I'm a more important customer than I thought ... maybe ...
In a previous post, Sales missing in action, I told you about a rather weak customer retention effort made as a major financial institution closes down it's no-fee chequing/checking subsidiary, bizSmart.
It happens that I got a second letter... written to the owner (me) of a different business. This one is offering me free chequing until next May. AND a different 800 number to call.
Some differences in langauge between the two letters:
The "Good Customer" letter:
"We are committed to supporting small businesses and helping you achieve your goals. We appreciate your business and CIBC looks forward to continuing to meet your financial needs"
The "Get Lost" letter:
"If you do not make alternate arrangements, your bizSmart account(s) will be automatically closed... Thank you for your attention to this matter"
So the rule of communications in use here is, if we think your account is so small that it's a nuisance, we will use the minimum of civilized language and see no need to be overly polite.
Here's my take on this as a guiding principle: all your communications reflect your brand, no matter who you are talking to. Especially when you don't really know who you are talking to.
