Marketing has quickly and successfully adapted online. Have you noticed the number of websites offering great content? It’s hard not to. There are free webinars, podcasts, whitepapers, videos, e-books, demos, trials, slide shares and online interviews offered to help us as buyers make informed decisions.
To boot, online content marketing is enabling buyers to help themselves to these valuable resources. Now buyers can gather the information they need, in the format and time frame they like best, to choose the best product or service to meet their needs.
Content Marketing Engages Visitors, but Watch the Customer Experience
Has marketing done its job by bringing us to the company website and engaging us with relevant information? Is self-service to content on a landing page all we need to make our choice and buy?
What if we have a question or concern? Who responds to our email? Who answers our call? Who engages with us during a chat? Is the response timely? Accurate? Was the interaction satisfactory and pleasant?
Customer Support, Not Just Information, Converts Visitors to Leads
In other words, was the buyer experience exceptional because we had access to relevant content? Or was it a combination of having our “content needs” and “buyer service needs” satisfactorily met by the organization? I define buyer service needs as having buyer questions answered in a quick, accurate manner using the communication medium the buyer prefers.
If, as buyers, we need service in addition to content, buyer service satisfaction levels also play a role in achieving the goal of converting a visitor to a lead and to a sale.
Causes of Buyer Satisfaction and Buyer Frustration
In some cases my buyer service satisfaction level has been outstanding as I interact with companies and their websites. I’ve experienced immediate, knowledgeable chats; immediate helpful phone connections at any hour, any day; helpful, pleasant, service oriented inbound responders; immediate, personalized, accurate email responses.
In other cases, my buyer satisfaction level has caused a critical rise in my blood pressure. This happens for some of the following reasons:
- Many non working phone numbers to get a question answered
- No one at the other end of the chat
- Receiving the same delayed, non helpful, automated email response that someone will promptly respond, which never happens
- Someone who cannot answer my question or solve my problem at the other end of the chat, call or email
In summary, the unanswered phone calls, emails and dead chats are highly visible signs of poor company support.
Great Customer Service Makes the Most of Your Lead Generation Dollars
In many cases, marketing does a great job getting visitors to the website. For companies who provide exceptional buyer service (and many have), hats off to you. You’ve spent your dollars wisely. For those companies with poor buyer service and customer support, you are wasting valuable dollars, and sending your visitors to your competitors to become influencers, recommenders, and customers.
More than ever I’m finding sales, marketing and support need to align just as urgently as sales and marketing need to align. What has been your experience?
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