Companies with Personality
Call me crazy, but, I like it when my customer service comes with a little personality. Lucky for me, the trend of using humor and personalized messaging seems to be on the incline. For a long time, the prevailing thought was that you had to appear "professional" at any cost - especially if you were a small company. Heaven forbid anyone realize you are just one person working on a laptop out of their home (not that I know anyone like that ... ). Small companies tried to look bigger and big companies didn't have the time or inclination to not look big. The result was bland, unpersonal and uninspiring.
I would wager that the injection of personality is influenced by social media. Interactions with customer service are more personal than ever and, in an age when everyone is expressing themselves via the internet, we aren't as afraid to let loose and be a person. Isn't it refreshing to get a reply e-mail like this:
| Hi Anja, We just got your very important poster order and are printing it right now. We're giddy with excitement to get your posters to you quickly so you can do something BIG with them! I'll send you another email as soon as it ships. In the meantime, please email me if you have ANY questions about your order or the best dance to do when your order arrives. Have the best next couple hours ever, Poppy p.s. Thank you for using us. We love you, we really do. |
rather than a standard, "Thank you for your order. You will be notified when your item ships." I like thinking that an actual person is behind my purchase, and that the company cares enough about my patronage that they put a little thought into the reply. Even though this a form letter, it is well crafted, a little silly, and - most of all - informative.
So, your thinking, "Great! I get to just be casual with my customers, talk to them like normal human beings and crack jokes, awesome!" But hold on there cowboy, these communications need to be on-point and never offensive (unless your business is being offensive.) If your brand of comedy gets you strange looks from your family, try to hold yourself back a little. You don't want to run off your customers with a bad joke. Just run it by a few people before you let it fly.
Customer Service vs. Branding
So, customer service is one thing, but what about casual branding? Can anyone do that? No. If you are a bank - or anything in the financial industry for that matter - or a doctor or any other industry where trust and professionalism are the top two qualities you should possess, do not use casual branding. Customer service from these industries can be personal, but not colorful. (How 'bout them overdraft fees, huh? Amiright?)
One company who I believe has made a huge mistep in their branding is Ally bank. Their san serif logo, and modern website layout are friendly, but ... a little unprofessional for a bank. Sorry, hate to be the party-pooper here, but, the place where I keep ALL OF MY MONEY - I don't want it to look like Facebook. I want my bank to be uptight and conservative. Trust me, I don't use those words lightly.
I mean, that --> says "trust me" right?