How Not To Communicate
Learn how to improve customer service through better communication
This past Cyber Monday, while finishing up my holiday shopping, an email from a department store showed up in my inbox. The image in the email was for colored denim jeans. I was thrilled because my mother-in-law, who lives in another country, has been requesting colored jeans for years. I clicked on the image and that’s when the trouble began.
When I clicked on the link, I expected to see the jeans that were advertised. But instead, I landed on the home page for the store. “Hmm that’s odd,” I thought. “Why didn’t it take me to the jeans?” So I entered the exact words from the ad into the search box. The results? “No products found.” Strange. Let me try again…
Don’t Confuse Your Prospects and Customers
I called customer service. The rep proceeded to do exactly what I did. He helpfully said, “Hmm…I don’t know, that’s odd.” After putting me on hold for a while to confer with a colleague, he returned to tell me that the ad was for an in-store promotion only.
He said, “We should have been tipped off because the ad had a green graphic that said ‘fabulous finds’ on it” Huh? If it was an in-store promotion, why wasn’t the product at least shown on the website with the words “in-story only”? I decided to search for the words “fabulous finds” on the website. No dice. No explanation. Then I reminded the rep that it was in fact Cyber Monday. “Wouldn’t a reasonable person expect the advertisement that arrived on Cyber Monday to be for an online purchase?” He didn’t have a good response for that.
Which brings me to today’s first Quick and Dirty Tip: When marketing your products and services, remember to review your ad campaigns with fresh eyes. What might someone who has never experienced your company or brand need to know? Be sure “insider” terms are clearly explained. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself fielding more customer inquires and possibly even public complaints. (Did I mention that I tweeted about my bad experience while it was happening?)
Don’t Keep Critical Information at Headquarters
It is critical that distributed field staff are regularly updated with news from headquarters.
Unfortunately, the confusion didn’t end there. I decided to call the store to find out the brand and availability of the jeans that were advertised. I explained that I received an email advertisement and wanted to know more about the jeans. I was shocked when the store representative said, “Oh, those email campaigns come from corporate. We don’t know what they send out and frequently we don’t have the items in stock anyway. But let me pass you to the women’s department. Maybe they can help you.”
For many businesses, there is a central headquarters and a distributed staff that could be located anywhere. It is critical that distributed field staff are regularly updated with news from headquarters. The more distribution you have, the more effort needs to be put into communication. Otherwise, you run the risk of the field staff being disconnected. That’s when you begin to develop an “us against them” culture as opposed to a “we” culture.
Particular attention must be paid to distribution of information that affects your company’s sales. For example, in the case of the fiasco with the department store, I would recommend that front-line employees be required to review the email ads that customers are receiving on a daily basis (perhaps even be required to receive the emailed advertisements themselves). In addition, the same information should be covered in team meetings. Anything being mailed out to prospects and customers needs to be viewed by all employees first.
Finally, there should also be a process in place that actively and regularly solicits feedback and ideas from employees who deal directly with customers. Since they deal day to day with prospects and customers they have often intuitively understand what initiatives will work or won’t work. Besides, having their ideas implemented creates more ownership and enthusiasm which leads to better bottom line results.
Don’t Yell At Your Prospects
Now, back to the jeans. I finally got transferred to the ladies department representative.
She asked me, “Can you tell me the brand of the jeans?” “No, I can’t, it’s not on the ad,” I respond. I’ll admit that by this point, my tone may have been less than pleasant. But I had already explained all of this twice and my patience was wearing thin. My expectation was that the store rep who answered the call had explained the situation to the women’s department rep.
Her response took me by surprise, “Well, if you don’t tell me the brand, I can’t find the jeans for you” she said, nastily. I mentioned that perhaps she needed some additional customer service training. She then lost it and literally yelled at me: “Well, you need to just chill out. I’m not starting my night in a bad mood because of you!”
Clearly, yelling at your prospects is not a good idea. However, in a way, I don’t really blame her. If the issue had been clearly communicated to her, both by headquarters and by her store teammate, she might have been able to respond better. What was my response? “May I speak with your supervisor?”
Don’t Wait to Resolve Issues
The supervisor got on the phone and said that she also hadn’t seen the ad and didn’t know which product I was referring to. She promised to look in the inventory and get back to me. I was expecting that she would walk over to the women’s department, take a look, and call me right back. Instead, she called over two hours later, just before the store was closing, to tell me that she had two pairs left in stock.
The lesson here is: When an issue has been raised by a prospect who wants to buy something from your company, it’s crucial to address the issue as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to complete the sale.
The Bottom Line
So what can we learn from this story? Poor communication costs businesses money. The key is clear, concise communication. Always keep in mind that your audience may be hearing your words for the very first time and may require a bit more help with explanations. When working with distributed staff (or even family) it’s very easy to feel disconnected. The fix is easy—more communication. Finally, when issues arise, resolve them quickly. The sooner they get resolved, the less damage the relationship suffers.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, no, I didn’t buy the jeans.
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About the Author
Lisa B. Marshall Lisa holds masters with duel degrees in interpersonal/intercultural communication and organizational communication. She’s the author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation, as well as Ace Your Interview, Powerful Presenter, and Expert Presenter. Her work has been featured in CBS Money Watch, Ragan.com, Woman’s Day, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and many others. Her institutional clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard University, NY Academy of Science, University of Pennsylvania, Genentech, and Roche.
