Being nice and friendly is good business!!
A colleague from a local foundation shared a branding article that I just loved. Thanks again, Terry!
It's a great reminder for any nonprofit communicator that your brand is not your logo! Your brand is defined by how your people behave and perform! In my Communications Handbook for Nonprofits and Foundations, I have a whole chapter called "Behavioral Branding."
Here is an excerpt from the article, which is posted on the Guidestar website:
Isn't it sad ... how low our expectations have become for receiving good service —and how much we recognize and appreciate it when we are served well.
Fact is, the overwhelming majority of first contacts to most organizations come over the phone. Yet we often overlook the critical impressions those contacts have on callers.
I don't know about you, but in my years of calling hundreds of organizations and dealing with countless "phone receptionists," I've often been given bad information, talked to as if I were an imposition rather than a valued caller, put on interminable hold, felt like I had just woken the person up, or been treated downright rudely. Heck, sometimes I don't even get past the receptionist and I'm already questioning whether or not I want to do business with this group.
The article makes this point: Your brand is defined in large part people simply doing their job in a competent, friendly manner. Nothing more. Nothing less.
It's a great reminder for any nonprofit communicator that your brand is not your logo! Your brand is defined by how your people behave and perform! In my Communications Handbook for Nonprofits and Foundations, I have a whole chapter called "Behavioral Branding."
Here is an excerpt from the article, which is posted on the Guidestar website:
Isn't it sad ... how low our expectations have become for receiving good service —and how much we recognize and appreciate it when we are served well.
Fact is, the overwhelming majority of first contacts to most organizations come over the phone. Yet we often overlook the critical impressions those contacts have on callers.
I don't know about you, but in my years of calling hundreds of organizations and dealing with countless "phone receptionists," I've often been given bad information, talked to as if I were an imposition rather than a valued caller, put on interminable hold, felt like I had just woken the person up, or been treated downright rudely. Heck, sometimes I don't even get past the receptionist and I'm already questioning whether or not I want to do business with this group.
The article makes this point: Your brand is defined in large part people simply doing their job in a competent, friendly manner. Nothing more. Nothing less.
It is well worth reading! Here is the link.
I learned this happy lesson just two days ago. I had to hire a tech support firm to fix a complex problem with our workstations. He was a gregarious fellow, which is a bit unusual for the Tech Support field, so I took time from what I was doing to talk as he worked. I asked about his family, found out we had some common interests, and just enjoyed a friendly chat.
When I got the bill, I was expecting to pay about $400 to $500, based on previous experience and the length of time he was on site over two different days. But he said he was giving me a deal because "I enjoy coming here --you guys are fun, and customers like you make MY job fun."
I happily paid $155.
