Customer service is the new marketing

Thor Muller, CEOLane Becker, President

The expectations game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkyNtvNz3DQ

The sacred hospitality code

A drink before introductions

8 waitstaff per guest

This is a great approach to customer service

This is a great approach to customer service

But it doesn’t scale.

There’s more than one way to succeed in the marketplace

Customer-focusedFour Seasons, Zappos, Craigslist

Product-focusedApple, Google, most web startups

Operations-focusedTelecommunications, cable, some widget companies?

The best way to deliver excellentcustomer service is...

stop trying

Here’s what “trying” looks like...

Here’s what you end up withhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjSTTb_siCU

3% of US employed in related support roles

(That’s the population of Florida!)

It’s often worse for startups

The surprising solution

Secrets of the Concierge

1. Put conversations at the center of the business

2. Reduce your sphere of control to increase sphere of influence

1. Smash the silos

1conversations at the

center of the business

“Markets are conversations”

-The Cluetrain Manifesto

Disconnected tools lead to customer disconnection

Contactpage

FAQTrouble Ticket

SystemForum Wiki

Disconnected support tools

}

Instead, use support tools on top of discussions

Contactpage

FAQ

Trouble Ticket

SystemForum Wiki

Conversations

“Customer interactions are our best branding opportunities” Tony Hsieh, Zappos

Reduce support tasks whileincreasing engagement

from 50% issues unresolved (with trouble ticket system and dedicated staff) to 50% answered by other customers...

Timbuk2 customer service page

Timbuk2 customer service page

Embrace critics

Twitter’s responsiveness spawns evangelists

Twitter’s responsiveness spawns evangelists

Foster ideas wherever they come from

Dangers: the Digg Revolt

2Reduce your sphere

of control

...to increase your sphere of influence

In your hands, but out of your control

Don’t create systems that place constraints on customer interactions

Harness the natural flow of feedback

Stop building FAQs that break

Your story is your customers’ story

Danger: people are messy

The special role of company representative

Photo: Heather Champ

3Smash the Silos

(Think like the network)

The “it’s not our problem” problem

A customer-centric view

Expose content for discovery

Nobody’s in charge anymore!

Dangers: Competition

So ask yourself:What would a concierge do?