This is the time of the year to get all paperwork ready for tax filing. Which reminds me that I need to visit my local bank to get my housing loan repayment statement. Which also reminds me that I hate visiting this bank. The process is so cumbersome and I have to visit three desks to get my statement. Thinking of it, since its a statement that every loan holder would need, the bank should proactively give it.
This also reminds me how I hate going to one other bank because of the guard giving a loud vocal alarm announcing my entry. See my earlier post "too-eager-to-serve-frightens-customer".
I also hate going to my regular bank branch since it is so crowded that there is no place to stand without touching somebody else. The last time I was there, there were a couple of kids running and screaming all over... adding to the chaos. And I was still waiting to be served.
The local branch of the largest bank is no better. The queues are so long and snakes through the branch. Right from the entry, one has to work through a maze. Just like the snake games on mobiles... only one survives by cutting across the snake body rather than the ends.
I wonder if it is just me or others also face this annoying situation. I am running a survey on experiences during your last bank visit. Kindly fill the survey at "Last Day at the Bank".
Also, I would appreciate if you pass this on to others.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
Participate ... Don't just Communicate
Go back to your college days. Whose discourse was more impactful? The professor who placed himself at the head of the class and just finished off that day's topic. Or the college senior who agreed to spend an hour with you to explain the same topic (in exchage for a beer). Or in my case, in exchange for sharing a bowl of Maggi Noodles at a classmate's hostel.
Often most campaigns are run like communication engines. Some message is defined to be communicated. The creative guys come in... with their accented language and maverick looks. They start discussing pictures and layout on the message medium. Finally, the d-day arrives and the message is broadcasted (or in case of database marketing ... mailed across). A lot of science goes in to test and decide the most appropriate content and format for the message.
Now, the campaign owner waits... and keeps calling the analyst to check on the number of responses.
These are akin to a politician standing on the podium just communicating his propaganda. What is needed is for the party worker to meet each citizen and take part in the discussion related to the citizen's life. There is a need to participate.
This is very difficult in mass marketing. In fact, most database marketers also run their campaigns as "mass marketing". The only difference is they have a "filter criteria" and know to whom the message is going. But they have no idea of whether the time and place is a right one. There is no pre-campaign message to gauge the receptiveness of the campaign message.
It is very effective if the campaign are designed as a series of dialogues rather than as just one great message. Campaigns should start off with a message identifying the state of the customer. For example, an general insurer targeting flight insurance could start off with a message asking the customer if "he has flown in the past 5 days?". Based on his response, the next message could be sent. Its like a dialogue with the customer which slowly leads to establishing the pain, need and finally the solution.
I agree that this will increase the cost of communication... but it will offset by the increased offtake.
I will be happy to work out a pilot in my free time to establish this theory. Mail me at michaeldsilva@gmail.com if you think we can employ this strategy in your business.
Often most campaigns are run like communication engines. Some message is defined to be communicated. The creative guys come in... with their accented language and maverick looks. They start discussing pictures and layout on the message medium. Finally, the d-day arrives and the message is broadcasted (or in case of database marketing ... mailed across). A lot of science goes in to test and decide the most appropriate content and format for the message.
Now, the campaign owner waits... and keeps calling the analyst to check on the number of responses.
These are akin to a politician standing on the podium just communicating his propaganda. What is needed is for the party worker to meet each citizen and take part in the discussion related to the citizen's life. There is a need to participate.
This is very difficult in mass marketing. In fact, most database marketers also run their campaigns as "mass marketing". The only difference is they have a "filter criteria" and know to whom the message is going. But they have no idea of whether the time and place is a right one. There is no pre-campaign message to gauge the receptiveness of the campaign message.
It is very effective if the campaign are designed as a series of dialogues rather than as just one great message. Campaigns should start off with a message identifying the state of the customer. For example, an general insurer targeting flight insurance could start off with a message asking the customer if "he has flown in the past 5 days?". Based on his response, the next message could be sent. Its like a dialogue with the customer which slowly leads to establishing the pain, need and finally the solution.
I agree that this will increase the cost of communication... but it will offset by the increased offtake.
I will be happy to work out a pilot in my free time to establish this theory. Mail me at michaeldsilva@gmail.com if you think we can employ this strategy in your business.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Learn from the babies
Recently while reading a health magazine, one particular article caught my attention. This article was different from the rest. It discussed on the exercises that one must perform and spoke something about the cartilages covering our muscle. What was really interesting in the article is the author's attempt to draw our attention to babies.
He stated that babies come with a natural instinct to develop their bodies. The actions and movements actually help them stretch, maintain flexibility and strengthen body parts. As they grow older and the need to develop body parts are desired but not critical, these actions move from the subconscious to the conscious. And the new adult now needs external stimulus (read health resolutions, gym adverts) to perform the same actions.
