.
Knowing When To Stop
Within the next 24 hours, I recieved three further phone calls from this company, together with a written communication at my home address. In pursuing me in this way, this company has now alienated themselves from any future purchase, or recommendation to my circle of friends and family.
Often, we believe that re-contacting customers, or being less subtle in our approach to them, will reap business rewards. In the same way that we need to consider what we say (see previous blog about the Lost Art of Conversation), how and when we say it is so very important.
Sense and Respond: surprise and delight your customers
Push and Pull
With all the data capture now available at our fingertips, companies also have the added pressure of knowing when to contact customers, and how to contact them. Our Email Marketing training course extols the do’s and dont’s of a good Touch Strategy. Imagine the Amazon Superbowl story re-written to include flyers landing on doormats and you will see what I mean.
On the flip side, I am an avid fan of All Saints clothing, but since signing up to their email offers, I am now bombarded daily with emails and banner ads that has instigated me hitting the ‘unsubscribe’ button.
Bill Gates once very wisely said that ‘The Internet will help achieve “friction free capitalism” by putting the buyer and the seller in direct contact, and providing more information to both about each other. To all of us who have stuff to sell, we just need to ensure that this direct contact is consistently intelligent, considered and timely.