By Did you ever have a day in which work intersected with personal life in a good way? I had one of those days this week.
During a meeting in the office, one of my colleagues mentioned the idea that social media, and as an implication customer service, needs a human face to it. Users on social sites want to connect to people, not products, he said.
It’s a fair point in these days of corporate branding, anonymous product recommendations, Tweeting, and befriending companies online. The old saying that it’s good to put a face to a name has taken new meaning.
Later that day at home, I saw a box of contact lenses had arrived for my wife from 1-800-Contacts. On the box was a picture of young man and woman, both employees of the company, along with their first names and the departments they worked for. The woman worked in a call center, while the man staffed the distribution center, and the wording on the package indicated that the employees were there to help the customers.
That box’s design drove home an important point that all enterprises should consider: Supply chain, CRM, or any other aspect of a company isn’t merely a link in the SAP chain, even if we think in those terms most days.
The 1-800-Contacts box resonates loudly compared to a package with just slogans and a bar code. Whether it’s a photo of an employee, a customer testimonial, or a CEO’s personal message to consumers, a small human touch can help everyday folks relate to your company better.
Follow Scott on Twitter @CRMexpert1.
