Who can help me?

I'm stuck in quite the predicament with my internet provider, Clearwire right now. When I first made the switch from Comcast, I was excited about the new technology, and very optimistic. When the issues started, I was patient, trying to work through the glitches. Now, the problems have continued, the customer support has been terrible, and I've completely soured on Clearwire.

I've run through all of the troubleshooting steps at least five times because every time I chat or call, I get told to do the same thing (maybe they should consider keeping a record of things I've tried). Last time I was asked to try the modem in every room in the house, even though the nearest tower is to the SE and when in the second story SE window, I get virtually no signal. Putting it in the garage was a real good use of my time. So now, I want to cancel. I've been fighting for a year, and I'm tired of it. Unfortunately, I am locked into a two year contract. My opinion is that since Clearwire has failed miserably to uphold their service promise, and I have continually jumped through hoops to try and make it work, they should waive the termination fee. But who can actually help me with this?

When I ask the online chat person, they aren't able to do anything, and I have to call. When I try to send an e-mail because it is after the appropriate calling hours, I get a response that says I have to use the online chat. When I finally take time during my day to get ahold of someone on the phone, I have to do phone troubleshooting steps (this is challenging given the fact that I am at work during the day and can't troubleshoot my internet). Assuming I can ever get through those steps, I must then have a technician come out and look at my modem (apparently I'm uncapable of pointing it in SE direction, and am just making up problems because I get kicks out of talking to customer service and not being able to use my own internet). The technician though is only available from 9-4 Monday - Thursday (I'm not kidding, won't come early, won't come late because that might inconvenience the tech). This means I have to miss a half day of work because I have to wait for a tech, and I can't actually work at home because of the whole internet problem. So, do I horribly inconvenience myself to have a tech show up to tell me that it's not that bad for the five minutes that he is there, or do I pay an unrealistic cancellation fee to save myself the headache of continuing to have a modem that is as effective as a paperweight?

Why do companies do this? Rather than me being able to part ways, and chalk it up to it just didn't work for me, I am now so upset that I am telling everyone I know to stay away from Clearwire at all costs. Why is customer service so difficult? And it's not just Clearwire.

Companies spend so much time and effort on acquiring the customer that they have nothing left for their current customers. Current customers are a source of revenue and dollars. Non-customers are a source of expenses. Customer complaints should not be discouraged, dismissed, or thought of as frustrating. In fact, customer complaints should be seen as a great marketing opportunity. Handling a current customer's issue quickly and effectively is some of the best PR possible. All consumers know that there will be issues, nothing is perfect. It's how those issues are handled that really reflects on a company.

Marketing Budget Slashed? Time to get creative!

It's a fact that in the current business climate marketing budgets are getting slashed left and right. But there are two things one can do. Either complain, panic, fret, and ultimately just do less of what you usually do, or find creative new ways to market.

At one of my former employers, a reduced budget was a cause for panic. Whatever to do!? Rather than send a direct mail letter twice a month to every household in the state, they only send to 80% of the households. Rather than run an ad in the Sunday paper every weekend, they would run them only two weekends. Etc. etc. with all of the traditional marketing. And what happens? Overall response go down, they struggle to make their numbers, and then they ask for more money to send more mail. There are no thoughts about how to reach customers in a different way (and I'm not even touching on newspaper advertising in this post).

The current climate allows a marketer to explore so many different delivery vehicles, and be creative in how to reach a customer. Blogs, Facebook and even Twitter allow you a way to update your customers on what is going on at little to know costs. Podcasts are a unique and inexpensive way to provide short presentations to your customers and clients (by the way both of these can work for B2B and B2C businesses of all sizes). Limited budgets force marketers to be more targeted with messages in an effort to go after those potential customers that can buy. Messages need to be more tailored, more specific, and more unique.

Overall, I think that one of the best things to come out of this down turn will be a different type of marketing. A creative marketing, a more targeted marketing in general. Marketers have less money to get people that have less money to spend it. Those that are successful will really stand apart once we get through this downturn and move to the next profitable cycle.

Those marketers that throw up their hands and simply do less are missing a golden opportunity to try new and creative approaches.

Insufficient Evidence?

I found this newsletter to be interesting. In the first article, the discussion is about how great it is that CMS denied coverage for CTC (see earlier posts to learn what this is). The very next article on the very same day shows that through Early Detection (read: screening), we show declines in cancer rates. Yet there was insufficient evidence to support the CMS decision. Some days it is absolutely fascinating to see our government in action.

America's Favorite Radio Station

One of the keys to being a successful marketer, whether marketing big expensive healthcare equipment or toothbrushes, is to remember America's favorite radio station:

WII-FM (What's In It For Me?)

What will motivate a customer to buy, to respond to a call, to do anything? What incentive do they have? What do they gain? Understanding these questions, and the underlying factors, are integral to marketing success.

It's all about emotion

People are emotional beings. Which means your customers are emotional beings (unless you are selling to actual robots). As much as we like to think people make buying decisions based on rationale facts determined by the features you provide them, it's just not the case. I didn't buy a BMW because it had a 240 hp, inline 6 that gets 22 mpgs in the city. I bought it because of how it makes me feel when I drive it, when I think about myself as a BMW owner.

Anyone that has sat through a marketing class knows this. That's why the professor spent seemingly too long talking about features and benefits. But it's important to remember that it will always be the benefits that sell the product. It's not that my product spins faster because of cool technology. It's that you can make a better diagnosis because of the faster spin (and you can be an owner of cool technology).

Remember, when talking to customers, always think about it backwards. What is the need that could benefit from your feature. Not the other way around.

To post or not to post?

As I'm getting into this blog thing, I find myself in a quandry...is it better to post to make sure things stay up to date, or is it better to wait until the perfect topic hits? I actually think the former is better than the latter.

Give your audience little bits to read. Sometimes it's enough to keep them coming back. Keep it interesting and relevant.

The biggest thing that I'm learning about blogging is that it isn't about always having the perfect topic. It's about sharing your thoughts and expressing your ideas while trying to stay relevant.

Marketing is much the same way. You take a big risk waiting for the perfect campaign, the perfect message, the perfect solution. During all this waiting, you customers are listening to everyone else. Makes getting their ear a whole lot more difficult when you are finally ready to spread the message.

For those of you who stick with me, and have read my posts, thank you for your patience. It's time to blog the way I want to market, and hopefully grow this thing a little bit.

Field of Dreams Marketing

I was going to do a post on what I call Field of Dreams Marketing, and how it is become antiquated. It's the idea that I can develop a campaign or a product that the customers will want; an "If you build it, they will come" mentality.

I had the post all written out and was going to publish it when I stopped. My original argument that it is important to listen to the customer and deliver what they want is sound, I think. It will allow you to be a good marketer and have happy customers. The thing is, it's a very reactive approach.

The more I think about it, the more I think that a great marketer is someone that can listen to customer feedback and deliver what the customer doesn't even know they need. Someone that can anticipate a problem and develop a solution that is beyond the customer expectations.

Ultimately, the Field of Dreams approach isn't antiquated at all, as long as it is persued with one caveat; the customer is at the center of what you do. As a company, you run a risk trying to develop something you think the market will want without actually talking to a customer. However, if you listen to a customer and build something that not only meets, but exceeds expectations, that presents value where they never anticipated it, then they will come, and they will come in droves.