Great Sales and Marketing Ideas: Don't get forgotten

About a year ago I dropped Verizon wireless to get an iPhone. There was no other reason. Verizon also didn't give me a reason not to drop them. They were like the "steady ok looking" girlfriend. They were always there, never posed me a problem, and never gave me a reason to give them much attention. I gave them up for the sexy chick (AT&T) down the street.
Now I kind of regret it. But I have an iPhone!

I take Netflix for granted, as do most subscibers. This week they had a problem and I have heard some people are canceling. My relationship with Netflix is much like my previous relationship with Verzion. Dependable. Reliable.

So what are they both doing wrong? They are too dependable, too reliable.

Verizon and Netflix both gave me online billing statements and automatic payments. No noise, very simple. Its the first part that is the problem. My bills were paid automatically-- charged right to my card, so I never thought the service. Which made it very easy for me to quit them.

If I was Verizon what would I do to not be forgotten. First, I would take a page from Netflix. They email me when they receive a movie and mail me one. But they could do more, when they credit my card for the subscription they could remind me of the transaction and engage me in conversation. They could ask me to rate more movies, or remind me that some of the movies I have rented are available for sale. Maybe include a button to automatically buy it and have it shipped to me with one click.
Verizon could have done just about the same. They could have reminded me of my payment, and included a link to text my friends for free and tell them how pleased I was with my Verizon service.

So what does this all mean? If your going to make your transactions with your customers easy-- online bill payments, electronic statements, etc. you need to engage them in a conversation every time to stay at the top of their mind. This is a perfect chance to make your message viral and offer your customer the ability to send a message to a friend.

The main point-- don't let easy lead you down the path of forgotten.