Consider the baby in the picture. We have seen all babies do this activity. Raise their legs in the air and often hold their toes in their hands. My physiotherapist prescribed me a similar exercise to stretch my lower spine and strengthen my abdomen and thigh. Its really surprising how simple this idea seems. All we need to do is watch and learn from the babies.
So where is the CRM connection?
Every marketing person I interacted with (and i mean "every") discussed about identifying profitable customers, about cross selling to existing customers, about predicting relationship demise, etc. But it always was about a customer who has been in the environment for a significant period.
Never have we focussed on the new customers -- the babies. We have not spend effort to observe and understand the behaviours and interactions of new customers. Just as a baby grows into an adult and is shaped by its cultures, surroundings, elders, etc. Similarly, a new customer grows into a vintage customers shaped by her experience in the early days. The customer settles into a state of acceptance and gets into a predictable behaviour. As analyst we try to map this behaviour and identify opportunities to benefit from any behavioural event.
It is useful to note here that the behaviour of the customer is partly due to the "state of acceptance" that was defined in the infant days. For example, a customer facing bad customer service in the initial days often settles for the state that the provider will always provide bad service. As such the service criteria is never considered in the sphere of influence. So many times we hear the phrase "...they have bad service..." from customers of the service providers.
It is important that we track the new users, the babies, and observe their behaviour so that the processes can be optimized for the desired customer profile. If the first thing a customer does after buying the product is call the call-center, then we should ensure that the call center is equipped to handle the infant appropriately. This will create a positive impact on the customer which she will carry in her vintage stage.
If this idea appeals to you, drop me a mail at michaeldsilva@gmail.com. We can jointly work out an initiative to observe and study the infant customers.
He stated that babies come with a natural instinct to develop their bodies. The actions and movements actually help them stretch, maintain flexibility and strengthen body parts. As they grow older and the need to develop body parts are desired but not critical, these actions move from the subconscious to the conscious. And the new adult now needs external stimulus (read health resolutions, gym adverts) to perform the same actions.
Consider the baby in the picture. We have seen all babies do this activity. Raise their legs in the air and often hold their toes in their hands. My physiotherapist prescribed me a similar exercise to stretch my lower spine and strengthen my abdomen and thigh. Its really surprising how simple this idea seems. All we need to do is watch and learn from the babies.
So where is the CRM connection?
Every marketing person I interacted with (and i mean "every") discussed about identifying profitable customers, about cross selling to existing customers, about predicting relationship demise, etc. But it always was about a customer who has been in the environment for a significant period.
Never have we focussed on the new customers -- the babies. We have not spend effort to observe and understand the behaviours and interactions of new customers. Just as a baby grows into an adult and is shaped by its cultures, surroundings, elders, etc. Similarly, a new customer grows into a vintage customers shaped by her experience in the early days. The customer settles into a state of acceptance and gets into a predictable behaviour. As analyst we try to map this behaviour and identify opportunities to benefit from any behavioural event.
It is useful to note here that the behaviour of the customer is partly due to the "state of acceptance" that was defined in the infant days. For example, a customer facing bad customer service in the initial days often settles for the state that the provider will always provide bad service. As such the service criteria is never considered in the sphere of influence. So many times we hear the phrase "...they have bad service..." from customers of the service providers.
It is important that we track the new users, the babies, and observe their behaviour so that the processes can be optimized for the desired customer profile. If the first thing a customer does after buying the product is call the call-center, then we should ensure that the call center is equipped to handle the infant appropriately. This will create a positive impact on the customer which she will carry in her vintage stage.
If this idea appeals to you, drop me a mail at michaeldsilva@gmail.com. We can jointly work out an initiative to observe and study the infant customers.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Oh...for a rainy day
Have you ever liked an item in a store only to be disappointed because they did not have the right size or colour or model in stock? I bet everyone of us has had this experience. Many a times I have walked into a clothing store, selected a handsome shirt and found that size 42 is no longer available. There is 40 and there is 44... But no 42. The store clerk with a very disinterested or disappointed look (probably depends on how his day went by) tells you that there is no size 42... not even in the stock in the back of the store.
The interaction often ends there. Never have I had any store clerk or manager show eagerness to get my contact details and commit on delivering the size 42 (or colour blue or whatever) to me as soon as it arrives in store.
