I recently read an article about how the major airlines are faring in the customer service department. The main issue facing airlines, as I think is true of many businesses across industries in this recovery mode, is that consumers these days want it all.
They want top notch customer service, an above-and-beyond good experience, convenience, first class treatment, if you will. The problem that the airlines have not all quite figured out yet: consumers are not willing to pay top dollar for that list of requirements.
This issue feels familiar to me in an agency world where all sorts of independent practitioner shops, single service providers and online DIY tools are available around every corner. Clients have been conditioned by the recession to pinch pennies, a sentiment I can appreciate as an average consumer. However, in the professional service sector, the particulars in determining what is satisfactory and what is not can get a little fuzzier.
So, is there a cheaper alternative to working with a full service agency? Of course, but what are clients really getting for that investment? In an attempt to revamp their marketing efforts slowly, a client may have tried an independent consultant who, as one person, never has enough time to cater to the client's everyday demands. They have tried hiring 5, 6 ,7 different service firms on a project-by-project basis, only to discover, after pouring a decent portion of budget into all of these projects, that as a whole things are pretty disjointed and no single area is particularly succeeding.
What's next? "Well, if no one else can manage my marketing successfully, I might as well do it myself!" Client goes and purchases every online tool and magic bullet promise out there to help them to "do their own marketing".
We all know how that one turns out. Fortunately for the airlines from earlier in our discussion, most of their customers will not haul off and taking piloting lessons and fly themselves to every destination.
I think I just made my point.
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