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May 2005 Why have spoons that you can't use for icecream? by Cassie Woolley What do you expect your customers to get out of your communication with them? My 3 year old daughter is obsessed with spoons. I kept finding the baby's spoon in the sandpit, so I bought twelve more, but I can still never find a spoon when I need one. We don't collect decorative spoons, but we do have one that I bought as a joke for my husband years ago. This week my daughter brought this spoon to me and asked me if she could use it to eat. I patiently explained to her that it is a special spoon that is supposed to sit on the shelf to look at. After my lengthy explanation she looked up at me and said "Mummy, is it to eat ice-cream?" She was sure that the spoon must have a purpose besides sitting on the shelf. Like the spoon, any communication that we initiate should have a purpose. After buying a new microwave, I was amused (and slightly annoyed) to receive the following email after registering it on-line:
What was the point of sending me this email? Here is a golden opportunity for this manufacturer to communicate with me, and this is all they can come up with. Do they really expect me to keep this email just for a customer number? Who are they kidding? I sincerely doubt that a ten digit customer number was created for my "convenience". More likely it will be convenient for them if I memorise this number and have it handy when I call in two or three years to report that my microwave has broken. I wonder why they have not even attempted to promote their other appliances to me. Obviously I selected their microwave from a number of competing products, and brand surely had some impact on my choice. This email contains no branding, no logos, and without careful examination, you would never guess that it was sent from one of the world's largest appliance manufacturers. At the very least, they could have provided some useful information about my new microwave. Tell me more about what sets this microwave apart from the others, and when my friends come over and admire it I could be passing this information on. How about a few recipes to get me started and thank me for registering? Lastly, I loathe receiving emails where the "from" address is do-not-reply@xxxx.com.au, or when I am instructed not to reply because no-one is listening. This practice is becoming very common and in my opinion it shows a total disregard for the customer. To me it feels like they are saying "we don't want to hear from you". What marketer in their right mind would call a customer and refuse to provide a return phone number? Refusing to accept email communication will alienate many customers who prefer email communication. It is a shame that a company can spend so much time and money on marketing to sell me a microwave, yet so little on the after-sales relationship. In an industry where repeat business is essential, I would expect more. This month I'd like you to remember my daughter and her spoons, and remember that every communication you have with your customers should have a purpose. Ensure that you carefully consider the impact that your email marketing will have on your customers and your relationship with them. Put yourself in their shoes. And please don't ask them to remember a ten digit customer number. |