Devoted to branding and building and protecting brands

Jeff Jarvis knows what he’s talking about here, of course.  But there’s a whole other dimension to actively engaging your customers, online or off-line, that gets buried, or lost altogether, in the broader topic of customer-service.  What we’re talking about here is customer value:  enabling and then constantly encouraging your customers to add value to your value proposition.  They’re ready, willing and able!  Sign then up.

Cranky consumers are nothing new.  And their calls in to “help desks” and service technicians in Bangalore or Calcutta are a tired butt of bad jokes.  What’s new are the web-based technology and tools available now that literally bring your market not just “to” your site, but sit them down and, sometimes, even moderate the dialogue.  In another few years, any companies failing to do this will look as clueless as running a business today with no web online presence at all.  To use a musical analogy, the only way to keep your value proposition in the same key as your market is to keep it tuned to it.  This is an ongoing chore.  But what you learn is priceless.  Surveys and customer service efforts are a good start, but there’s more you can, and should, be doing right now.  Sure, you can hire us.  But you can get jumpstarted on your own, too.  Can you say competitive advantage?  Only about one in ten companies even have a value proposition.  Develop one for your own customers and there's a relevant differentiator right there. Do it!