In one of my previous posts I talked about the effect of having silos in business. Marketing and sales are ‘frenmies', and customer service is left holding the bag to make up for when the other two drop the ball. A recent tweet by @pc4media stated ,"Thinking that software will force marketing and sales functions 2 collide. Seeing more & more mktg cmpns that provide sales enablement tech" . I would like to change that sentiment slightly.
Software tools should allow marketing and sales to collaborate in a way that improves customer service and create an experience that delights the customer.
Twitter is a software tool, whether you think it is stupid or not, people use it. Your customers use it. As a marketer, customer service rep, or business owner your job is to figure out how and why they use it and then engage (listen, respond, ask) with them on their terms. Not yours. (It is really not about you or your message, customers don't care. At the end of the day, it is about their experience.)
Here is my customer experience, using good ol' Dunkin Donuts as the example.
"7:45 am, just dropped the kids off at school, time for a quick bite and then the gym before conference calls need to start. The drive through line at DD is out to the street, and a delivery truck just showed up. Ugh. Best option for a speedy exit is to go in, otherwise road rage may ensue. Park the car, grab the iPhone (because yes, it goes everywhere with me) and head for the door. A quick look through the glass reveals the worst suspicion. Packed in here too. Oh well, lets see whats on with Twitter.
No sooner had the last 100 tweets loaded when the line starts to move. Hey, cool- this is going fast. Gloria looks up at me, smiles and in an efficient and pleasant manner asks for my order. Sandwich ordered, she asks if I will be needing coffee. The guy next to her, (I am assuming the coffee guy) I can see is listening for the order and as soon as I say no moves on to the next person in line for coffee. Nice teamwork. Gloria takes my money, hands me the change and points me to the direction of the counter to make room for the next person. In less than a minute, I am done. I just might make it to the gym after all! I don't feel rushed, but I am not standing around wondering where to get my food and when I am in a hurry I was able to get in and out, and my day has started off right. (insert DD tagline here)."
So what does this experience have to do with silos? My experience with customer service matched the marketing message- the silo between marketing and sales was eliminated.
I would suggest only this to @DunkinDonuts. Because I was so delighted with my experience, I thought Gloria should get some kudos. And so, iPhone in hand I thought of a little twitter experiment.
"Testing testing, if this thing is on then cashier Gloria @dunkindonuts in Dover , NH deserves a raise..."
I wanted to know if Dunkin Donuts was listening. They in fact, are. Their reply:
@DunkinDonuts "This thing is, in fact, on. DD Cust Care would love to hear that: http://bit.ly/upgWA They'll pass word along 2 franchisee!
Here is where the screen took me: (remember, I am still on my iPhone and in a hurry)
Would you complete this in a hurry on an iPhone or Blackberry?
I gave @DunkinDonuts the perfect opportunity to continue the momentum and engage in a conversation that positively promotes their brand. (Remember; listen, respond, ASK). Rather than sending me a long and unnecessary form to facilitate their internal communication process (that anyone other me would not bother to fill out) what @DunkinDonuts could have (should have?) done was ask me, on Twitter, why Gloria deserved a raise. And I would have responded with a condensed version of what I posted here. Or taken their own time to pass along the information.
All in all, I think still a kudos to @DunkinDonuts is due. Marketing and sales get it. Granted, this is probably not common place because my tweet was positive (not a complaint) and it may have thrown the Twitter department at DD off. (But it is such a great opportunity to fix one of the holes in the funnel, I couldn't resist passing it along.)
That's my opinion, the floor is yours.
