The Marketing Bureau

Sure, you may well use some standard marketing metrics to measure traditional marcoms activities (although many don't even do that). But what about the Total Marketing Effect of everything else (yes EVERYTHING) else that your businssess or organisation does?

Just had a delightful Call Centre experience.

Can there be such a thing?

Well, it would seem so.

I purchased 3 tickets online to see Jason Alexander (“George” from Seinfeld) at The Aotea Centre.

Shortly after, I got a call from Mrs. Meredith asking me to purchase another ticket, adjacent to the three that I had already purchased, if possible.

Can’t do that sort of stuff online so I called The Edge Customer Service number.

I was answered promptly by a pleasant, English speaking, lady for whom absolutely nothing was a problem.  (hoo – bloody – ray! I truly do love the extraordinary diversity of race, ethnicity, cultures and language that comprises our world. But I do struggle with talking Hindi when dealing with Call Centres in New Zealand organisations. Might just be me, but there you go – I don’t do great Hindi. Or Mandarin. Or Filipino.)

I explained that I wanted an additional seat, adjacent to our existing booking if possible.

Not a problem.

I gave her my wife’s credit card details.

Not a problem.

There was a digit missing in the number I provided.

Not a problem.

I called my wife for the correct number whilst the lady at The Edge waited.

Not a problem.

And I had entered the wrong postcode on my online transaction but this lady’s system highlighted this and corrected it.

Not a problem.

“Would be great if all four tickets could be couriered together”.

Not a problem.

So only one set of delivery charges.

“Absolutely”.

“OK – well we’re done then?”

“Yes. I hope your guests and yourself really enjoy the show Mr. Meredith”.

“I am sure we will”.

“I’m sure you will too. Have a great day Mr. Meredith”.

“Thanks. And you”.

And I meant it.

So here’s the point.

In any organisation, there is a reality that I refer to as “The Total Marketing Effect”.  The Total Marketing Effect is the result of all behaviours in which an organisation engages. Good or bad. These behaviours send messages to the marketplace. Good behaviours send positive messages and bad behaviours send negative messages.

These messages fall into two broad categories – planned messages and unplanned messages.

Planned messages typically comprise all of those things that most of us think of when we think of “marketing” – advertising, sales promotion, collateral, exhibitions, public relations, direct mail, etc.

Unplanned messages are absolutely everything else that results from everything an organisation says and does and which are, all too often, not captured in the overall management of the organisation’s Total Marketing Effect. Often, these unplanned messages can significantly negate the planned messages.

And here’s the rub.

I estimate that as little as 10-20% of the Total Marketing Effect in a typical organisation is created by planned messages. The rest (up to 90%) is the result of unplanned messages.

The organisations that consistently achieve the greatest success are those that accomplish the most positive Total Marketing Effect. And that is accomplished by paying attention to all the messages that emerge from your organisation – planned and unplanned. And this means converting unplanned messages into planned ones.

Leave nothing to chance.

Give time and effort to making sure you know and understand every behaviour in your organisation that sends a message to the wider world and, in particular, your defined target market. Having done that, set out to ensure that the nature of that behaviour will result in positive, relevant, “on brand” messages .

But be in no doubt. This is hard and challenging work. It requires that you examine every tiny aspect of your organisation’s behaviour, continuously, to ensure that the messages resulting from that behaviour are the right ones.

Don’t go into the food hygiene business and have dirty liveried vans with black fumes belching from the exhaust.

Don’t spend a gazillion bucks on marketing a promise of “warm & friendly” and then put grumpy old buggers or smart arsed, disinterested adolescents in your Call Centre.

Don’t invest heavily in promoting your “luxury B&B” on a fabulous website but ignore the the cheap & tacky plastic furniture on the deck .

Do ensure that every tiny aspect of what your organisation does, looks, feels, tastes and smells like is, consistently, just the way you and your customers need, want and expect it to be.

The Edge got it right for me. Starting with their promotional email through to the look, feel and content of their website (including design, content, tone of voice and ease of navigation) and the nature, sound and actions of their Customer Service operation (warm, friendly, welcoming, English speaking and professional), their behaviours were utterly consistent with what I would like to expect (should be able to expect) from one of the country’s leading event, leisure and entertainment brands and facilities.

Manage the behaviours that result in the messages sent to your marketplace and contribute to your Total Marketing Effect and you will finally begin to experience the real power of marketing, measured by total organisational performance and not just ROI on advertising dollars committed.

It will be hard work.

But it will pay dividends.

In spades.

Brian H Meredith