Customer Service

Over the next several weeks, I will be publishing a series of posts about the basics of social media. These aren’t in any specific order, but if followed they will help you to monitor and respond to your fans and followers effectively. The posts in this series will be:

• Do Not Delete
• Remember, You’re Talking to People
• What’s the Reason for Your Social Media Presence?
• Your Customers are Talking. Listen to Them!

Do Not Delete
You might be tempted to delete negative posts from your Twitter and Facebook feed, but don't do it! It might seem counter intuitive, especially if you have a plethora of negative...

When your birthday rolls around, you may get as many well wishes from companies as from friends and family these days! Birthday emails can drive great results, but since more and more organizations send these automated emails, it's becoming more difficult to cut through the clutter. Here are some ways to stand out:

1. Let Your Brand Shine. Birthday emails are a perfect opportunity to build loyalty. Create an attractive, engaging, personalized email that matches your brand's look and personality. You can learn how to improve your email design here. And don't forget to optimize for mobile!

2. Offer...

As a part of our Voice of Customer program, we're always innovating with new ways to delight clients and gather their feedback so we can continue to improve the ExactTarget experience. That's why we recently organized the first-ever company-wide Client Thank-a-Thon! 

The Thank-a-Thon worked just like it sounds: a drive to call clients and thank them for their partnership. Additionally, we targeted contacts who had not yet taken the Client Success Survey we had recently sent and asked for their time to complete it.

Over 30 non-client facing ExactTarget employees from teams across the company (HR,...

Organisations have been using social media for a long time now. The focus seems to be on pushing content out to the audience and expecting them to consume. But how often do you consume the content that your customers are sending to you and act on it?

Conversocial recently released some data stating that “88% of consumers are less likely to buy from companies ignoring social complaints” and that “90% of upset customers can be retained with great social customer service.” You can see the details here.

This is occurring due to the focus on marketing in the social space. Traditionally, Facebook...

Forrester Research, Inc.'s January 2013 report entitled, "Top Ways to Combat Survey Fatigue" addresses the growing issue of companies bombarding customers with surveys—resulting in lower response rates, lower completion rates, and lower quality data. Our Client Experience Team took interest in this topic since we care a great deal about gathering client feedback but want to avoid over-surveying.

Achieving balance is an ongoing challenge, but here are some ways we try to make our Client Success Survey as streamlined as possible:

• Show how we use client feedback. We take pride in both using client...

If Client Experience (CX) experts are right, companies that use surveys heavily to monitor the opinions of their customers will find their effectiveness wanes over time. This “Decline of Surveys” was highlighted as the number one CX trend to watch for 2013 in a recent blog post by the Temkin Group.

As they point out, “As more companies thirst for customer feedback, the number of surveys has escalated. But there is a limit to customers’ willingness to complete surveys. As completion rates get more difficult to maintain, companies will become more efficient with the questions they ask, target...

Experts predicted that one billion users would be on social networks by the end of 2012. 62% already use Twitter and Facebook for product questions, discovery and support.  Ask yourself: When you launch that email campaign, where do you think prospects will go to ask product questions? Your website? Yes. Your blog? Yes. Facebook and Twitter, Yes!  So, are you monitoring, responding, and leveraging those product inquires to drive more leads and purchases?

By the end of 2012, 80% of companies planned to use social media for customer service. These brands understand that a customer’s experience on...

ExactTarget has a larger-than-ever team focused on leading the market in our Voice of Customer efforts. A major initiative this year is to further enhance how we "close the loop" with clients after they fill out our annual Client Success Survey. 

As a company with roots in email marketing, it may not be surprising that a large part of this strategy involves triggering targeted emails to teams across our organization when survey responses come in. These emails have proven to be instrumental in not only quickly informing about what are clients are saying, but also spurring action.

Here are some of...

Today we continue our focus on Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013, including predictions from our amazing burst session speakers during Connections 2012.

Today we feature Marcus Ruebsam, Vice President of Global Solutions at SAP AG, Germany. His topic of discussion: the future of CRM.

Check out the video:

At ExactTarget, we take our clients’ feedback very seriously. While we have several channels for listening to them, from beta programs to 3sixty to Twitter, our Client Success Survey is the cornerstone of our Voice of Customer initiatives.

With thousands of responses in 2012, our clients have spoken. It’s helpful to hear about things we’re doing right. Over 2/3 of respondents agree that we:

• Are easy to do business with
• Care about our customers and partners
• Are trustworthy and innovative
• Have great Sales Consultants and Relationship Managers

More importantly, we heard about what we can do to improve....

