I’m Smarter Than YouThink

As a customer experience strategist, I’ve noticed that some businesses still don’t understand the importance of transparency, open communication and straightforwardness.  Some continue to engage us in ways that make us say to ourselves “are you kidding me?”

Do you remember a commercial that featured a woman who just finished shopping, walks out of the store and yells to her husband “start the car, start the car”, because she thought they hadn’t charged her enough for the things she purchased?  What message does that send to the consumer?  In a roundabout way, it says that it’s okay to cheat.  What they wanted to convey is that their prices are so low, we can’t live without them. Call me crazy, but there are better ways to get the message out.

Here’s something else on my mind.  We’ve all gone to trade shows and conventions and have put our cards into drawings that promise something free.  Have you found that free isn’t really free after all?  I recently received a call from a company that said I had won $300 in free services.  But, I would have to come in and “talk” to a specialist before I booked my appointment.  So was it really free?  Not in my book.  I should be able to make an appointment and use my gift.  By the way, I never heard back from them.

This next example speaks again to dishonest customer engagement.  My online contact lenses provider often sends me emails to reorder my contact lenses.  One of the last emails they sent me reported that they had an overstock of my lenses and that they blamed it on someone in their company who had over ordered.  In the email, they specifically said they wouldn’t “name names”.  Wow!  They were willing to throw to someone in their company “under the bus” (or pretend to) so that they could sell products.  So I sent them an email asking them why they used this marketing tactic.  They kindly responded saying that it wasn’t what they meant.

I have seen more and more companies getting desperate and dishonest in their marketing.  I know times are tough but your customers deserve better.  If I were consulting with companies that do this, I would tell them to STOP, because it isn’t how customer engagement works.  We are smarter than you think and see right through these messages.  If you think I’m off base, let me know. If you need better ways to engage your customers, call me. 

Norma is an innovative Customer Experience Strategist, Business Coach, Blogger and Speaker. Her goal is to inspire business owners to captivate their customers and turn them into raving fans so that their businesses can experience increased profits and more fun. Contact Norma at (480) 694-6940, or visit the website at CaptivatedCustomers.com or email her at norma@captivatedcustomers.com

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