The recent Netflix customer service exchange circling the internet illustrates why marketing and customer service are so closely linked. In many companies, these two areas are treated as very separate entities. However, all touch-points that your company has with customers, or potential customers, directly affects your marketing as well as sales. And customer service in particular, given its volume of interactions with customers, has tremendous potential for enhancing a company’s marketing.
I don’t know if this is a deliberate Netflix customer service technique, a result of their corporate culture, or just this particular employee’s personality, but it’s very smart. People are normally in a frustrated mood when contacting customer service. After all, it’s usually because something is wrong. By opening with a funny greeting, this Netflix representative (announcing himself as “Cpt. Mike”) instantly disarms the customer and sets the tone for a positive exchange. The customer in this dialog actually did most of the talking (and joking). Cpt. Mike basically just listened and responded in pleasant and understanding manner, and logged the issue. But the customer left the conversation feeling he had a positive experience – which he credits to Netflix. Not only does this impact the longevity of this customer, but as this example proves, word-of-mouth and social media can multiply it’s effect.
For the full customer service transcript, visit: http://imgur.com/gallery/e0LcT6J
