customer service — Direct Marketing Blog

5 Supplier Comments that Turn Capable Suppliers into Loosers

To all of you who supply clents with services, listen up. You can loose a great client within less than one minute with these 5 comments. 1. "Send that request to me in writing" 2. "Exactly, what do you want us to do?" 3. "We will optimize your website for $XXXX a month..." 4. "What charge do you think your client will accept?" 5. "Our company demands a Purchase Order. Your email order is not acceptable even though you are paying our estimate to you in advance."

customer service, generalTed GriggApril 25, 2013Suppliers, loosingclients, inferiorserviceComment

Dissonance between Message and Behavior Kills Sales

Companies put enormous resources into positioning their products, backing warranties, training customer service staff, creating benefit driven collateral and other content only to drop the ball in the sales process.

branding, customer service, direct response creativeTed GriggJanuary 28, 2013Comment

Face to Face No Longer Required for Client Relationships

Face to Face -- Essential?With today’s unprecedented connectivity over the Internet, by email, and the 24 hour presence of the smart phone, companies must now question just how much they can afford to spend on paying for face to face contact with customers.

customer service, online marketingTed GriggMarch 4, 2009Comment

Companies Beware -- Your Customer Surveys Betray You

Have you noticed how many surveys seem to skirt around the really meaningful questions? When they ask for your experience with a recent purchase,

customer serviceTed GriggMay 29, 2008Comment

Companies’ #2 Problem Should Be #1

Traveling to Europe or other foreign lands serves as a benchmark for just how well American businesses do in the area of customer service. Customer convenience is the main focus for longterm customer retention in this service-driven economy.

customer serviceTed GriggFebruary 26, 2008Comment

Customer Service--- "64% of Companies Don’t Even Answer the Phone"

Richard Rosen, Founder/CEO of FastCall411 made a startling revelation in his article in the December 11, 2007 issue of DM News that confirms what we all experience with the deplorable state of customer service in many US companies.

customer serviceTed GriggJanuary 14, 2008Comment

One of the Most Important Customer Questions May Be “Who Are You?”

listened for a few more lines expecting them to tell me what bank. Like most of the population, I use several banks. But it was obvious after a few seconds they were not going to answer that all-important question. “Who are you?”

customer service, direct response creativeTed GriggDecember 13, 2007Comment

The Cell Phone Carriers Drive Me Up the Wall

I just came from one of the major mobile phone carriers. Every time I go there, I find myself liking the industry less after each experience.

branding, customer serviceTed GriggNovember 20, 2007Comment

"Dear customer, you are not allowed to contact us by phone."

I am constantly amazed at the profit killing decisions some companies make by not remaining hyper sensitive to their customers’ buying behavior.

customer serviceTed GriggAugust 31, 2007Comment

Companies Treat Prospects Better Than Their Customers

Today I received a 0% interest on all transfers for the next 12 months from my own bank. I have a small balance that I wanted to transfer from my existing account to a new one if I could get the 0% offer. Ah, but wait. Only new customers can get this deal.

customer serviceTed GriggAugust 17, 2007Comment

The Customer is the Boss

In her recent book entitled The Definitive Drucker, the author Elizabeth Edersheim says that Peter Drucker, the grandfather of marketing, believed that beyond 1990 business as a whole could no longer rely on the old assumptions.

customer serviceTed GriggAugust 15, 2007Comment