A miracle worker I am not.
Last week sometime I got a very nice direct mail piece from a local movie store called Mr. Movies. It was well conceived and on the back it had four coupons. Each giving me a different reason to go visit the local rental store. According to mapquest.com I am only about three miles from their location. But I haven't rented a movie there in over a year, the main reason- customer service. Or should I say the lack there of, coupled with a smaller movie selection. So I have become accustomed to renting from the local Blockbuster, which is more than 12 miles away. Yes, that is how important customer service is to me. And I am not alone in this opinion.
Ok, so back to the direct mail piece. I dusted it off today and decided to give them a second shot. Perhaps the customer service had improved, and the selection had more to offer. Plus being a sucker for coupons I couldn't pass up a free movie. It's at this point the marketing manager for Mr. Movies can rest assured that she still has a job, she got me in the store. And I was about 90% likely to rent since one of my two movies was free. I grabbed Flyboys and The Gaurdian (I haven't seen them yet, so I won't comment on them), but that doesn't matter anyway. The customer service is still terrible. Nothing has changed! The person who rang up my movies was on the phone with one of his friends talking about how "wasted he was last night" and whatever "bangin" party this was... you get the point. Things that a customer really wants to hear. After he took my money and I was ready to hand my movies after I go through the obligatory metal detector he decided to comment on my movies. "These are really good movies" he uttered, "the alternate ending on 'The Gaurdian' is better than the original." I mumbled a brief thanks, and walked out the door.
When I got in my car I thought about the poor marketing director for Movie Brands Inc., the parent company for the Mr. Movies franchise. She probably got an earful about same store sales being down, traffic being light and dissatisfied franchise owners not making profit margins, or something to that effect. So she masterfully crafted a direct mail piece with coupons to drive traffic and movie rentals in specific areas. And I bet right now she is being celebrated for a successful campaign. Heck, one of the coupons was a $25 forgiveness of all late fees, who could pass that up? But come March 15th, her head will be back on the chopping block--you see that's when the coupons expire. Too bad her boss doesn't get why traffic is down.
A good marketer can only do so much, in this case they effectively drove traffic. Too bad the customer service wasn't there to capitalize on it. Now I will only go back when I have a coupon, at which time they need to prove to me that customer service has improved. But your in-store staff or for that matter all of your customer facing representatives need to be a 'Martin to your Lewis' an 'Amos to your Andy'. Both need to be in-concert for a promotion to work effectively. To put it simply, your marketing department can only do so much, what they can't do is be a miracle worker. If you have a customer service problem that is affecting traffic, fix the customer service problem first. Then address the traffic problem.
The Selling Point:
Don't expect your marketing team to fix every problem in your organization. The entire organization needs to adopt a philosophy to stand on. And when business isn't where you think it should be, the entire organization needs to take a look at its role and what it can do to make the experience better for the customer. The days of pointing fingers is over, the world is simply too competitive for that.
3 comments:
As a long time direct marketer and lead advisor at the National Mail Order Association http://www.nmoa.org I have a good number of years facing this same situation when it comes to lead generation and traffic building advertising campaigns. Mike touches on an excellent point and common problem with businesses. I’ve seen thousands spent on lead generation advertising, and inadequate sales people to handle the calls. Retail stores spend thousands on traffic building campaigns, with no clerks to help them on the floor. This is one more example of how to waste advertising dollars, and who gets the blame? Again Mike hits it, the advertising and marketing people.
So if any of you readers are independent advertising/marketing consultants, make sure the companies you work for are prepared correctly to handle the leads you work to bring them, or you will be the blame.
Out of curiosity, which Mr. Movies did you visit? I frequently go to the one on Mormon Trek Blvd, and have had nothing but good experiences there. The staff is knowledgable, friendly, and helpful, and the selection - although not as vast as some places - is decent. The staff also goes out of their way to fulfill requests and make sure my visits are always good ones. I understand that not all employees are like that, and I understand that individual milage may vary, but it is also important to realize that the behavior of staff at one branch does not necessarily mean the behavior of staff at another branch is the same.
While it is true that the brunt of the low sales and loss of customer loyalty will be borne by those in the sales and marketing division, I've also had enough experience as a retail store manager to know that sometimes corporate expectations can be overwhelming - particularly if a company is not doing as well as it could be. However, that certainly does not excuse the behavior of the employee who was supposed to be giving you customer service!!!
It's unfortunate that your experience with Mr. Movies was unpleasant, but I do hope you won't judge the entire company and all of the employees by the treatment you recieved at one particular store.
Just my .02 worth.
I stumbled across your site doing a deep Google search and found what you had to say VERY enlightening. Being someone who has spent large amounts on marketing promotions, to be left wondering why didn’t they do as well in one location vs. another, this is one reason why. As a small business owner it is hard to know how the person will be received at the store level. You can do all the training you want, and have the manager be available all the time, but when it comes down to it for those moments when the customer is there face to face with that young person at the counter they are representing the entire business. They are representing the store, other stores, and the entire cooperation. Upon seeing your posting I printed a copy of it and had all of my employees talk to me about how they felt. It was enlightening and a chance to open their eyes to the bigger picture and what role they play in the success of the business. Thank you for sharing your insight.
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