Help Me Help You.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about caring enough to build an uncommon partnership with customers.

When I saw this rhyming fortune from Ann this morning, I instantly thought of that memorable scene from the movie "Jerry Maguire." You remember Jerry Maguire, don't you? Jerry had been freshly fired for writing, in a moment of pure honesty, a mission statement calling for his company to consider a new approach of remembering their love for sports and caring more for their clients. It was lofty thinking from the heart and centered on the sage words of his mentor, Dicky Fox, who said, "The key to this business is personal relationships." Jerry wanted a meaningful life, driven by fewer clients and less money.

After being fired for such thinking, fewer clients and less money is, of course, exactly what he got. At the end of a mad scramble to keep accounts, Jerry managed to maintain his relationship with Rod Tidwell, Jerry's only client. Rod had an ego in the mirror that was usually bigger than the heart he showed on the field. If they were to become successful together, they needed to begin reading from the same sheet of music. 

What if companies told their customers, "I am out here for you," as Jerry says, not just when everything is going well, but when it all goes really wrong? I mean REALLY wrong. Wrong like when products don't work, wrong like when the service man doesn't arrive between twelve and two in the afternoon, and wrong like when a customer is disconnected after being on hold for an eternity. What if companies chose, like Jerry did, to be up at dawn for their clients, swallowing their pride in the ugliest of situations and being out there working for their customers?

If more companies wrote a new mission statement focused less on quarterly earnings and more on building relationships, customer loyalty would increase. Customers would spread the good word about companies who are driven to deliver even when the delivery is late. They would spend more money with companies who are determined to delight even when a purchase had to be reshipped, replaced, or refunded. If they did, customers would become loyal partners with their favorite companies in both good times and bad.

It isn't easy to fix problems when everything breaks, but if companies tried, many customers would appreciate the effort. It isn't easy bending over backwards to right the wrongs, but if companies tried, customers would acknowledge such uncommon commitment. A valiant effort to rectify a problem can create lasting partnerships with customers. They will be more willing to "help me, help you." If companies tried, it really can be just as today's fortune says, "Mutual assistance in despair will make the ugly situation more fair."