What challenges to companies often run into when trying to communicate with their customers?

Hi Caty! This very question came up last week at a client’s 2012 sales-launch meeting. One of their challenges is the “perception of similarity” ... customers’ unspoken belief that e-mail and phone contacts are undifferentiated, and probably pitches. So customers may ignore or accidentally delete unanticipated calls and messages even though they know you!

The good news is that marketers and sales people can take proactive steps to make their communications distinctive in a favorable way. For example:

• Actually ASK customers when, under what circumstances, how often, and in which media they prefer to interact. Then do what they like.
• Take a multi-media communication approach, such as e-mail to flag an upcoming phone call, rather than relying on one single medium.
• Watch their social media behavior and when they participate in a discussion or activity that is mutually relevant, engage with them in the group or forum. Such communication usually will not include an overt marketing or sales message, but it certainly furthers your engagement with them.