Customer Centric Marketing

Recently I have been spending time working with clients on a variety of marketing projects and observing various marketing techniques. As marketing professionals, we spend entirely too much time talking about our products and services, defining our brand strategy, designing ad campaigns, visual identity systems and logos. We need to spend more time evaluating our ability to deliver on the brand promise, understanding the customer experience and evaluating our customer advocacy.

Case in point, I have recently done an overhaul of our credit card services. During this process, I observed the customer experience by Wells Fargo, Citibank, Chase and American Express. I experienced each company's call center, website and credit card policies. I can say unequivacably that American Express understands the value of customer experience, Wells Fargo comes in second. Citibank is a neutral with good and bad and I will NEVER do business with Chase again. All of this is due to my experience as as customer of each of these financial institutions and has nothing to do with their outbound marketing efforts.

Chase is guilty of a bait & switch like I have never experienced before, with these guys be sure to read the fine print. American Express on the other hand values long term client relationships and treats you as a valued customer from the day you sign up to the day you terminate your account.

Treat your customers well and they will bring more customers. I love the blackberry ad where they simply state "ask a Blackberry owner", or the Accenture ads where they share the stories of what they have done for customers and the benefits they have achieved. These ads show their confidence in the customer experience and loyalty.

So, stop telling us what is wonderful about your product or service, let your customers tell us. Spend your money on finding ways to treat them better. Build loyalty and let word of mouth be your advertising vehicle. It's a simple formula and likely a less expensive one.