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A note from Mike McVay:
The following is an article that was authored by former radio consultant, broadcaster, programmer and friend Greg Gillispie. Greg also worked for me … but I never felt that he was “my employee.” He was, and is, a friend whose insight has always been interesting and thought provoking.
Greg & I worked together from 1997 to 2006. At that time, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After his second surgery in 2008, he retired from work to follow the doctor's orders. We’ve lost him from “the business.” I haven’t lost him as a friend. Greg offers the following article … as a favor to me … and as a gift to you.
These days today are quite different than 37 years when I first got into radio and later into consulting. Today you will find that I take care of things in the house, such as cleaning, cutting grass, sometimes grocery shopping, and cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Because if the life I now live … I am even more aware of how companies should have a relationship with customers. And I just experienced two such benefits.
Sometimes I make pancakes on Sunday mornings. I always use “Pioneer Brand Premium Quality Flour” produced by C.H. Guenther & Son flour. I just find it better, as it is real flour, unlike many other brands. The back of the box has a few recipes, as well as a website with many more.
One of the recipes I decided to try was something different – Home Style Chicken Pot Pie. But one of the ingredients was confusing. To yield 6 – 8 servings, it called for 1 cup of cooked and diced chicken. That would be a small amount compared to everything else.
My thought was 1 cup is 8 ounces, making it a half-pound. But a couple of neighbors said a cup is a cup. So I went to the company’s website, found an email link for recipe questions, and asked about the quantity amount. Amazingly, a representative called within 5 minutes!
I shared my thoughts and she thought it best to transfer me to the company’s head chef. He agreed I should use one half-pound, which is substantially more chicken than a cup. I suggested the company change the menu to clarify the amount and he agreed.
But here is the company’s surprise. Two days later, I received three 6 ounce packages of their product, a nice sized cookbook, a history of the company, and a coupon to buy a full-size package. Talk about customer service, with the thought of increasing loyalty!
A few days later, we experienced what seems to be a recurring problem. This time the problem that I had was with a Lubriderm moisturizer container. This problem perplexed both my wife to such an extent that I decided to contact Johnson & Johnson, Lubriderm’s producer. Interestingly, the product “questions” phone number is listed before the website. That seemed a little “old school.”
While it took awhile before a customer representative answered the phone, when did, he was very interested in this user’s call. I told him that we thought that the product was great, but when the container gets about an inch from the bottom, the pump no longer distributes the product. The hose on the pump is too short.
You get tired of taking the pump off and pouring the moisturizer out. And I can’t believe that my wife gets fed up with the container and tosses it in the waste basket … which I promptly grab and stuff back into the medicine cabinet.
The customer rep said that mine was not the first call that he’d received regarding this issue. He shared with me that Lubriderm is working on resolving the problem and issuing a new and improved container. Cool! But he also continued our conversation. He kept me on the phone and he engaged me in conversation. He wasn’t “rushed” to get on to his “next project.” He made me feel like I was a valuable customer of Lubriderm.
He wanted to know just about everything about me as a customer. That was very smart on his part and brilliant on the part of Johnson & Johnson. But a couple of days later, an even smarter customer-relationship tactic showed up in the mail on my doorstep – a fresh package of the moisturizer! And for something that costs around $10 per package, I felt “skin repaired!” I felt as if my support of their product was appreciated.
OK, you might think I’m being lazy and trying to receive free packages of the products we use. That’s not the case. I simply wanted to share an idea to make the product easier to use. And direct conversations, rather than sending E-mails via their website, created a much better line of communication between the product and the customer. I had their respect. They have my allegiance.
The Two questions that I have for radio companies are simply “What are YOU doing to strengthen consumer loyalty? What have you done to encourage a listener to spend their time sharing their positive listener or advertiser experiences with other potential listeners or advertisers?”
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