Written by Customer service marketing is possibly one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal.
You can spend countless dollars on ads and flashy marketing campaigns.
But if you’re not creating raving fans out of your current customer, it will be all for nothing.
There have been all sorts of reports that confirm bad news travels twice as fast as good news.
So, ultimately you’ll have to work twice as hard to keep a good reputation.
Over this past year I had experienced examples of both.
Customer Service Marketing – The Bad
We begin with the decision my husband and I made to remodel our kitchen.
It was something that needed to be done very badly.
To say that it was outdated would be an understatement.
On top of that, many of the appliances were breaking down and/or not working.
The kitchen cupboards and drawers were on their last legs and the floor was scuffed and badly worn.
Our first step was to have the company to come out and give us an estimate.
We thought we were getting excellent customer service marketing.
The salesman came out and helped us redesign the floor plan.
He even helped us to add some new cupboards, a built in spice rack and some space saving options as well.
We signed the contract and were told that he would order the materials and the build would begin in 8-10 weeks.
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened at all.
The company forgot to order the materials on time.
So our contractor didn’t show up for 5 months.
Upon arriving, we found out from the contractor that the things that the salesman promised us were not possible.
The job wouldn’t be done in a few days. It would take a few weeks. Which ultimately lead to 3 months of contract work.
Some of the design elements we were promised were not legally to code and could not be achieved.
To make matters worse, our contractor would frequently leave to go work on other jobs, leaving us without a kitchen, running water, gas or appliances for weeks at a time.
This went on for 3 months.
At this point my husband and I had grown quite weary and lost our patience with the contractors, salespeople and customer service marketers.
They would promise us the moon and the stars and deliver very little.
Needless to say, that during this time my husband and I were venting to everyone we knew about our horrible experience.
We couldn’t wait for it to be over and wanted to ensure that any one of our friends and family who were going through a remodeling project would never use this company.
Customer Service Marketing – The Good
The one bright spot in this project came when we had to have the gas line unconnected and reconnected for the flooring install.
It was also necessary to have the toilet and sink removed and the water shut off.
Only to have all of it turned on with the new toilet and sink after the flooring.
We had to have a plumber come out and do this process twice.
Once before and once after.
For this part of the project, we were able to utilize a plumber we had met about 15 years ago.
This man is great.
Several years ago, when a main water line got plugged with roots and backed up causing water damage, this man was there in a heartbeat.
His only questions were, “What do you need and when would you like me to come out?”
It’s been the same questions anytime we had any other plumbing issues over the next several years.
He’s kind, respectful and always willing to go that extra mile to make sure that we’re happy.
And at the end of every single exchange, he takes a moment to thank us for the business.
Both of my children, now with houses of their own, call him for their plumbing needs.
They’ve told their friends about him and he now serves them as well.
My husband and I readily keep this plumber’s name on a magnet on our refrigerator as well as out hot water tank, in case anyone we know needs a plumber.
I recently found out how much our plumber’s business has grown.
As a result, he now has two locations and a team of people working for and with him as his business grows.
It’s Impact to Your Growth
We all know that Customer Service Marketing is important.
But I think that when you experience something like this, it gives you a new appreciation on its impact.
You can literally crush or create growth by how happy you leave your clients.
I’ve always thought that I treated people well and wanted to make them happy.
This experience has me looking for some concrete things that I can do for my client that are above and beyond the call of duty.
The thing is, people don’t always vote with their mouth. They vote with their dollars.
Consequently, you may never have another opportunity to wow them.
It starts with the first exchange and has to be consistent with every exchange afterward.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to map out your Customer Service Marketing Strategy.
It will make a difference in the growth of your practice.
It sounds like a headache of a journey with a lot of lessons learned but the end result is SO BEAUTIFUL. I hope it was worth it and it sounds like it crossed lessons over to your work which will only benefit your clients as well. Sometimes we have to get through the lemons to make the lemonade (after a few tears). Thanks for sharing!