I like doing things the easy way and am always pleasantly surprised when companies offer great service that's quick and easy. This has happened twice in two days:
1. Applying for my Velocity rewards card with Virgin Blue
2. Getting a doctor to visit after hours and on Sunday for free!
In both cases finding information on the Internet was easy and my first point of call:
Virgin Blue intercepted me as I was booking my flight - and offered double points if I joined. So I did - the ease of use, the transfer of my information from one site to another made the process quick and simple. I even had to call Virgin where he had my info waiting seemed - after 30seconds I had redeemed my points. I booked my flight - applied for velocity rewards and spoke to a human in under 5 minutes.
A sick child on a Sunday with a high temp and sore ear was the other problem. My partner looked at me with scepticism when I suggested the after hours doctor - His reasons - it would cost a fortune and did such a service really exist. Yes it does (The Family Care Friendly Society!) After locating them online a quick call got a doctor out to a sick 2yr old in under 3 hours. Yes there was some waiting time - but the whole process of finding the service and dealing with the operator (to get a doctor to visit my home for free on a Sunday )took...yes you guessed it...5 minutes. Who makes this possible? My regular doctor who subscribes to the service and takes the extra effort to provide his clients with the best service everyday!
Service is really important - we live in a service society - innovation in communication has created an expectation of swift networks - The faster people can network and create easy pathways between one another leads to greater expectations of service. Your customers expect YOU to organise it for them. It doesn't mean you have to know a lot about technology but you need to understand your customers pathways, their expectations and communication habits - and thats all part of market research!
It might cost you a little more - but the reward is customer loyalty.
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