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The Difference Between Customer Service and Lip Service

by Mike DeCecco on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 8:19 am

Hi guys:

With all the talk in the space today about what solid customer service really means I thought I would post some thoughts…

At the end of the day, regardless of what industry we’re in, we’re all essentially in the customer service business. So the bottom line is that if we’re not taking care of our customers in the most attentive way possible, a competitor will be more than happy to do it. The Internet marketing game is no different. As you consider entering into a relationship with a provider, you’re going to hear a lot of promises, particularly when it comes to customer service. And unless you’re careful, you’re going to learn a really hard lesson about the difference between full service and lip service.

Profit from experience.
In any business, particularly one as dynamic as Internet marketing, it pays to work with someone who understands what’s happening today and who knows enough to make an educated guess as to what will happen tomorrow. So it stands to reason that the best customer service reps are the ones who understand your business as well, if not better, than you do. Even those who don’t have firsthand knowledge, if they at least know where to go to gain that knowledge they can be of tremendous value to your dealership.

Hold the phone.
When you have a problem, or even a question, who would you rather have answering the phone when you call — someone at an overseas call center or an account manager who works with you on a day-to-day basis and thoroughly understands every facet of your business? Customer service is only effective if the person on the other end of the phone has the knowledge to service the customer. It sounds obvious, but if it’s so obvious why do so many marketing providers outsource their call centers? The answer is that it can be a lot more profitable for the provider. But when you absolutely need help and want to hear a familiar voice on the other end of the line, it doesn’t work for you.

Look for the proactive ingredient.
It’s great to have a customer service rep who specializes in solving problems. But wouldn’t it be better to work with someone with the skills to put out fires before they started burning out of control? That’s exactly what a proactive account rep can do for you. It’s not about predicting the future, it’s about being prepared for it. And no one’s better prepared than someone who understands industry trends and is always watching out for how they may impact you. It’s always a lot easier, and a lot cheaper, to head off problems rather than solve them.

Playing the numbers game.
Think of a pie. If you have six friends over for dinner and want to cut a slice for each, everyone’s going to get a pretty good sized piece. Now imagine that same sized pie with 20 dinner guests. Those slices aren’t going to be nearly as generous. The same rules apply to your account rep’s time. If he or she is servicing 10 accounts, it stands to reason that you’re going to get about 10% of their attention. Now double the number of their accounts, and your share of their attention is reduced to 5%. With that math in mind, it’s at least worth asking your account rep how many accounts he or she will be servicing before you sign anything.

It all comes down to Google.
In an industry dominated by search engines, your account reps have to know the ins and outs of that business. And these days, that means they’d better be Google trained and Google certified. You might hear vague promises about how that doesn’t matter so much or how there are ways around it, but there’s one truth in the search engine business: Google rules. And until that changes, and there’s no reason to believe it will any time in the near future, having the training and certification necessary to run your ad words program and to help you with search engine marketing and optimization is an absolute necessity.

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1 comment

  1. [...] dealer.com propaganda marketing style they made the following statement on Automotive Social network Drivingsales.com It all comes down to Google. In an industry dominated by search engines, your account reps have to [...]

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