And everything in life…
There’s a lot of advice out there about how to provide good customer service. Some of it is decent, a lot of it is pure crap.
But like so many things, these so called experts are out there peddling “tactics” and “techniques” and “secrets.”
When what you really need is principles.
Customer service is a form of human interaction. And like all human interactions, there’s one key piece that underlies everything else…
Attention.
I’ve been talking about this a lot on Twitter recently, because it’s becoming more and more clear to me that people’s attention is being intentionally collected, weaponized, and laser-aimed at targets of the manipulator’s choosing.
That’s a story for another time, and another list.
But not all manipulation of attention is bad. I got your attention when I sent you this email. You’re reading it, aren’t you?
You get your customers’ attention when you send them marketing campaigns, or even pure information.
This is a NECESSARY feature of human interactions, not a flaw. Yes, it can be, and is being, manipulated for the gain of others, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about keeping your customers happy, fixing their problems, and leaving them feeling good about their purchase decision.
The basics of good business, in other words.
This is why I talk so much about customer service being a neglected marketing channel.
Think about it. You have a problem or a question about a product. You contact the company to get it resolved.
When their reply comes in, it has your immediate and undivided attention!
You want to know the answer. You want to know that the thing has been fixed. You damn well are going to open and read that message.
This is where most companies screw it up.
They send out some poorly written, LONG and hard to read email template that includes a bunch of irrelevant garbage, and MAYBE, if you’re lucky, an answer to the original question.
The person wants to read it. And they try. But damn, they really don’t make it easy.
And of course, they wouldn’t dare even THINK of SELLING something in that message! God forbid! Customer service is supposed to be a COST, not a profit center!
If you’re reading this you already know…
All communication is persuasion.
All writing is copywriting.
And I’ll add a new one here.
All human interaction is attention management.
Fixing these emails WILL get more people to read them. It will make them walk away feeling… however you want them to feel.
And through correctly targeted offers, it WILL make you more money.
If the above all sounds reasonable to you, I want you to do something…
I want you think about how this could fit into your business. I want you to take a look at some of the communications you’ve been sending out to your customers.
I want you to really think about whether these messages are using people’s attention intelligently, or scattering one of the most powerful forces on earth to the wind, wasted.
And if, as I did, you realize your messages could stand for improvement…
I want you to send me an email.
I’ll take a look, give you my honest opinion, free of charge. And if you want help fixing it, we can talk about that too.
Email me to get started today.
— Mark