I remember way back in 1999 when I was in Cincinnati, Ohio. The local Walmart store had a special deal going on for a "DIY shelf". As a bachelor, it attracted me as something that might get some order in one corner of my bedroom. So I get into my car and drive over to the Walmart store. They are out of stock. Apparently there were many more who thought same ways on the deal and were much quicker than me. The store clerk immediately took me to the customer service desk and handed me a "rain check" which entitled me to the "DIY Shelf" at the same price as it was available in the special deal. After 3 days, I get a call from the store saying that the shelf has arrived in stock. So I go down there on the way back from my office and pick it up.
My friend had a similar experience with Best Buy. There were giving a desktop PC for 300 dollars as part of the thanksgiving promotion. My friend stood in queue waiting for the store to open. However, he was probably 2 persons too late. The stock was picked up before he could reach the PC aisle. The Best Buy attendant gives him a rain check for the deal. He gets a call on the second day to pick up the PC at 300 dollars. Apparently, there was one store in an adjacent town that could not sell its stock and had some leftover. They got the PC shipped to the local Best Buy store and my friend ended up owning the PC.
I wish the Shoppers Stop, Big Bazaar, Lifestyles in India learn this lesson. When a customer decides on a product and starts looking for a special fit... whether size or colour... thats point of sale. Knowing that his size or colour is not available after spending time going through the various options to narrow on the design he likes is a big disappointment. But NO retailer in India has ever tried to leverage this situation. They always say the required SKU is out of stock and move on.
It would create such a delight to the customer if the retailer could just provide a rain check on the item and make sure the customer is either alerted or delivered the said item.
The interaction often ends there. Never have I had any store clerk or manager show eagerness to get my contact details and commit on delivering the size 42 (or colour blue or whatever) to me as soon as it arrives in store.
I remember way back in 1999 when I was in Cincinnati, Ohio. The local Walmart store had a special deal going on for a "DIY shelf". As a bachelor, it attracted me as something that might get some order in one corner of my bedroom. So I get into my car and drive over to the Walmart store. They are out of stock. Apparently there were many more who thought same ways on the deal and were much quicker than me. The store clerk immediately took me to the customer service desk and handed me a "rain check" which entitled me to the "DIY Shelf" at the same price as it was available in the special deal. After 3 days, I get a call from the store saying that the shelf has arrived in stock. So I go down there on the way back from my office and pick it up.
My friend had a similar experience with Best Buy. There were giving a desktop PC for 300 dollars as part of the thanksgiving promotion. My friend stood in queue waiting for the store to open. However, he was probably 2 persons too late. The stock was picked up before he could reach the PC aisle. The Best Buy attendant gives him a rain check for the deal. He gets a call on the second day to pick up the PC at 300 dollars. Apparently, there was one store in an adjacent town that could not sell its stock and had some leftover. They got the PC shipped to the local Best Buy store and my friend ended up owning the PC.
I wish the Shoppers Stop, Big Bazaar, Lifestyles in India learn this lesson. When a customer decides on a product and starts looking for a special fit... whether size or colour... thats point of sale. Knowing that his size or colour is not available after spending time going through the various options to narrow on the design he likes is a big disappointment. But NO retailer in India has ever tried to leverage this situation. They always say the required SKU is out of stock and move on.
It would create such a delight to the customer if the retailer could just provide a rain check on the item and make sure the customer is either alerted or delivered the said item.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Aim for captivity... Not loyalty
Every marketer worth his salt wants to implement a loyalty program. What the word "loyalty" in a loyalty program means is still debateable. Also, whether the loyalty programs actually result in loyal customers is also something that need to be proved. Many times a pissed off customer will first consume all the loyalty points and then terminate the relationship. A much worse scenario is when the "terms and conditions" make it very cumbersome and irritable for a customer to enjoy his loyalty earnings. How many marketers have actually walked in the customer's shoes thru the loyalty reimbursement process? I don't think very many have done so. Especially not the airlines .. which are the most avid adopters of loyalty programs aka frequent flyer programs. Ever tried to reimburse the frequent flyer points at the last moment... there will never be any "seats" available on the program.
Creating a loyal customer is not sufficient. Lets learn some lessons from the masters who have designed process to never lose their customers (if I may term them as customers). Which is the jail houses. The customers are prisoners. The program is captivity.
A marketer should design process that makes the customer a captive inmate. The cost of exit should be exceptionally high. Thats how a jailhouse is successful. The cost of escape is often the danger of being shot at or worse being nabbed and getting a longer session.
A telco can use convergence to its benefit to captivate its subscribers. For example, a telco in europe provided its subscribers to create a phone book of sorts on the web site. The phone bill created, instead of showing the phone numbers of the call records, replaced the number with the name of the person as defined in the phone book. The bill also grouped interactions person wise. Now a subscriber who goes through the toil of creating a phone book on the web site will not want to go through the same grind with another service provider.
