Marketing: the italian way (most of the time)

Here some good marketing lessons from a call. The lesson is about what you should never do.

I had a call with Agos, a company that makes money lending money to people that need it.

They sent me a revolving credit card I never asked for. The APR would be 17,22%. What a great deal (for them), considering that a fair APR shoul be aroun 7% nowadays.

Anyhow, I called Agos 'cause I didn't want the card and just to make sure what to do, as I wanted to avoid any hassle in the future.

Here the call script:

Phone ringing... 15 seconds of waiting time (good!)

Agos: "Good morning.... how can I help you?"

Me: "Good morning... I got this "Attiva Card" and I don't want it... how can I...?"

Agos: "Just cut it with a scissor and... Hold on... My boss wants to talk to me..."

(.......the boss is more important than me... a prospect customer!.......)

Agos: "Good morning.... how can I help you?"

Me: "I was saying..."

Agos: "....yes, just cut it and send it back to us to avoid problems..."

Me: "Can you please tell me what the right postal address is? "

Agos: "It is Via B.... anyhow, didn't you notice that the address is at the bottom of the letter?"

(... her tone is very like "are you stupid or what?"...)

Me: "..... I was not sure..." (there weren't instructions on how to send the card back)

Agos: "did you find it?"

Me: "yes... thank you"

Like most of you, I hate to talk to call centers. they do a very tough job.

But I also know that "branding" is very much "relationship".

I feel your brand when I touch it, when I start a relationship with your company.

Once I had a great experience talking with Ing direct. They were kind and professional. And I felt that they cared about me being a customer. I'd be please to contact them again in the future. And I don't think I'd ever call Agos again for anything.

How these 2 example change a bottom line for a company? My take is... a lot!

Which os these company is really building a strong brand?

Investing in good relationships at any level is your best marketing investment ever.