| Colin Shaw urges you to ensure that your branding | | | | images portrayed on the advert are of customers |
| and marketing activities are aligned with your | | | | rolling around the floor laughing, and being very happy, |
| Customer experience | | | | with a telephone glued to their ear as they receive |
| I work with a client in the North of England. Whenever I | | | | their quotation - and of the company’s call |
| visit them I always stay at the same hotel. At this hotel | | | | centre staff happily dealing with the customer’s |
| their slogan is We never say No. All the | | | | enquiry. SO I thought I would give it a |
| employees wear badges saying We never say | | | | go
.. |
| no, and there are even posters and flyers in your | | | | The first thing I was greeted with was an automated |
| room saying the same thing. So ask yourself this, do | | | | service! The message said that when they collect my |
| you think the people never say no? | | | | data to give me my quotation that they would use this |
| Of course not! This is marketing hype, and so far from | | | | information to send me further information about their |
| reality it’s ridiculous. The marketing people have | | | | products and services! Does that make me happy? |
| sat in a darkened room and come up with a great | | | | No it doesn’t. The message also says that if |
| slogan that is totally impractical to implement on the | | | | you don’t want this to happen that all you have |
| shop floor. The contrast is vivid. You talk to an | | | | to do is tell the agent, when you do get through to |
| employee who is saying No to you about | | | | them, and they will take you off the list. Do I trust that |
| something and yet their badge tells you that they | | | | will happen? I eventually got through to the agent and |
| never say no. | | | | asked for travel insurance. I explained that I |
| You hear customers point out the inconsistencies - I | | | | didn’t want to give my details as I don’t |
| would like a non-smoking room, are there any | | | | want to be mailed with 20 million emails or letters and |
| available?. The employee replies no, I’m | | | | that I simply want travel insurance. Their reply was |
| sorry they are all gone - and inevitably the | | | | they couldn’t provide it to me as their process is |
| customer says but I thought you never said no?. | | | | to collect the data before the quote. Does this make |
| The employees get into games saying everything but | | | | me happy? No. Were the people really friendly and |
| the word no like not really or that is not | | | | happy? No. Were the messages happy? No. |
| possible to avoid saying the word no. When | | | | So why do marketing sit on one side of the fence and |
| a customer points out they are really saying no | | | | the people who deliver the reality sit on the other? The |
| I’ve actually heard an employee say, I | | | | creative people in agencies and marketing have great |
| didn’t say no, I said not really. It becomes | | | | fun in creating marketing campaigns without any |
| like the game show where you cannot say the words | | | | thought to how these actually get delivered, and the |
| yes or no. It made me think, what are | | | | subsequent impact on the Customer Experience. In my |
| the brand values of this company?. Given the | | | | experience, most employees do not even know what |
| scenario above I guess they maybe: | | | | their companies brand values are. These are |
| 1. Create and expectation that is not fulfilled | | | | something that marketing do. They mean nothing to |
| 2. Treat customers as if they are stupid | | | | the people in the front line. Therefore what happens is |
| Now clearly these are not their brand values. But why | | | | that an expectation is created by marketing which is |
| have a slogan that is so obviously incapable of being | | | | then not fulfilled by the people who touch the |
| implemented? | | | | customer. |
| These examples are all around us. Only this week I | | | | I would urge you to ensure that your branding and |
| wanted to buy some travel insurance. Therefore, after | | | | marketing activities are aligned with your Customer |
| seeing an advert on TV, I decided to call this company | | | | Experience. |
| — their slogan was Quote me happy. The | | | | |