John and I were chatting after a chamber of commerce
networking event.
He finished off a cup of coffee and said, “You were right to
suggest I should call the company from a hotel phone when I was out of town.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I found out how long it takes to get a call back…even
when you are obviously someone with a problem in search of a solution.
Unbelievable! I was still waiting the
next day when I checked out.
I know you told me that there are ways to interconnect
telephone response with internet interest and track all that activity with hard
metrics. You told me but I was still not completely convinced.
I did what you suggested. I responded to an e-mail that
suggested I might want to re-finance my home. It took me to a page to give them
some information.
Less than a minute after I clicked Talk to an agent my phone
rang!
Less than a minute! I was astonished.
And then I went to your friend Chris’s web site. Instead of
filling out his online forms I called the telephone number. He answered the
phone!”
“Okay, John,” I asked, “What did you learn after all this
personal research?”
“That quote you sent me was dead on.
People
communicate and learn in two worlds:
The
digital world and the face to face world.
Nancy Harkrider, Managing Partner KDi Americas
I was especially reminded of your comment that business
must operate in both and find ways to connect them seamlessly with panache.”
“John,” I said, “Do you think the speed of the response had
something to do with your reaction?”
“Yes,” he said as he pulled his car keys from his pocket.
“That surprised me but later in the day I got a call from another mortgage
operation. They were just as courteous but I felt they were not as interested
in me. I know it’s silly but that’s the way it felt.”
We pushed through the double doors to the parking lot and
stopped at the bottom of the steps.
“John,” I said, “That is what brand is all about. You can
have the most expensive logotype in the world. You can advertise until the bell cow brings ‘em home but all that time and money means nothing when the customer
wants to move from the digital world to the face to face world.
You have to be ready to talk when they want to. Waiting is
not something real prospects do well. Marketing is about making sure that the
experience of moving from prospect to customer is seamless and astonishing if
you can bring it off.”
Jerry Fletcher is a marketing consultant that understands
the power of panache in businesses of all sizes. Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com
The stories in Jerry’s dialogue blog are conflations of
actual meetings and conversations but all, like the signature stories in his
professional speaking engagements have lessons you can put to work today. Find
out how to bring hm in to your organization www.NeworkingNInja.com