Apple is slick.
I'm a little bit of an Apple fanboy, despite not owning any Apple products. (Some of it comes from my love of the Fake Steve Jobs blog.) They have a clear idea of how to make a better consumer experience, and how to make money doing it.
So, I went to the Apple store the other day to purchase a gift. They have no sales counter -- instead, the clerks walk around with little terminals and scanners and close the purchase wherever you happen to be.
After swiping my credit card, the clerk asked me if he could e-mail me the receipt. Why not? Sounded convenient to me, and since everything else was so high-tech it seemed to fit.
But Apple is slick. Not only did I get the receipt -- I got a survey a day later. How did I like my visit? Do I own a Mac? How many iPods do I own? The survey wasn't as beautiful as you might expect from Apple -- it's actually done by CustomerSat -- but it was pretty good.
The experience was a reminder of something. Internal communications carries one distinct advantage -- the assumption of permission. By virtue of being on the same team, you can contact all of your customers. Businesses work hard to get permission to do the same with theirs. Apple's approach worked on me.
We’re here to explore ways to measure the impact of internal communication efforts, but these tools can apply to any communication effort. Measurement is key to leadership support. The site's called standonabox because I believe metrics are the box communicators need to stand on to look leadership in the eye. If you’re sick of having nothing but anecdotes to defend your work; if you have more curiosity than budget; if you’ve cracked the code on any piece of the measurement problem – welcome.
2 comments:
This kind of experience with Apple is a clear example of a good management of customer relationships. They not only provide you a service by seding you an online recipe but also gather your information to learn more about your interests, needs and build your "apple profile".
I agree, Mariana. Apple does a lot of things right. I've been trying to figure out how to do something similar internally. When Apple reaches out to me, I feel a personal touch. What can I do to get employees to feel the same thing? Where could this be applied effectively?
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