Here’s a little story about checking everything and customer service…(if you want to skip straight to the things to learn from this, scroll down now).
My dad (who lives in NZ) has somehow managed to get onto the email database for a marketing agency here on the Gold Coast. Whenever he sees something come through tech related or that he thinks I will enjoy, he forwards the email. Thanks Dad!
Handy for me and great for the marketing company as it helps with their sending reputation.
So here’s what happened! Last week.Dad got an email. He forwarded it to me as there was an enticing offer for some awesome tech tips in there. Sold, sign me up!
I opened the email, clicked on the link for their lead magnet (which is where the tips were), and was taken to a website.
‘Sorry, this form no longer takes submissions”.
I’m sorry, what?
So now I’ve got my business hat on and I’m going ooooo something’s gone wrong. Keep in mind that this is a marketing agency.
So I go to their website to:
1. Find out how I can subscribe direct to their emails
2. Find a phone number or email address so I can call/email someone about getting a copy of the lead magnet. Yep, that’s how much I wanted it!
Found the opt in box. Tried to sign up. It kept erroring. Could not find a phone number or an email address. All they had was a contact form.
Now I really wanted this guide. So I went onto Facebook. Found them. I looked for a phone number. Couldn’t find one. Looked for an email. Couldn’t find one.
So what did I do? I sent them a direct message. Told them that I was after a copy of the lead magnet, asked them if it was possible to get a copy. And also gave them some feedback.
The cool thing with Facebook is that you can see when someone sees a message right? Well they saw it within 5 minutes.
I have not had a reply.
There are a few things to learn from this story.
- Customer service is huge. There is NO WAY that I would refer anyone to this agency. Even if they had the most amazing content in the world. ALWAYS reply to people. Even if you have to admit you made a mistake. It’s the nice (and right) thing to do.
- Always check everything. If you are sending out a mass email to who knows how many subscribers, with your main call to action as a lead magnet people need to opt in for, but your form doesn’t work. It’s not a good look. Especially if you are in marketing and are encouraging others to have a similar type of funnel.
- Find someone who can test it for you – don’t rely on your own computer and web browser to function properly. It does sneaky things sometimes that can really trip us up.
- Have a way for people to find your contact details. If your customer or potential lead has to go to the effort that I went to in this story, they are lost. If you want help now, no way are you filling in a contact form. Have a phone number and email address that can be found.
Your systems are insanely important. You need to ensure that they work and that your customers and potential customers are getting what they want and need from you.
How about you? Have you ever had something similar happen? How did it make you feel?
(Thanks to Little Britain for today’s photo. The computer says no scenes were some of my favourite!)
