May 30, 2007
Personal and Pertinent
Mix useful content with new channels and
you’ll build strong customer relationships.
By George Linkletter
Like most parents, my wife and I were understandably apprehensive when our daughter went to London for a semester to study abroad. And we were greatly relieved when one of the first calls we received after her arrival was from her bank.
The trigger for the call was her purchase via debit card of a three-month pass for the London Underground. She needed to get around London and the pass for the Underground (subway) was the most comprehensive and least costly alternative.
However, her previous purchases centered largely on items of less than $50.00, in either North Carolina where she attended college or back home in Connecticut. So the bank’s fraud-prevention unit flagged the purchase of a London Underground Pass -- worth several hundred dollars -- as unusual and questionable. And a very helpful customer service representative called us to make sure the purchase was bona fide and the card had not been stolen.
We explained that our daughter was in the UK for the semester and there would likely be other purchases that might seem atypical. He made a note on her file to exempt the geographic anomaly, but kept watch on high-dollar value transactions (just to be safe) and thanked us for our time. Yet it was the bank that deserved our thanks for keeping watch on her financial wellbeing.
Today, savvy managers are increasingly reaching out to customers via new channels of communication. The purpose? Supplement the strong linkage afforded by the venerable monthly account statement and build stronger and more profitable bonds with customers.
One such example is the SMS or e-messaging capability recently launched by First Data, a giant in the credit card processing and customer-messaging world. It is a service that is ideally suited to the needs of today’s customers, who are increasingly mobile, and the lifestyles of young adults, who are a vital demographic group for any business.
Consider these key facts. No communications technology has spread faster than the cell phone. Television, as ubiquitous as it is today, required 30 years to achieve a reach of 70 percent of U.S. households. The cell phone has achieved the same level in less than a decade. In some markets abroad cell phone penetration is virtually 100 percent.
Additionally, research shows that nearly 160 billion text messages were sent in the U.S. last year. The group most likely to send and receive text messages is between the ages of 13 and 24. Those consumers are clearly the future of any business. And, most importantly, those text messages get read and noticed. One marketer, using a promotional program consisting of text messages directed exclusively at college students, reports achieving response rates ranging from seven to an astonishing 30 percent!
Of course, the key to success in any messaging effort is the pertinence of the message to the recipient. And this is where the First Data capability really excels because it is linked to or related to the contents of the monthly account statement, which represents the essence of any ongoing business relationship.
eMessengerSM, as the service is called, enables companies to create stronger, more valuable relationships with customers by reaching them with account details and other important information nearly instantly and through the electronic channel preferred by the customer.
The messages, alerts and notices can be delivered though secure e-mail, or cell phone or other wireless device, or traditional Web-based formats. Companies benefit because the messages achieve high impact upon arrival and may even save money if customers: (a) opt out of receiving paper-based and mailed statements, or (b) reduce the number of inquiries they make to customer call centers.
The innovative electronic messaging service also incorporates important integrity features, such as support for e-sign and other regulatory requirements, tracking to capture delivery status and assure delivery, a guarantee of authenticity, and even an encryption option to assure the privacy of the messages.
As for increasing revenues, the service offers the key advantage of precise timing. For example, marketing messages can be scheduled for delivery at the most opportune time, such as after work or on weekends, when the customer is less likely to be preoccupied and more amenable to shopping and taking action on specific offers.
Many knowledgeable observers believe the future of customer messaging is multi-channel communications. When the proven appeal of a printed and mailed monthly account statement is supplemented by nearly instant and highly targeted electronic notifications, whether delivered via e-mail, cell phone or traditional Web-based formats, it is easy to see the future has arrived.
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Comments? Contact: georgelinkletter@charter.net.