Filed under: Customer Rules
Today’s post comes from Bridgz Account Manager, Andrew Galarneault.
A lot of companies large and small talk about their “great” customer service. Businesses want to be known for going the extra mile for their customers. In reality, not that many companies follow through on that promise. It seems that the bigger a company gets, the less attention is paid to good customer service. And it’s even more rare when customer service goes beyond good or even great, into the realm of amazing.
Recently I experienced an amazing customer experience at one of the biggest companies I often interact with, Home Depot. A Fortune 500 company with 3,249 stores and over 300,000 employees, it has to be a monumental challenge to ensure quality customer experience, but in my case, they outdid themselves.
I stopped into my local store with the idea of turning an antique railroad lantern that was left to my five-year old son (who loves trains) from his recently deceased grandfather into something usable. My plan was to try and bring the old kerosene lantern into the electric age. I went to the lighting section and began looking at what I would need…electrical cord, light bulb, doohickey connector… Then I realized that if you use the word “doohickey,” it might be time to enlist the help of a professional.
Today’s post comes from Bridgz Director of Business Analytics and Insight, Tim Altier, and originally appeared on Marketing Profs.
Your marketing efforts are more successful when you focus on the customer—not the product—even when you sell machines large enough to move mountains.
When heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar began selling smaller-scale machines to the landscape, construction, and agriculture markets, the company made a strategic decision to sharpen its customer-centric focus.
“Traditionally, Cat and our dealers personally know the buyers for our large-scale equipment,” says Connie LaFlamme, Cat’s marketing consultant for its Building & Construction Products Group in Cary, NC. “But for our equipment sized for use by small to medium construction firms, landscapers, and agricultural producers, we found that we had to stretch to find the right communication channels and messaging because of the expansive customer universe and a tougher competitive environment.”
LaFlamme and marketing consultant Stephanie Hetzel chose to work with Minneapolis-based Bridgz Marketing Group because our stock in trade is helping clients use data to connect directly to their customers’ feelings, attitudes, and buying intentions. The firm specializes in customer-centric marketing that builds the bridge between client and customer.
