What’s the difference?
A king customer means that they have everything they want.
An informed customer, meanwhile, means that they’re looking for information, that they know what they want, and they’re looking for the best way to get it.
The difference can be seen in the way companies treat requests from these types of customers. That’s where the importance lies!
An eye-opening event
Last February 25th, L’Association Marketing Relationnel organized an event that Groupe Marketing International’s president, Ms. Micheline Durocher, attended. The main theme of theSymposium AMR 2015 was “the king customer” and how to satisfy them. This event drove Ms. Durocher to reflect on the impact of this reality on her clients and their customers.
The role of technology
Before the arrival of all the technology we’re now familiar with, it was thought at one time that human beings would easily be replaced. But these technologies have integrated themselves into our lives, and we now realize that the place of the human being is more important than ever. The human touch — talking to a real person — is once again becoming a very strong need for consumers. Human assistance is therefore still essential for customer service departments.
“The customer is the king of their information, since they have it at their fingertips, but the customer still needs a human,” explains Micheline Durocher.
The wave of technological innovation gave the illusion that only technology was the name of the game, and many industries dove headfirst into developing the latter at the expense of customer service. Big mistake… but it’s one we can fix!
A different perspective
Culturally, we have to adapt to this new way of doing things. People are informed, and they have access to just about everything. They want answers more quickly and in different ways. Companies therefore have to adapt in order to better understand their customers’ needs, to address them properly, and thus increase their loyalty.
Today, the customer has a very specific buying and consumption process, and when they want to talk to someone to get more information, they want a quality person who is well informed, has time, and is attentive. This isn’t caprice on their part; it’s simply the new reality.
The intelligence of knowledge
Customers’ questions have evolved over the last 20 years. When GMI was first created, Micheline recalls that the nature of the questions was fairly basic. Today, it’s obvious to her and her team that the questions are much more advanced and evolved, and that people have already done some of the work and the thinking. People have educated themselves and want to know more before purchasing. GMI understands the intelligence of the consumers and places a great deal of importance on it.
What position to take?
Groupe Marketing International’s position in this shift towards the humanization of customer service is to assist its clients — step by step — in adapting their way of doing business and in demonstrating the positive results of successful human involvement. Companies have to change their way of doing things, and GMI, as a customer contact specialist, is a partner of choice in finding the perfect balance between the information transmitted via technology and the human presence a company offers.
Association Marketing Relationnel
This association helps its members stay informed about new relationship marketing trends via events and activities. It represents suppliers, businesses, and individuals in this field.
For more information about Groupe Marketing International’s services, please contact:
Éric Boucher
Multi-Platform Specialist
eric.boucher@groupmarketing.ca
(514) 966-4647
