If we look back through the years at the voice of companies and customers it would generally go like this. For decades companies have had access to mediums to get their voice out there. Radio, Television and print were all used by companies to announce their message. By sheer brute force companies would broadcast out and customers generally didn’t have a voice. Sure a customer could complain, even boycott, but overall the power was with the companies.
Then the Internet came along and the customer had access to a medium that was equally accessible by both company and customer. For the first time customers had a voice, a channel, that could be amplified to the same volume as companies. Forums, blogs, user groups, reviews, videos, pictures and most recently social networks are being leveraged by customers to be heard across the world.
Don’t Filter Your Voice
That bring us to the next stage of voice. That voice is yours. Your voice as a business owner, entrepreneur or employee. I’m not talking about some voice that’s filtered as though it went through the marketing department. I’m talking about the unique, unfiltered voice that you use to talk with your customers. Notice I said with and not at. That’s the next stage of communication and marketing on the Internet. Business owners, entrepreneurs and employees communicating WITH their customers. While we certainly have had several ways of doing this before the Internet such as the phone or face to face, none is more far reaching and cost affective than the Internet.
What Tools Should You Use
You need to use the latest tools (blogs, social networks, video) to interact directly, on a human level, with your clients. Your voice is what people are looking for. Someone who will speak to them on a human level not some regurgitated marketing brochure or customer service policy that was implemented by a lawyer whose never even seen the product to begin with. Your customer wants to hear your voice and the channel more people are preferring is the Internet. Not to mention these new conversations are able to be viewed by others and that’s where the real power, the network affects, takes place. Others being able to see how you have interacted with customers can do just as much to gain new customers, clients and contacts as anything else.
Using all of these tools is not an option in today’s world. You need to have a voice, you need to communicate directly with your clients.
Hers An Example
What happens when someone in your company has a voice and is engaged on these channels? Expedia recently got an initial customer support interaction wrong when they did not correctly help a stranded customer on their honeymoon. What’s the customer do? Turns to friends and Social Media to broadcast the complaint. In steps an alert employee from Expedia who saw the complaint. She implemented an instant resolve that went above and beyond the customers expectations. In fact so positive that they got a testimonial on the cover of USA Today. What’s that worth? The reality is you can’t buy that kind of coverage.
It’s time to let your voice be heard. Tell me, are you using the online channels to talk with your customers? What’s good about it? What’s bad? Post a comment below and let me know.
