Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bells Bills - Part Two...

Last week, I wrote a rant about auto renewal masquerading as a marketing technique.

My phone company had dropped the “introductory rate” and auto renewed me into a more expensive package. I hate when a marketer uses a marketing technique they wouldn’t want used on them. And in this case, I think the auto renewal technique actually weakens the brand and strains the customer relationship.

People hate being tricked. In some cases, like insurance, auto renewal isn't a trick. It really is a convenience. But in these cases you'll usually get a mailed or emailed notice before you're charged. The sneaky auto-renewals are the ones that are automatically charged on your credit card, often at a higher rate than you originally signed for.

Being conniving doesn't just create bad will.

Most importantly, these marketers are losing a chance to connect with customers and build a stronger relationship. The average person today has much more marketing savvy than they had as little as a decade ago.

Customers resent being taken for granted by a business. They want to be treated fairly and with respect. And they are using a variety of means to vent their frustration, like email, forums, websites and blogs. (I read about a woman who took a hammer to Comcast’s offices and smashed a few keyboards in frustration over her complaint being ignored and the manager slipping out the back while she waited to meet with him.)

But auto renewal must be effective, or marketers wouldn't keep using it. Right? There's actually a strategy that can be more profitable than auto renewal.

What is it? Simple: connect with your customer. Ask them to renew.

A few years back the idea of “touching” a customer was all the rage. The theory was, it takes about 6 contacts ("touches") from a business before a prospect will become a customer. So why do we stop “touching” them once they’ve bought from us? I believe asking vs. auto renewing builds a stronger bond with the customer. But it can also make you more profitable.

How can an expensive proposition like asking for a renewal be more profitable than auto renewing? I’ll cover that next week after I “touch my phone company.

Meantime, how often do you "touch" your customers? What means are you using: email, phone, mail, voicemail, text?

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