the Follow Up
Like the professor mentioned in class today, the last step of the personal selling process, following up, is a very important step. The way I think of it is that it sets the aftertaste for whatever experience you just had. The follow up (or lack of follow up) often wraps up and reinforces the experience, and likely first lasting impression of the product or service. In some cases, that’s yourself as in when applying for a job.
It’s like the limp hand shake. You don’t want the last feeling a customer gets to be that of fingers sliding down your palm.
This is also a crucial step for ensuring that the customer doesn’t have post-purchase dissonance.
For example, certain mobile service providers have had records of poor customer service. For example, my friend recently had issues with switching her phone from under her mother’s name to her own for Fido. Unfortunately, when she called in, the customer representative gave long, vague answers as to what she needed to do to switch the names. In the end, the customer representative messed up and didn’t switch it. However, my friend was under the impression it was switched until the bills came. The representative never made sure that the customer’s need were satisfied with regards to the product and service. In terms of customer relationship management, it certainly was not reliable, assuring, or empathetic. From the beginning, Fido also never checked to see that the customer, my friend, was satisfied with the product, the phone that was mailed to her. She received the wrong colour for her phone but there was no easy way to deal with the issue and as she was busy, she never got to address it.