Ten Actions for Marketing Hope

A big part of the work to transform your company into one that customers love is marketing hope internally, and to your customers. We ask and we ask and we ask customers to give us feedback.  “Help us improve,” is our mantra… yet customers don’t hear back when we’ve heeded their words and what we’ve done about it. Asking the Net Promoter question is a shift – but for customers – it’s just another survey – until you market back.

One of the ways that I coach clients to ask the Net Promoter question is to do things: first ask the ultimate question, and then ask the customer to please name ONE thing they’d like improved. This gives the organization very potent information to take the following actions and to market back meaningfully to customers. Here are 10 actions for marketing hope by marketing back to your customers and inside your organization:

1. Recognize the promoters. When your promoters commend you with a high “recommend” nod, thank them and recognize them.
2. Identify the priorities of the promoters. You will know these by asking them to name just one thing they’d like improved. Even though customers are “Promoters,” they’ll have ideas – in fact they are usually even more invested in helping you improve because they believe you “listen.”
3. Take some early actions that are important to promoters.
4. Send personalized emails when possible to promoters to let them know what action you took. 
5. Let your company know who your promoters are - sharing who they are as people and as your most powerful advocates for growth.
6. Every month, market back inside your organization the actions that are being made for promoters.
7. Identify the top 3-5 issues for detractors.
8. Call a set of detractors every month and clarify the issues.
9. As you begin to make changes to resolve detractor issues – market those changes to your entire customer base.
10. Every month, market back inside your organization the actions that are being made for detractors.

When you become rigorous about communicating the actions to customers their perception about your commitment to them will a) bump up even higher for your promoters, and b) shift for detractors. Make sure, though, that you are firmly near completion with your actions when you market back. 

When you become rigorous about communicating the actions inside your company, especially highlighting those for promoters and detractors – you will be able to illustrate two things for your company that will give them hope and clarity: a) about the potency of understanding the difference between promoters and detractors and how their needs differ, and b) that your organization IS making a commitment to transform itself on behalf of customers. The actions live up to the promise.