Mobile manufacturers have an excellent opportunity to lock in their users. The concept of "customized tunes for callers" is a very very strong feature. Imagine someone having a 100 entries in the contact list and have defined customized tunes for a large number of them. This will definitely form a barrier to switching mobiles on the fly. I must make a note here.. that this is not the only thing that will hold a user. Unfortunately, none of the Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, Blackberry (and others) leverage this feature strongly. It should be simple to do... when a user gets a call from the caller without a custom caller tune attached, the phone should prompt the user to select one after the call is over. Over time the number of people with custom caller tune will exceed the point where the user would not want to do it all over again. At this stage, another feature which allows a Nokia user (say) to transfer the setup from one Nokia phone to another Nokia phone will be very useful and helpful in creating a stickiness to the Nokia brand.
Grocery purchases are often a chore rather than fun activity. A grocery retailer could allow a customer to define her basket of regular purchase. Then have an SMS facility wherein the customer sends in her request for a particular basket and have it delivered to her home. What a convenience that would be? Would this customer want to go over the pain of defining her baskets with another retailer... highly unlikely.
I have found in my interactions with people performing retention models for banks that the "bill pay" facility is very high on the captivity factor. Yet, so many banks charge the customer for this facility. They should make bill pay a impulse activity. Whenever a customer drops a cheque for payment of any utility the bank should proactively offer to enable "bill payment" for that utility. But, alas, how many banks do so? None that I know.
Back to our prison case, if the life in prison is better than the life outside prison then the "customer" may love to be in for life. During my recent trip to South Africa, I came across a news item wherein an arrested suspect was found innocent but he refused to leave the prison compound since it was the first time in his life that he had a proper bed to sleep in and a personal space in his cell. Now, if only we had customers who felt life with their service provider is better than life without the same, we would not need any more marketing budget.
So aim for captivity... think like a jailer. Lets talk on how to achieve this in your business... mail me at michaeldsilva@gmail.com
Creating a loyal customer is not sufficient. Lets learn some lessons from the masters who have designed process to never lose their customers (if I may term them as customers). Which is the jail houses. The customers are prisoners. The program is captivity.
A marketer should design process that makes the customer a captive inmate. The cost of exit should be exceptionally high. Thats how a jailhouse is successful. The cost of escape is often the danger of being shot at or worse being nabbed and getting a longer session.
A telco can use convergence to its benefit to captivate its subscribers. For example, a telco in europe provided its subscribers to create a phone book of sorts on the web site. The phone bill created, instead of showing the phone numbers of the call records, replaced the number with the name of the person as defined in the phone book. The bill also grouped interactions person wise. Now a subscriber who goes through the toil of creating a phone book on the web site will not want to go through the same grind with another service provider.
Mobile manufacturers have an excellent opportunity to lock in their users. The concept of "customized tunes for callers" is a very very strong feature. Imagine someone having a 100 entries in the contact list and have defined customized tunes for a large number of them. This will definitely form a barrier to switching mobiles on the fly. I must make a note here.. that this is not the only thing that will hold a user. Unfortunately, none of the Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG, HTC, Blackberry (and others) leverage this feature strongly. It should be simple to do... when a user gets a call from the caller without a custom caller tune attached, the phone should prompt the user to select one after the call is over. Over time the number of people with custom caller tune will exceed the point where the user would not want to do it all over again. At this stage, another feature which allows a Nokia user (say) to transfer the setup from one Nokia phone to another Nokia phone will be very useful and helpful in creating a stickiness to the Nokia brand.
Grocery purchases are often a chore rather than fun activity. A grocery retailer could allow a customer to define her basket of regular purchase. Then have an SMS facility wherein the customer sends in her request for a particular basket and have it delivered to her home. What a convenience that would be? Would this customer want to go over the pain of defining her baskets with another retailer... highly unlikely.
I have found in my interactions with people performing retention models for banks that the "bill pay" facility is very high on the captivity factor. Yet, so many banks charge the customer for this facility. They should make bill pay a impulse activity. Whenever a customer drops a cheque for payment of any utility the bank should proactively offer to enable "bill payment" for that utility. But, alas, how many banks do so? None that I know.
Back to our prison case, if the life in prison is better than the life outside prison then the "customer" may love to be in for life. During my recent trip to South Africa, I came across a news item wherein an arrested suspect was found innocent but he refused to leave the prison compound since it was the first time in his life that he had a proper bed to sleep in and a personal space in his cell. Now, if only we had customers who felt life with their service provider is better than life without the same, we would not need any more marketing budget.
So aim for captivity... think like a jailer. Lets talk on how to achieve this in your business... mail me at michaeldsilva@gmail.com
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