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“Sir, I have an exclusive offer for you!”
“Sir, I have an exclusive offer for you!”
They call at weird hours, with the weirdest offerings; they leave us frustrated, angry and guilty (for having yelled at them); in-fact they leave us amazed that we continue to do business with them despite all the ongoing harassment. That top guys of these companies actually walk the streets without getting man handled is proof that we are firm believers in the principle of non-violence – land of Mahatma Gandhi, indeed :).
As a marketer is never ceases to amaze me that these companies, their marketing/ communication advisors never seem to worry about the adverse impact on their brand reputation?
I have sometimes wondered if any of them ever considered using a voluntary “No tele-harassment policy”, as not just a case of good brand citizenship, but as a differentiated brand promise! Is there a critical mass of consumers who would support a brand on that promise? I would have loved to try with a client in one of the key culprit segments – multinational banks (and their credit card/ insurance divisions); telecom companies; hospitality- Foolish thought? What do you think?
Too late for that to work as a differentiator, for the Do Not Call Registry has already arrived, promising relief for the harassed consumer.
“In a way it will be good for everyone,” they say: Consumer gets the needed relief; tele-marketing companies might see higher conversions (particularly in urban markets) with remaining prospects; some might shift focus to semi-urban in pursuit of newer markets, but cost per call will definitely increase, owing to higher investments in connectivity and related equipment etc. Consolidation is likely.
Coming back to the calls…sometimes the predominant sentiment of ‘simple’ irritation can shift to a sadist and wicked desire to ‘give it back!’ This was an interesting one – I was initially baffled at hearing from a rather sophisticated gentleman, attempting to sell me high-end investment advisory on behalf of a rather exclusive multinational bank – based on my ‘profile’, he claimed – I could almost see his expression change when I asked him if based on the said ‘profile’ they could offer me a business loan to fund my new venture. He promised to have his colleague call back. No, I didn’t wait for the call :).
Please DON’T try this at home though!! Chanced upon at a Facebook friend’s profile.
Disclaimer: Views of authors are personal and do not represent the views of Blogworks, or any of its clients.
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