It's that time of year again, yes the holiday season. Marketers, this is your Super Bowl and we know that the stakes couldn’t be higher. However, this year, I would like to invite you to channel your inner marketing zen and truly make a difference in your company by not only winning the holiday, but winning over a customer for life.

To further explain, let’s take a look at Lego, where one of their fans, 11 year old James Groccia, had a dream to own a specific Emerald Train set. His parents, instilling sound personal finance principles at such a young age, told him he could purchase the set –...

This is the true story of seven marketers already living in Atlanta who work together on current marketing issues. Find out what happens when people stop sending messages and start having conversations! The Marketing World: Atlanta!

When the 3sixty Live Atlanta Community gets together, it is less of a social forum and more of a mini conference. The food, presentations, and networking are just on a smaller scale. The 3sixty Live Atlanta Community gains a competitive edge during their bi-monthly meetings when they discuss, share, and learn about each other's marketing challenges and...

In early 2010, a major auto manufacturer was faced with a massive recall—one that received heavy criticism and worldwide media attention. But rather than dodge the spotlight, they stepped into the middle of it, opening a dialogue and answering customers questions through social media outlets. In the end, the brand turned a crisis into an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to their customers, products, and services.

When mistakes are made, proactively fielding the criticism that follows is imperative. We recommend making things right by leveraging all of your social media outlets to...

In Part 1 of this post, ExactTarget client JetBlue provided recommendations around helpful content and holiday staffing. Today we continue with Part 2.

As one of the top airline carriers in the country, with service to 75 locations mostly within the continental US, JetBlue is familiar with the holiday rush – and the strain it puts on travelers, many of whom are first-time or infrequent flyers. They make it their mission to alleviate that stress and put some cheer back into holiday travel using both offline and online methods – including social media.

How do they do it? Laurie Meacham, social...

Let’s face it; the holidays can be a really stressful time. Last-minute shopping, decorating, traveling, cooking, hosting, and the coordination of everything that comes with making the season merry and bright... It all translates to increased pressure for brands to provide outstanding service to their sometimes-frazzled customers. In this 2-part post, ExactTarget client JetBlue provides their best advice for the holiday season.

The ATA estimates that 47 million passengers will travel during the winter holiday season (between December 13 and January 2) which directly follows a Thanksgiving...

At Connections 2012 UK, I sat with over 700 marketing professionals at the end of a day packed with all kinds of valuable information, to listen to Joseph Jaffe’s keynote presentation based on his book, “Flip the Funnel.” At first I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to take in another sentence. With my brain already so full, how would it fit another drop of inspiration?

But right from the start the presentation was like a jolt of caffeine. I found myself nodding along the whole time. It was one of those talks where each point was so clear, and made so much sense you caught yourself thinking,...

As marketers, we all talk a big customer-centric game. But are you building customers into the core of your marketing plans? In 2013, expect your executive team and clients to shift their focus in a more meaningful way to customers. They will look to YOU to help them build a more customer-centric strategy. 

You'll need to find new ways to get to know your customers better and use that information to improve every aspect of your business. If you are like me, you are likely just now putting together your plan for 2013.

To begin your plan, break you it up into four specific goals and build out your...

It's a fact. Customers expect to get answers and support through Twitter and Facebook – so your job isn't over when you finish creating, editing, and sending that email. 

Think about it. You develop a brilliant campaign with a 50% off promotion. The customer receives the email, opens it, and wants more info. They tweet:

"Mr. Brand, is it too late to redeem my coupon?"

6 days days later..... a response finally comes:

"Mr Customer, it is too late. The coupon expired yesterday."

End of story? Of course not...

"Mr. Brand, I am really bummed. I received your email and asked you that day whether or...

When our clients talk, we listen. In fact, throughout ExactTarget's first 11 years, we have counted on client feedback to help define the direction of our business. This source of insight is critical to ensure that we're providing the right products and services to help our clients achieve their business goals. More and more improvements and features added to our products - and even whole new products are launched - thanks to client input.

Our most advanced and tenured users rave about how great it is to have a real, live person talking to them. Someone who can find an answer that's personalized for their use of ExactTarget rather than a generalized scripted one. They come to us to have someone who understands not just the technology but also the industry, the nuances of email deliverability, and the importance of the fact that the report that they accidentally deleted is due in 3 hours. We have built our orange culture around empowering you, making you look like heroes and working as a team. 

How can you take this back into...