Is your business being impacted by the left hand right hand syndrome?

Translation: Failure of those within your organization to communicate with each other. 
 Failure to understand that when communication is clear, thorough and consistent everyone benefits, when it isn't everyone loses and the company's reputation is impugned.

Create an environment in your area of operation as an example to others, when everyone works as a team the results can be outstanding, and when they don't, disastrous would be a better description of the end result. Nowhere is this more important than when you are interacting with the public and the trade. This is not brain surgery, just do it!

Customer Service Can Sink Your Business - Dumb Marketing Move

This week’s Dumb Marketing Move goes to Holland America (cruises).

Most PR executives, and their marketing department, would be excited to get a full article in AARP's magazine considering it has one of the largest circulations of any publication. But I don't think there is joy being felt on the executive deck of the Holland American Cruise line. A recent article highlighted (link above) the travails of a couple that had a terrible experience. One that even the most inexperienced management team would have realized was wrong to have allowed it to happen.

They forgot the unwritten rule of customer service. When a problem arises go out of your way to provide great service to your customer they will tell dozens of people. Handle it atrociously and they will tell hundreds. In this case the amateur marketers at Holland America Cruises manage to have it exposed to millions, through AARP's publication of this incident. Millions learned of their less than caring attitude towards the customer. The cost to them would have been far less if they had been empathetic, courteous, fair … and smart. So with ship horns blasting, we award them this month's "Dumb Marketing Move" award. They went out of their way to earn it.

Lesson Learned: Never underestimate the reach, impact and overall effect of the quality of your customer service, be it positive or negative.

Communicating To Your Customers

Main Entry: cur·mud·geon
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)kər-ˈmə-jən\
Function: noun
1 archaic : miser
2 : a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man

Meet the Marketing Curmudgeon