How to Make Your Customers Really Mad and Ruin Your Direct ...

Published on Monday, June 11th, 2012
By Pronto Post Editorial Board for Pronto

It?s probably been done in comedy-club skits, but it does make you wonder if there are people out there who really try to get fired, work hard to get divorced and try to ruin their relationships with friends and family. There simply must be. After all, we can?t all be too nice out there, can we?

Well, let?s hope for the best. If those people exist, it?s probably best that the rest of us have as little to do with them as possible. These folks are probably in bad states or relationships, and they use their willpower to try to make themselves unpopular to get out of these awful situations.

Yet some people make themselves unpopular not on purpose, but by accident. They mess up something they do and leave a horrible impression with their peers, jeopardizing whatever future relationships they might have had before that incident. Think about those first date or job interview horror stories. If only the right thing was said or done, those people might have wound up in better positions.

Sometimes, this happens to direct marketers. They can say and do things that, whether they wanted to or not, blow off their clients and show disrespect. This leads to clients packing up and finding another direct marketing business that will treat them better. It?s something that can happen and something that needs to be addressed if a direct marketing business wants true longevity in the client-service field.

This can happen with customer loyalty. Direct marketers occasionally falter in their loyalty and satisfaction services for their clients, and this leads to a slump in business?or, even worse, complete business failure. There is no doubt that direct marketing is a tough business to be in, and it isn?t perfect. Accidents happen, but there are some accidents you simply have to avoid, especially if you want to retain loyalty and satisfaction in direct marketing.

Not listening to customer feedback is good place to start. You might get complaint calls or suggestions to your business from clients. While it is true that some clients have better personal skills than others, you simply have to respond to what they say. Oftentimes, they make valid points and are concerned about why they haven?t gotten a service that was promised to them. In any case, you have to respond to customer feedback with courtesy, thanks and appreciation all the time. You can always get better, and your clients may have ideas as to how.

Mistakes also have to be dealt with as soon as they happen. For example, if there is a lost customer report, and you don?t take the steps to find it, the client may think that you not only disregard his or her responses and/or updates, but that you are also careless with his or her personal information. This is almost criminal negligence, and it can put a direct marketer into pretty hot water. When things go wrong, they simply have to be fixed, and clients have to have their information as secure all the time. Humans err, but real professional humans like direct marketers take the time to correct those errors.

A mandate that can help you make sure your business is always on top of its customer-loyalty game is a system of customer relationship management (CRM), whereby you have someone to take care of customer issues that arise. Having this in place ensures smooth operations and allows you to focus on your day-to-day operations while another professional deals with client trouble. You may have to outsource someone or hire a pro on for this, but having CRM troubleshoots problems on the spot.

If you want to lose your direct marketing business, it?s not hard. You just have to mess everything up and treat your clients like trash. But in real life, you probably want the opposite. Keeping your client loyalty and satisfaction programs in place and going strong keeps your business working the same way. With this, it will last for a very, very long time.

Need solutions to your direct-mail problems? With over 30 years of experience, Pronto Post has the solutions you need to make your direct mail more successful. Contact Pronto Post by e-mail at fulfillment@prontopost.com, visit our web site at www.prontopost.com or phone (866) 834-2153 toll-free.

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Tags: customer feedback, customer lifecycle, customer relationship management (CRM), lost customer report, loyalty and satisfaction

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