Great Sales and Marketing Ideas: A miracle worker I am not. Part 2

Back in February I posted about my experience with a local Mr. Movie's store after receiving coupons in the mail. Since then I have received more and we will see how that goes, but for a refresher on the post you can read it here.

This posting has received many comments, the most compelling being the one below left by mistab.

"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."

The most important statement in her comment was that it was enlightening for their employees to see what role they play in the success of the business. I think this is the biggest hurdle to great retail customer service that companies face today. Your front line employees work for a large nameless, faceless organizations and they don't develop a positive relationship with the company like they would a small business. It then makes it impossible for them to care about the customer service service they provide.

The Selling Point:
We live in a mass society. Don't believe me watch this video. We consume and produce massive amounts of everything and have an increasing level of choices presented to us. But the one thing that we can't do well in mass is customer service. That still needs to be done one person at a time. The best way to do this and drive your point home is to make customer service personable.
Mother Theresa is quoted as saying "If I look at the mass I will never act, if I look at the one I will." She of course was referring to charity, but I think it applies here. If you look at the mass of your customers its easy to gloss over and give general service, but if you look at each customer individually you have the chance to give great service.

Thanks for the comment mistab! And for everyone else keep them coming!