David Armano has posted another great article, Creating a Rapid Response Culture. The case he makes is inevitable but tough for companies to face: as the distance between consumer and company shrinks, the expectation for feedback and results grows.
I’m currently working with clients who are a bit leery of what will be required of them when they open up a direct channel to the customers. The truth is, it will probably be a bit of a burden handling all of the requests and complaints, pings and Tweets. But that’s okay. Because it’s far better to hear what the customers are saying than to bury one’s head in the sand. And, even if we can’t address every single customer in quick turn-around, we can pick and choose important conversations to engage in immediately.
I see a big opening in the job market for a new breed of customer service rep that answers this growing stream of feedback. The ability to talk 1-to-1 with consumers and address their needs, ideas, complaints and praises is going to be a competitive differentiator.
