Word Power

Make no mistake about it.  Words are powerful.  They have been used to motivate, inspire, and invigorate.  Think about these leaders: Lincoln, King, Reagan, Winfrey, and Kennedy.  Their words painted an audio portrait of a world where slavery could be abolished, character is more important than color, walls get torn down, women lead the way, and a nation can reach for the stars.

The words used by these trail-blazing leaders derived their power from the actions behind them.  The vision their words invoked were brought to fruition through commitment, determination, and often times, sacrifice.   Words without corresponding action never quite reach their full power potential.  Those words are still influential, but their power is more destructive in nature; eroding one of the most foundational of all natural resources:  Trust.

Appreciation. Value. Service.  These are just a few of the words businesses use in marketing campaigns to express their gratitude for their customers. Your time is valuable, your business is appreciated, and it is a pleasure serving you.  That’s what their words say.

Do the actions match?

It’s not hard to tell a caller placed on hold that you appreciate them and that you understand the value of their time.  However, leave them on hold for extended periods, subject them to the same ‘appreciation’ message repeated every twenty seconds then make it difficult for them to speak to an actual person; and I hate to tell you this, but your actions are in direct contradiction to your words.  This hypocritical approach not only gives on hold advertising a bad rap, it robs you of the positive power your words have with the one marketing tool you already own.

John F. Kennedy said, ‘As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.’ As a business owner, the best way to let your customers know how much you appreciate them is how you treat them; not what you tell them. 

Default music from your VoIP phone system?  Don’t think so.  Cookie-cutter messages with royalty-free music? Not for your customers – they are too valuable.  Let your competitors follow the herd in that type of approach to on-hold advertising. Following the pack has never been your mentality anyway.

‘Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’

-Emerson

Make sure your actions match the words you use with each caller. Treat them to a professionally produced, creative on-hold advertising program from Woodstock Media Group. Then, program your phone system to make it easy for them to reach a real, live person. And, if a caller has to leave you a message, make sure you return that call immediately - every time. Those are the actions that put power behind the words appreciation, value, and service. 

These actions may not seem like much to the casual observer. They may not spark a movement, launch a media empire, or tear down a wall. But for your business, they will build something invaluable with every one of your customers.

Trust.

Tom McTee, Super-Genius