"Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy." [Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, Francis Pharcellus Church, and his quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897.]
That was the early payoff of what is probably one of the finest pieces of writing I have come across in a long time. Because of its frankness, clarity and poetry, it moved me deeply.
I too think that sometimes we let the smallness of the daily preoccupations with our process, our way, taint our perception of what is the right thing. Well, ask a child, or better yet, retain that spirit in you and you will know. As Church wrote, there is a Santa, and customer service can learn at least 5 things from him.
This is the topic of today's post at Fast Company Expert blogs, and it should be part of our brand promise. There has been talk lately about how customer service is the new marketing. Here are some of the bloggers who have joined that conversation in the last couple of days --
- Todd Defren -- "This is the Corp Comms Dept. How May We Serve You Better?"
- Kami Huyse -- Public Relations is Customer Service
- Brian Solis -- Customer Service is the New, New Marketing
- Neville Hobson -- It takes more than gestures to deliver amazing customer service
- Susan Getgood -- If Customer Service is the New Marketing
- Jeremiah Owyang -- The Four Tenets of the Community Manager
UPDATE: Thanks to Nathan Gilliatt for pointing out two more posts:
- Brad Burnham -- Customer Service is the New Marketing
- Nathan Gilliatt -- Customer Service is Marketing
The excellent Thor Muller and Lane Becker of Satisfaction -- I interviewed them in May before their launch -- are holding an event titled, you guessed it, Customer Service is the New Marketing, February 4, 2008 in San Francisco. Among the speakers some friends -- Tara Hunt, Chris Heuer, Deb Schultz, Becky Carroll, and Jeremiah Owyang.
When it comes to customer service, there should be a Santa Claus -- everything is possible.