I've been putting off writing this blog post because I couldn't remember a recent time that I had difficulty communicating with a business. I had no idea what I was going to write about, but luckily for me, this situation just fell into my lap today.
In December, my husband and I bought a new car. It came with a free trial of SiriusXM radio. If you aren't familiar with this service, it is a monthly subscription service that provides many music channels with very specific playlists. To name a very few examples, they have a station that just plays '70's disco music, one that plays just Elvis' music or one that plays just classical. They have a station for just about every musical whim, plus they have many "talk radio" stations. The best part is that there are no commercial interruptions. The company's goal is that after the free trial, the customer will purchase the monthly subscription. There is no question that is a great product.
My issue is that the trial is almost over and I have been receiving calls from SiriusXM. The caller says hello, and then rapidly launches into reading a script. It is a long script with no pauses for my feedback or questions that I might have. The first two times they called, I tried to be polite. I listened. The script went on and on. The more they talked, the more I thought that I did not want to have anything to do with this company. Finally, I just had to say "I'm not interested, thank you". This morning when they called, I just hung up immediately.
I do not like hanging up on someone, and it got me thinking about how the caller could be more effective. I think if they just called and tried to actually have a genuine conversation with the client they might get more conversions. Asking the client which station they liked the best, and listening to the client might be more effective than the script. The reading assignment this week talked about the importance of listening to customers. I think the marketing department at SiriusXM could benefit from reading that chapter.
I posted on Facebook about the ineffectiveness of these scripted calls. If anything comes of it, I will add it to my blog.
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ReplyDeleteI like how patient you were with them. It's great that you had a chance to witness their telecommunications operation. Maybe they should try listening to you instead of you them, haha.
ReplyDeleteAlison,
ReplyDeleteI had the same issue when I bought my new car last year. I was getting phone calls and e-mails, the phone calls stopped after I started blocking their call back numbers. On the email I was able to follow the link to unsubscribe.
Thanks for sharing.
Great post Alison! I can appreciate how frustrating that experience was for you. I hate telemarketers interrupting my day, especially ones that don't take no for an answer. Your example is a fantastic illustration of the importance of listening to the customer and to engage in a personal conversation as opposed to just droning on through the script. I often let calls go to voicemail if I don't recognize the number. If someone has a legitimate reason to contact me, they should be willing to leave a message.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't recognize a phone number I don't usually answer! However, I'm selling some sporting goods items locally (I posted flyers) so I am more interested in catching all my calls at this moment. Unfortunately its just SiriusXM calling, not potential buyers.
ReplyDeleteI will try blocking them! Thank you.
ReplyDelete