Contact Strategy: People Buy From People
Aug 06, 2018
Think about the last big purchase decision you made.
One that cost you 5-figures or more. Or that put your job on the line.
Did it come down to your level of trust, your feeling of comfort with the person or people you were dealing with over the course of your selection process?
With all this technology at our fingertips, there can be a tendency to force technology on the prospective client in the name of "efficiency" and "customer experience" - but we need to step back and remember that there are people out there that want to know "who they can call" just in case the proverbial SPAM hits the fan.
You know, have a face to go with the name.
Does your nurturing process require personal interaction or is it nothing but one long stream of emails?
Over the past 2-decades, I've worked with a lot of colleges and universities that are trying to attract working adults to their degree programs - and because they have such limited staff, they tend to overuse emails. Reminding them of the power - of effectiveness - of face-to-face meetings such as open houses during the recruitment phase is critical but the desire to "touch" as many leads as often as possible forces many of them back to automation and technology, further away from person-to-person connections.
The onboarding process is the same - there is a rush of paperwork (okay, PDFs) sent to the new students. But there is a lack of people interacting with other people.
What can you do during onboard that allows new students to meet and interact with faculty, staff, and classmates?
Distance can be overcome!
Now I admit that videoconferencing is "more technology" but when you have prospective clients that live too far away and can't make those face-to-face events or meetings - videoconferencing is one heck of an effective option.
Why?
You get to see the person live.
See their mannerisms.
See their expressions.
All that in addition to hearing them - it helps bring the prospective client and staff make that connection faster, easier and stronger.
Patrick McGraw is VP of Higher Educaton Marketing Services and has more than 25 years experience in market research, competitive intelligence, business intelligence including database marketing and CRM, strategic planning, brand development and management as well as operations/campaign management. His work has consistently helped his clients and employers develop and implement more efficient ways to attract and retain profitable customers, enter new markets and launch new products. His areas of focus include the education, hospitality, travel and tourism, hi-tech, telecommunications, financial services, and retail industries on both the agency and customer sides.
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