Here’s an example of what appears to be fully integrated marketing engine, designed to get the most “share of wallet” from customers as possible. The company is BGE Home. I’m a satisfied customer for some of their services (furnace, hot water, A/C, and Plumbing).
Here’s what happened…
- Received a coupon for discounted plumbing service from BGE Home (this prompted me to raise a few issues to a higher priority, including fixing a ‘slow drain’ in my shower)
- Went to the website to schedule an appointment online
- Received a confirmation call on my answering machine for the appointment instructing me to call back (since they can’t confirm appointments with a machine—seems fair)
- Called back to schedule the appointment on their 800 number.
- Heard a few commercials while on hold which educated me about a whole new range of services BGE Home can provide for me (surge protection, window installation, electrical wiring, etc.) Had NO idea they could do it.
- Began to think seriously about hiring BGE HOME (when I would have otherwise called my contractor-or not done it at all) for some of them
If it’s integrated, it’s BRILLIANT! I especially loved the audio commercials. I love how they are upselling me while I’m on hold. I can’t tell you how much I hate when companies don’t leverage hold times for upsells!)
(I’m wondering if they instruct their CSR’s –Customer Service Reps-to put people on hold for even short periods of time just so they will hear the commercials).
Lesson learned: take advantage of every opportunity you have to engage with and educate your customer about what you can do for them.
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