'If you have a touch-tone phone, press 9...To file a grievance, hang up and call someone who cares.' Ever feel as though the company you’re trying to reach doesn’t want you to reach them? Does your firm come across this way in any of its communications? This document by Jack Burke examines the value of personalizing your business.
'Make it personal!' has been my battle cry for years, as technology seems to depersonalize too many business relationships. After a speech, people often ask how they can make their Web site or e-mail more personal. The answer is in the people — your staff. Use your people to personalize your site and allow your people to personalize their electronic communications with your clients.
At the very least, your site should have a complete list of your employees and some means of contacting them. I strongly urge companies to provide their employees with their own pages, where they can post photographs and provide insight as to who they are outside the business context. This enables clients and prospects to identify with, and bond with, your employees. For instance, my page at www.soundmarketing.com shows pictures of my grandchildren and my auto restoration hobby. Quite frequently those pictures become the initial commonality in conversations with prospects. I even had a NASA scientist contact me because he’d found our Web site when searching for a classic car part. While visiting our site, he noticed various communications products that could benefit his operation at NASA.
Now, about that e-mail and the story of Ivan (with a heart). I often excuse incredibly big companies from the need to really personalize. I just can’t picture AT&T or Microsoft getting really personal. Granted, Amazon.com has managed to make personalization an art, but they’re primarily retail-oriented. Business-to-business personalization seems a bit tougher and I believe our expectations are lower here. But Ivan has changed my mind and raised the bar of my expectations.
I recently needed some computer advice about the interaction of three different programs: MS PowerPoint, MS FrontPage, and QuickTime. Since two of the programs were from Microsoft, I went to their Web site and sent an inquiry to technical support. As usual, I received an e-mail reply within 24 hours. It began with what I regard as a fairly personalized statement for a large company:
'Dear Jack,
Thank you for choosing Online Support for your Microsoft Technical Support offering. My name is Ivan and I will be assisting you with this Service Request.'
Ivan then discussed the technical aspects of my question, offered advice, and recommended various online articles to read. Nothing dramatic, but framed in a nice, personalized e-mail communication. The surprise came at the end of the message. Ivan signed off with the typical:
'Thanks and best regards,
Sincerely,
Ivan Sheng, Support Engineer'
But after his certifications, department information, and e-mail address came the surprise:
'(By the way, I visited your Web site — cool! — and saw you and your wife’s photos, along with the cars. At the same time, please say hello to Elizabeth, Melissa, Virginia, and Tara!)'
Ivan not only took the time to visit our Web site, but actually spent time perusing our 'personal page pictures,' where he learned the names of my daughters. The postscript was his way of saying that he cared about me as a customer of Microsoft.
Thank you, Ivan, for your heart. Anyone who cares that much about his customers will go far in any company.
Do you have an Ivan working for you?