- Over the counter?
- On the phone?
- By Twitter?
- At conferences?
- You don’t?
The 21st century brings a list of communication tools unthinkable in number to the entrepreneur of the 1990s.
But choice brings danger. Humans have a naturally predisposition towards exciting experiences, which itself leads to us wanting to try as many things as we can.
How we all marvelled when the phone came along. Then the television. Then email. Then Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed. Now Google Wave is the latest poster child for communicating creatively and effectively.
But let’s be honest, who among us is an expert – truly, an expert – in any of these ways to communicate?
Judging by the customer service of leviathans such as BT and DSGi, you would think the telephone was a recent and confusing invention. Yet it’s been around for longer than you.
So we come to a new age in communications. A way to interact with the customer in real time. Whereas email by its very definition was at the mercy of the server, your computer and the recipient’s (thank god, however, that the middleman, the ePostie, never went on strike), the latest communications technologies offer an instantaneous method of delivering your news.
- There’s excitement as Google Wave is considered a viable and maybe more successful replacement for Twitter’s hashtags feature, with conferences registering delegates’ Google Wave accounts so everyone can join the mash-up as presentations take place
- You can air your vodcast using an iPhone or Android-powered device in cohorts with a fanfare of uber-tech tools
- The first crowdsourced song (using the collective expertise of producers, musicians, singers, etc) hits YouTube on its way to becoming a big hit.
These are examples of how communications as a method are overtaking communication as a way of life.
To truly be successful as a communicator; to build profitable connections with your customers; you must adopt a preferred channel, master it, and let your clients know that they will receive superlative service.
Some folks have e down pat. The likes of zappos.com. Some, like Nordstrom, have phone-based customer service representatives trained up to the max so they can answer queries and resolve complaints in a short call. They have the power to please.
Some, like General Motors, have the edge with Twitter. Others still – premium drinks manufacturers chief among them – have delivered service excellence through the viral capabilities foisted upon them by Facebook and YouTube.
Find your niche, create your brand personality in that area of communications, and your customers will be delighted.
