Testimonial Tuesday: The Letter

Written by Moveforfree on July 20, 2010 – 10:43 am -

In the age of email, Facebook and Twitter, the hand- mailed (snail mail) letter has gotten lost along the way.  Getting a letter now, shows that the person who sent it really took the time and energy to tell you something important.  A couple of weeks ago we received a letter in the mail from a VERY satisfied customer.  It meant a lot to us that Jordan L. took the time to type, print, get an envelope, get a stamp and mail this letter to us.  Jordan told us that she was relocating from Houston to Dallas and the fact that moveforfree was there for her every step of the way made the things a whole lot easier.  In fact she said, “I was far less stressed during this move than any other time in my moving history.”  Now without further ado here is Jordan’s testimonial… The Letter.

My name is Jordan L., and I just finished my move yesterday into my new place.  I have to say, this experience is the best I ever had.  I do not compliment often, for the mere fact that customer service has, in my opinion, severely declined over the past years.  However, this experience is one that I am unable to over look with regards to giving recognition.

I should have prefaced the first of this letter by saying that I am a manager in service- oriented industry and understand the true outcomes that good, quality customer service can have on a business.  The associates that I was fortunate enough to become assigned to are phenomenal at their job an at giving quality customer service.

I will have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of the moveforefree.com business model and how it was feasible to operate successfully, but after everything (and everyone) working like clock work to satisfy me (the customer), I am truly dumbfounded by all I received.

During a move, it is obviously a stressful time for anyone, and had it not been for the follow up and constant attention to detail by the representatives that I was assigned to, I would have had major issues in my ability to get the move completed.  Not only were the associates there beforehand, they were also there during the move as well.  I was moving from Houston to Dallas and got a late start after the first movers arrived and your team was able to work with the movers to have my window of arrival pushed back to accommodate me and my tardiness- this is something I would have never thought to be possible.

I am truly amazed at the overall outcome of this moving endeavor. and it not been for your company employing great people, I don’t know that I would been in  the great spot that I am currently enduring.  I cannot say thank you enough for the quality work and dedication your associates have put in to making this a satisfying experience for me.

I have already begun to solicit others to use your site.  This is an experience that I will tell to anyone and everyone I know who is looking to move in the near future.  Your associates have taken me from a pessimist to an optimist in a short amount of time, and that is something I cannot say very often about customer service.

Again, thank you for existing and having such great and talented people helping your customers, it will truly pay dividends in your growing future.  I wish your company the best of luck in your endeavor to grow, I hope to one day utilize your services again.

Thank you so much Jordan for sending us this wonderful letter!  I would like to give a very special shout out to Shari who was Jordan’s locator and Deedra and Courtney who assisted Jordan during her move.  They work very hard everyday to help people find their new place and get them moved into their new apartments.  You guys rock!  Thank you for all your years of service.

If you would like to send us a testimonial we love them in all forms: letters, emails, phone calls, Facebook/ Twitter posts, sky writing and billboards etc…

Don’t forget if you would like to take some pictures or video during your move, just swing on by our Facebook page and post them on up.  We love to hear from our customers and how they are doing in their new apartments.

Tags: Apartment Locating, letter, Moving, testimonial
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Taking Advantage of Social Media After an Event

Written by Moveforfree on July 1, 2010 – 11:51 am -

Some say Marty should have never gone to the old west or the first two Godfather’s were enough but, I disagree.  Without them, however, we would never have seen the Doc fall in love or how Michael Corleone dies.  These movies complete the trilogy; can’t have one without the other.  You can’t have Star Wars without Return of the Jedi and you can’t have the Ocean movies without Ocean’s 13…. well maybe not the later, but you get what I’m saying.

Anyway, this is my ridiculous segue into my third post on taking advantage of social media after an event.

So, now you had this great event and SO many people showed up because of your awesome promotion skills.  You took pictures/ videos, you hashed, you tagged, you checked- in, you connected with people and told them how to stay connected with you via your “Connect With Me” cards.

Now what to do!  First things first.  Take off those ridiculously uncomfortable, fabulous shoes and now that you’re comfy, you can get to work.

Follow- Up

Following up with a potential client, a current client or the custodian that helped you set up your booth is equally, if not more, important then meeting them in the first place.  I mean, look at it this way.  If you were an employer interviewing for a new position, who would you remember the most; the person that came in and had a nice interview or the person that came in had a nice interview PLUS sent you message thanking you for meeting with them?  You would probably choose the later.  Same thing goes with this.  If someone gave you their business card, call or email them.  If they left you a comment on Facebook, send them a comment back.  If they reached out to you first, follow up with them in that same matter.  You don’t want to call someone that mentioned you on Twitter.  That is a social media no-no in my book.

Keep Them Connected

Let’s say you attended a trade show and afterward two vendors from the show contacted you.  Company A said: “It was great meeting you! Thanks for stopping by our booth.”  Company B said: “It was so great meeting you Becky.  I’m glad we finally got to meet in person.  Let me know what you think about the ideas we talked about at the show.  Also, if you have any suggestions for us for next year’s booth, I would love to hear them. P.S. I hope your doggie is feeling better.”  Which company would you be more inclined to respond to? (Jeopardy music plays) Ok! Time’s up!  If you chose Company A, you would be wrong!  Well actually, it’s more of an opinion question than a right or wrong question.  I personally think more people would respond to Company B’s follow up than Company A’s.  Company A could have sent out that same message to every single person they spoke with at the event.  While Company B’s message was waaaaaay more personal.  They mentioned your specific name, wrote about a specific topic that was discussed at the event (also good so you will remember them), asked a question to gain feedback and mentioned something personal.  All of these are good tactics to use to stay connected with your clients and/ or customers.

Pics and Vids

Going through the photos and videos from the event is always my favorite part.  These photos and videos hopefully captured the mood and feel of the event.  They are a great way to show everyone that was there and those that weren’t what it was like.  So, go ahead and post those pics!  Even the ones where your boss is putting bunny ears on the intern.  These photos give your company a more personal and fun feel.  Unless your business is consultation company on how to be serious all the time, then I think it’s totally ok to post those kind of pictures.  [Disclaimer: Please be aware of your company's social media policy before posting pictures or videos of any kind.] Once you have posted your pictures you can encourage the people that you met at the event to tag themselves in the pictures.  Tagging is always fun.  As long as it’s not the illegal kind.

Did you learn your lesson?

Remember when Mom said, “Go to time out and think about what you did”?  Then asked you afterward, if you learned your lesson?  Well, this is kinda like that; only less time- out and more reflection.  You can always learn from your challenges, mistakes, and even triumphs.  Take the suggestions, compliments and complaints and make a case study out of it.  What worked well?  What was the most horrible idea ever?  Compile all of those thoughts and save them for next time; for the next event.

Whew!  I’m exhausted just thinking about all the work that you all need to get done.  Now go… and Learn. Share. Grow.

Anything else that I missed?  Comments?  Other strategies?

Tags: Events, Social Media, trade shows
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