| Despite spending hours in the 'phone or online | | | | through the post a week later! |
| your customers are just not connecting with you, | | | | In reality you and your customers are being |
| resulting in angry customers hanging up and going | | | | divided by technology, you relationship, conducted |
| elsewhere. | | | | through computers has become so depersonalised |
| We are becoming more and more divided by | | | | as to be dangerous to the very well being of |
| technology. Your customers' dread interactive | | | | your brands and business. |
| voice-response, the on-hold music that doubles | | | | And sad to say any new channel of |
| the annoyance of queuing, the codes and | | | | communication simply increases management's' |
| passwords, are all barriers to effective | | | | opportunity to repeat mistakes. For example if |
| communication. | | | | you send an email, your call centre will not have |
| Despite spending hours in the 'phone or online | | | | seen it! |
| your customers are just not connecting with you, | | | | As we said earlier, all resulting from a complete |
| resulting in angry customers hanging up and going | | | | misunderstanding of that word "communication". |
| elsewhere. | | | | So let us examine that word 'communication' a |
| We are becoming more and more divided by | | | | little more closely. |
| technology. Your customers' dread interactive | | | | A dictionary definition of communications is as |
| voice-response, the on-hold music that doubles | | | | follows: |
| the annoyance of queuing, the codes and | | | | Communication. n. 1. transmitting 2. A giving or |
| passwords, are all barriers to effective | | | | exchange of information, etc. by talk, writing b) |
| communication. | | | | the information so given 3. A means of |
| The rage among your customers has reached an | | | | communicating 4. The science of transmitting |
| intensity, which is now causing great damage to | | | | information. |
| your relationship with your customers. We are | | | | The interesting fact is the expression 'the |
| now dehumanising our customer relationships even | | | | exchange of information' . |
| more than conventional advertising ever did, the | | | | Communication is not a one-way flow of |
| very objective of which was to do the exact | | | | information. Talking at or to someone does not |
| opposite! | | | | imply successful communication. This only occurs |
| Your customers appear to be invisible to you | | | | when the receiver actually receives the message, |
| except as computer generated stereotypes, while | | | | which the sender intended to send. Message |
| your organisation is viewed as remote and | | | | rejection, misinterpretation and misunderstanding |
| unreachable causing stress and suspicion rather | | | | are the opposite of effective communication. |
| than customer satisfaction. | | | | However most marketing communication today |
| According to a recent study by database | | | | depends on a single-step communications model. A |
| software specialist Data Vantage. Fully eighty nine | | | | message sender - the message - receiver. |
| percent of service providers are failing to deliver | | | | This basic model assumes that the sender is |
| the seamless service your customers want. | | | | active, whilst the receiver is inactive or passive |
| Causing damage to your brands, customers to | | | | and the message is comprehended properly. |
| defect, thus putting more pressure on sales. | | | | In this case if the message is creatively prepared |
| It would appear that most customer information | | | | and sent through the right medium and, if it cuts |
| in to days service organisations, expensively | | | | through all the other noise, and then if it is |
| acquired, is wasted, and what does get through | | | | decoded correctly the message has done its job! |
| to Management is contaminated, diluted or | | | | In closing please allow me to stress that we are, |
| otherwise unusable. | | | | despite appearances, creating more problems than |
| All this results in huge amounts of waste. | | | | we realise, all this new technology is doing is |
| Companies are drowning in data however, they | | | | alienating your customers more than ever before. |
| are, oddly enough, starved of knowledge! | | | | With all the other problems, clutter, meaningless |
| All resulting from a complete misunderstanding of | | | | noise, mistrust, it is now vital that we rethink our |
| that little word "Communication"! | | | | position on all commercial communication. The fact |
| It would appear, understandably I hasten to add, | | | | is that you, the Clients, can literally halve your |
| that one of the main reasons this frustration and | | | | colossal marketing budgets and, armed with a |
| anger occurs, is when one of your customers | | | | true interpretation and understanding of the word |
| calls your 'phone centre to complain about a bill | | | | "communication" and be far more cost |
| and then they receive a threatening reminder | | | | effective...on all counts! |