ON ADVERTISING WD On Advertising is published by Wesley Day Advertising
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MYTHS.
You don’t need to be told why customer satisfaction is important. But do you know how to assess and respond to customer dissatisfaction? Myth #1: Price is the only factor that matters. Studies of multibrand products reveal that while price has a clear effect on the initial purchase decision, it had no more impact on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions for the discount brand than for the higher-end brand. The overall interaction with the sales staff influenced satisfaction much more than price. Myth #2: You can build satisfaction through promotional campaigns or coupons. While they do increase the likelihood that a customer will shop with you again, they do not make for more satisfied customers. You’re buying short-term sales, not long-term loyalty. Myth #3: Customer satisfaction should be maximized. Optimize customer satisfaction for maximum profitability – there is a point where it no longer makes sense to increase satisfaction. Myth #4: Customer complaints should be minimized. You should encourage complaints -- if customers don’t complain, they just stop shopping without explanation, and then it is too late. Myth #5: Customers are either satisfied or dissatisfied. The entire consumer experience needs to be understood to allow you to make improvements on those specific things that cause dissatisfaction.
A comprehensive customer satisfaction program lets you to look into the future rather than at the past. When faced with a list of many improvement initiatives and a limited budget, choose the actions that will produce the best return. You also need to keep in mind that there is a hidden cost to making misguided decisions.
COPYWRITING SECRET #7 OF 8:
the VELVET ROPE.
A new nightclub in Miami had trouble attracting customers. So instead of welcoming them, the club put up a red velvet rope and hired a bodyguard. Suddenly, people were lining up to get in. What happened? Human nature makes us crave things that are exclusive and hard to get. In effective advertising copy, if the idea you're offering relates to something rare and limited, it's worth highlighting. It's worth highlighting even if it isn’t rare but should be. Watch for more secrets in upcoming issues. Read previous secrets at wesleyday.com. PROTECT YOUR E-MAIL REPUTATION.
You need a good reputation to get your messages delivered, but do you know what factors go into creating one? Reputation boils down to three primary metrics: 1. Spam complaint rate: the percentage of people complaining that your e-mail is spam. 2. Unknown user rate: The percentage of your mail going to e-mail addresses that no longer exist. 3. Hitting spam traps: ISPs often turn unused addresses into spam traps. Hit these, and there is going to be trouble. A spam trap is an e-mail address that has not signed up for any e-mail. It’s posted on the Web somewhere. If you e-mail to it, it means you (or someone you’re doing business with) harvested that e-mail address. If that’s not enough, if your IP is in the same “range” as a spammer’s, you can find your e-mail failing to get delivered because the ISP has blocked the whole range. What this means is that
you also have to worry about the reputation of your ESP (e-mail service provider). Your spam complaints should never exceed one percent. Exceed that at an ISP and you are in severe jeopardy of them blocking all your mail. To stay in e-mail business, work with reputable providers, retire inactive addresses, and implement a confirmed opt-in permission process – where you send a confirmation e-mail to new registrants.
BRANDING MYTH #7 OF 7:
THE BRAND LIVES IN THE PRODUCT.
Ask most brand managers where their brand lives, they might say, "In the product. In our advertising. In our service." Wrong. That's how a brand gets built, not where it lives. Brands live in the minds and hearts of customers and prospects. The job of branding is to get your product to the point of having an army of believers who stand by the brand and what it means. Read the six previous myth-busting tips at wesleyday.com. SHORT-TERM VS. LONG-TERM VALUE.
Don’t assume that the amount of a customer’s first transaction predicts the amount of subsequent transactions. A catalog marketer found that the long-term value of those customers who spent just the amount necessary to achieve their promotion – free shipping -- was less than those who spent somewhat less but were more apt to purchase again. Their conclusion: free shipping was not productive in terms of long-term value. A theme park that sells annual passes tried a program to allow customers to pay for their passes over a period of months rather than in a single payment. They discovered that those who purchased passes through the deferred payment plan had a much higher retention over three years as well as more frequent visits to the park. Their conclusion: installment payments increased longterm value.
WHISPER TO GET THEIR ATTENTION.
Consumer attention has been called the new media of advertising. We’re all vying for that limited, valuable quantity that consumers are willing to give us before they begin to tune out all the clutter, including your message. One tactic for getting your message through without crossing the clutter line is the “crescendo campaign.” First you whisper, then you murmur, then you rap, then you preach, and then you scream. Yes, there’s still room to “scream” the announcement of a new product to generate awareness as long as it’s relevant and part of an overall CRM plan. Nurturing relationships, after all, is all about relevance and interest - about providing some sort of entertainment, offer, or value in a way that encourages the value exchange to continue. Want more of your prospects' attention? Just give us a whisper.
Wesley Day Advertising 1441 29th Street, Suite 111 West Des Moines, Iowa 50266-6500 (515) 224-9330 / Fax: (515) 224-6737 E-mail: info@wda.com Web site: www.wesleyday.com
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