People Count<\/span><\/b> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source – <\/span>\u201cCast Away,\u201d<\/span><\/i> 20th<\/sup> Century Fox<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span><\/i><\/b>We might just make it. Did that thought ever cross your brain? Well, regardless, I would rather take my chance out there on the ocean than to stay here and die on this island, spending the rest of my life talking…\u201d<\/span><\/i> \u2013 Chuck Noland, \u201cCast Away,\u201d<\/i> 20th<\/sup> Century Fox (2000)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/a>Last Saturday, the wife went shopping at Stanford Mall\u2026O.K., so that\u2019s not unusual and not particularly exciting or for most males.<\/span><\/p>\n The next day, she had a thank you email from the associate (there are no clerks today) encouraging the wife to call or better yet, come by (oh, we know what that means) if she had any questions\/issues.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The associate even volunteered to let her know from time to time when there were sales, events she thought the wife would be interested in (whoopee!).<\/span><\/p>\n A pretty good customer engagement effort.<\/span><\/p>\n Got an email from the online auto store welcoming us to the \u201cfamily,\u201d and asking us to take a look at the linked catalog and get some more great stuff at a fantastic 10 percent off.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve received two other offers since\u2026still waiting for the car cover.<\/span><\/p>\n Got the sportswear and twice a week, we get an offer for more really neat stuff, sweet deals.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019d like the first online store to know we\u2019re not interested in being part of their \u201cfamily\u201d\u2026have enough trouble with our own.<\/span><\/p>\n As for the second, six \u201cundergarments\u201d will last for awhile.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>If we do, we\u2019ll ask the wife to go to the store.<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s a customer. <\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re a target.<\/span><\/p>\n Chuck looked at the flood of friendly emails and equated it to his last trip, \u201c<\/i><\/span>I should’ve never gotten on that plane. I should’ve never gotten out of the car.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source – <\/span>\u201cCast Away,\u201d<\/span><\/i> 20th<\/sup> Century Fox<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b>Lonely Feeling \u2013 <\/span><\/b>People will talk your ear off when they want to help you understand why you need to buy their product, system or service. But then, as you try to get things going, you get blank stares you can feel over the phone, Internet. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Companies large and small (B2B or B2C) give a lot of lip service to customer contact\/engagement, but what they really want is to sell something and drop them on a deserted island.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Meaningful Discussions<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n When you\u2019re ready to talk to them about something new, they\u2019re your long-lost forever buddies.<\/span><\/p>\n Companies have to come to grips with the fact that today\u2019s consumers and business customers are increasingly selective about which brands share their lives. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source \u2013 Apex Foundation<\/span><\/p>\n Born Listener\/Advisor \u2013 <\/i><\/span><\/b>Some people just seem to be tailor-made to provide pretty good feedback and information. These people seem to have a sixth sense about what\u2019s wrong, what you need and how to resolve your issues. The key is listening to what the person is saying and not saying. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Prospective customers form impressions with every encounter, not with crafted messages, responses. <\/span><\/p>\n Interactions\/touch points are no longer limited to marketing, sales or customer service.<\/span><\/p>\n They are spread across the entire organization because customers gain an experience, impression from everyone in your organization.<\/span><\/p>\n They read your online promo blasts, read reviews, read\/respond to blogs, check social media posts, email, call.<\/span><\/p>\n Some firms are forming operational and decision-making customer engagement councils that involve people from every part of the organization \u2013 CEO, marketing, communications, accounting, sales, customer support, production, shipping, etc. \u2013 because no one today is hidden from or out of the customer\u2019s reach.<\/span><\/p>\n Changes need to be made, not just on projected financial returns; but also on how customer expectations are evolving, how competitors are changing their customer engagement focus and where the company may be able to win through superior customer engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n Not long ago, Mitch Joel, CEO of Twist Image, divided business into two distinct breeds:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Product Focus \u2013 constantly evolving their product with tweets, updates and overhauls, focusing all of the attention on putting out the most interesting, most relevant products possible<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Customer Focus \u2013 making\/selling products in volume with updates to stay relevant<\/span><\/p>\n If you read the recent article in the New York Times<\/i> about people being unable to call in to today\u2019s Internet-based darlings, they firmly put themselves in this category by saying we don\u2019t take calls from people who want information, assistance\u2026use the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Wrong Wilson!<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The customer should choose the means of communications \u2013 and there are dozens that need to be monitored. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source – pichour<\/span><\/p>\n <\/b>Uncomfortable Calls \u2013 <\/span><\/b>We\u2019ve encountered really good\/great customer support people and really bad\/rotten customer support people. The good ones understand the caller is a little irritated, perplexed because things should just work. Sometimes the best thing they do is \u2026listen.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n People call for many different reasons; but the key reason is they want information\/assistance.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Phone Calls<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n People call, not because they are Internet illiterate, but because:<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Not everyone is really proficient with a keyboard.<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>It takes time, effort to spell out all the issues and often leads to a prolonged discussion \u2013 if the person gets a response \u2013 for both sides to clearly understand the issue\/solution.<\/span><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Sometimes, it\u2019s just easier to talk through what you think the issue is and what the person on the other end of the phone can visualize as a potential solution.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Looking at the issue philosophically, Chuck commented, \u201c<\/i><\/span>We live and we die by time. And we must not commit the sin of losing our track on time.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source \u2013 deviantart<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b>We\u2019re Internet-Based \u2013 <\/span><\/b>Having real people as customer support responders is expensive and doesn\u2019t really scale very well. However, simply making you talk to the hand doesn\u2019t do much for the company, its products\/services or a future relationship<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n We understand why organizations don\u2019t like the calls:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Phones cost money<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Phones don\u2019t scale<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Phones are a distraction<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>The caller is usually desperate, over-the-top irritated or has just hit a brick wall<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The last reason is why scripted support, assistance, guidance doesn\u2019t work.<\/span><\/p>\n The customer knows the person they are talking with is leafing through a manual and often that only exacerbates the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n People who have more freedom to work with the customer usually do a better job of making it a positive customer engagement because they\u2019re listening instead of scrolling through canned answers. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Image Source \u2013 CERN<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b>Big Data Fast \u2013 <\/span><\/b>CERN, the Large Hadron Collider, was developed to produce volumes of data and data points to help people learn the universes\u2019 point of origin. CERN studies and provides information on more than a million points of light. Sorta\u2019 think social media firms can follow the same example and talk to users in the mode he\/she wants to communicate with the site\/activity.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n True, for Internet-based social media firms, there are many sound reasons for people using the online tools that made them what they are today \u2013 large with millions of users that they mine data from and sell to others.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Untitled-1\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Untitled-1.jpg\")
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\n<\/span>But a month before, we had ordered a new car cover from one outlet and sportswear from another.<\/span><\/p>\n
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