A persistent comment that I have for most brands is that their sales story is often about the way they like to sell, rather than how their customers like to buy.
Sometimes companies bundle products or services at a discount to individual prices. Unfortunately, when a customer just wants one item — there’s often no model for making the sale.
Here’s an example: I subscribed to an online media information database that was both expensive and bundled information that I didn’t need (and information I did need was only available through a separately priced package). So I decided to unsubscribe. I explained my reasons to the customer service rep and he focused on the price issue. “What if I reduce the cost?” I asked him about splitting his packages. He again asked, “What if we extended the length of your subscription?”
I explained that subscribing for a longer period of time, even for less money, did not solve the problem that the service he was providing did not meet my need. That need — the story of how I wanted to buy his service — is a la carte. His need — the story of how his company packages and sells information — is prix fixe.
What is your sales story?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Arthur, this is such a “duh!” and yet your customer service rep contact was clearly not empowered to act on your actual needs in order to save your business.
Hopefully that company, at a minimum, had a process in place to cull de-activation responses and feed them “upstairs” for further consideration.
Other than collecing this kind of anecdotal information and learning to respond to it, do you have any ideas (or better processes) in mind in particular to help us do a better job at *proactively* looking at sales from customer point of view?
I love this idea – especially, as they say, “in times like these”. I’d like to say we’re doing it, but without a checklist, we could be kidding ourselves!
Deborah Elms
Imprinted Originals
High Visibility Made Easy for Trade Shows and Events
Deb,
I have seen good information about customer service in a variety of places, but some type of checklist is a great idea. Obviously it would need to be tailored to each company for specifics, but “escalation items” should always be in place. And, no, the company in question has never contacted me again.
ahg3