When I was in graduate school, I took a services marketing class. Among other things, the professor required that we, his students, document three positive and / or negative consumer occurrences we experienced each week.

Specifically, we were to describe what happened; how it made us feel; whether we were disappointed, satisfied or delighted; and our suggestions for improvement.

At first, I viewed this as just another task on my “to-do” list, but soon discovered what a valuable learning exercise it turned out to be! I continue documenting my experiences in a log book (it’s a lifesaver when I want to provide concrete example that help illustrate a point) and recommend this activity to all my clients.

As part of my preparation for this article I decided to randomly select an entry I’d included. So, I pulled out my log binder, shut my eyes, opened it up and pointed my index finger anywhere on the page.

Here’s what I had written:

Description: My company is getting ready to participate in a trade show so I decided to buy some “trash and trinkets” (giveaways) personalized with our company’s logo. Remembering that I had recently received a direct mail piece from a local company I decided to give them a try. I located the letter and was immediately impressed with their ad copy. It contained all of the “right stuff” such as:

• Great features translated into wonderful customer benefits.
• Powerful headlines.
• Plausible testimonials.
• Strong offers.
• Promises of quick turnaround times.

Thrilled to have such a seemingly top-notch company so close by, I hauled out my corporate credit card, ready to buy.

The first two times I dialed their number I got a busy signal. Since that’s a rarity these days, I figured I had entered the number incorrectly. After double-checking, I redialed. This time my call was answered by “robot man”, or so it seemed, who said:

Question: How Did That Make You Feel?

Answer: Not Warm and Fuzzy… More:

• Annoyed – I had to dial their number three times before I even got through to their voice mail system.
• Disappointed – Their advertisement had created a picture in my mind of a professional company dedicated to delivering quality products and superior customer service. Apparently they hadn’t made the connection between customer care and answering their phones!
• Confused – Why on earth would any business owner spend the time and effort involved in creating a first rate marketing piece only to “blow it” when a potential customer shows interest? It boggles the mind.

Question: What should they have done to make the experience better?

Answer: Answer the phone and / or change their greeting.

So what’s the outcome; the bottom line?

The “AAAA Company”:

• Wasted money.
• Lost a sale.
• Lost a referral.
• Gained a detractor.
• Lost profits.
• Missed the opportunity to get a new customer.
• Missed a chance for a repeat purchase.

Moral of the Story? Every single time you communicate with a prospect or customer, it counts. Small things may be worth a fortune!