Ugh, I Have to Beg for Help from a $200 billion company?
Why do the biggest companies in the world have the worst customer service?
I own a small business.
I don’t have the personnel or resources found at a billion dollar company.
Still, you can send an email to support and expect to receive a prompt response.
You can call our 800# and talk to a real person.
There are no tickets assigned.
No links to click or forms to fill out.
No automated responses.
Just simple, good-old-fashioned customer service to help our valued clients.
So, why has customer service at some of the largest corporations in the world progressively worsened?
I mean, just horrible!
Here is a recent experience I had with a Fortune 500 company when trying to update my account:
As you can see…
I wanted to call support.
They didn’t have an 800#.
I sent an email to billing.
They didn’t respond.
I updated my account status online.
It was rejected with no explanation.
I was sent an email with a button to “change account status”
The button was not hyper-linked and useless.
I was sent a second email with a new link to a different page to update my account.
The page did not exist.
The whole process took 3 months to finally make a simple update to my account.
I couldn’t help but ask myself, how does a company like this stay in business, let alone have a valuation in excess of $200B?
I wondered what I would find if I could get inside the heads of big business to compare to the brains of a small business.
After I talked with several small business owners and closely reviewed the workings of large corporations, this is what I came up with …
Customers
Big Business Brains: Customer Value = Total Customer Benefits - Total Customer Costs) = Customer Value, or (B - C = CV)
Small Business Brains: Do I have time to swing by Mrs. Johnson’s house on the way home tonight to check her leaky faucet and fix the flapper on her toilet?
Profits
Big Business Brains: We grew profits by 13% this year while reaching $110.2 billion in sales, but the projections fell short of Wall Street estimates so we will need to reduce our workforce by 7%.
Small Business Brains: I made a little profit this year so I should be able to setup a new 401K plan for my employees.
Human Resources
Big Business Brains: We need to reduce headcount by 21,000 in order to eliminate the redundancies in workflow (exact number not needed since its only heads that count)
Small Business Brains: Maybe if I cut my own pay for a while and postpone that vacation I planned, I can keep from laying off Harriett until business picks up again.
Upon reflection, I came to the realization …
The world desperately needs more small businesses.
They are the unsung hero in today’s world.
If you work for a small business….
Hang in there … I’m rooting for you.
Polls can be a great tool to help members connect with their target audience and build a pipeline of prospects.
I’ve also seen a lot of polls that serve no purpose and appear useless.
Today, we look at LinkedIn Polls!
LINKEDIN POLLS
There are many benefits to using LinkedIn Polls:
They help you engage with members
You can gain insights from your target audience
You’ll better understand trends and member opinions
They can be a very valuable sales and marketing tool
I’ve also seen many LinkedIn polls that seem irrelevant and like a waste of time.
For example:
I’m not sure I see much relevancy of posting this on LinkedIn.
Although, there have been times where I see a poll that seems totally irrelevant to the LinkedIn audience but eventually surprises me.
For example, if this poll later provided the results that showed that professionals were more or less productive at work by sleeping with a partner compared to sleeping by themselves.
Regardless, I believe there is great potential in using Linked Polls strategically.
For example:
Commenting to engage with members
Getting feedback for new products or services
Discussing the poll results to get new insights
Reaching out to participants with relevant follow-up information
I own a networking organization, so I want to keep my poll relevant to my audience and collect data that would be valuable to me.
Below is a recent LinkedIn poll I launched:
Since I provide networking services for all these options, this data could provide me key insights and valuable feedback from LinkedIn users.
The data I did collect did tell me that the majority of people want to meet in-person, which is good for me to know.
It also told me the importance of networking online, as almost 1/3 preferred this method.
I was a bit surprised that video and Zoom had less than 10% selected.
The next step?
Analyze the data and plan accordingly.
I now have the micro data for each LinkedIn member that participated.
So, I invited the members that voted for In-Person meetings to our next face-to-face event.
Next, I invited the members that selected Zoom to our next virtual meeting.
For the members that chose Online, I sent them a DM to see if they needed any help and start a conversation.
By using Linked polls wisely, you can generate a list of targeted leads and potential clients.
Want to learn more?
Check out my new LINKEDIN COURSE launching on April 1, 2024:
Strategic Networking on LinkedIn with a FREE Account
Join us virtually!
Participate in discussions on networking strategies, connecting with professionals, and sharing valuable tips. Join our weekly virtual networking events for new, exciting, and sometimes unconventional ways to network.
There is no cost to participate.
NEXT NETWORKING EVENT: April 3rd, 2024, 12:00 - 1:00PM EST
Topic: Key LinkedIn Tips & Strategies (15 mins)
Live Networking: Connecting Participants with Zoom Advanced Polls (45 mins)
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