customer service | Direct Mail Marketing 101

All too often, we only think of direct mail as a tool for new client acquisition. But direct mail can be a powerful customer service tool in the right hands. It can be a way of keeping your current customers up-to-date and even cutting down on your customer service work in the long run.

When you deal with a complex product like insurance or Medicare products, it can be hard to give your customers all the information on their policies at once. Dump too much information on them and their eyes glaze over. Send them home with a thick packet of materials, most of them won’t read the information. That means you’ll spend more time on the phone later explaining the ins and outs of what’s covered in their policy. Sometimes, that can even mean an unhappy customer when claims time comes around, if they feel they’ve been mislead—even if you told them the information.

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The four C’s to master customer service are competition, credibility, contact and commitment. Let me explain how each of these C’s tie into customer service.

First there is the competition and how to battle against them. Do you know who your competitors are? If you didn’t immediately hear yourself in a resounding “YES” then you should. You should know the competition companies as well as you know your own company. You must know what your competition is offering in being able to fight for your customer’s attention in your marketing. You need to know their strengths and how you can differentiate yourself against what they will be telling your same prospects.

Second level to master in customer service is credibility. Your customers need to believe what you say is true. You need to build a level of trust in the relationship and say what you mean and mean what you say. Be consistent. A customer will do business with a company who may be a little higher priced but credible and reliable.

Third level of customer service mastery is contact. Making contact and maintaining contact with the customer is key to relationship building. You can’t call a customer once and expect to win them over with your charm unless your product is exclusive and you are the only one selling it.

The last concept in customer service mastery is commitment. Commitment to greatness, commitment to customer service and commitment to give your customers the best experience possible is what you should strive for.

In this world of disposable everything, your company can also be disposable if you are not on the top of your customer service every day and every interaction. Make sure you have a good mastery of your skills so your marketing efforts can come to fruition and see results on the bottom line.

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