Microsoft Gains Insight From Small-Business Clients

During the early days of the Internet, Web sites urged visitors to “Make this your home page.” This tactic is still used, but not nearly as often as in the past — and with good reason. Web surfers got tired of seeing the request on every one-off site they visited.

But sometimes it's difficult for marketers to recognize that their priorities might not match customers' desires. This disconnect underscores the value of qualitative customer feedback, which provides data about how clients view marketers and the way they want to be approached.

Does it work? Well, it did when Microsoft tried to better understand small business customers.

Microsoft engaged Ernan Roman Direct Marketing of Douglas Manor, NY, to conduct one of its “voice of customer relationship research” projects. An initial round of client interviews showed that Microsoft's small business customers had a positive relationship with the company's products. But the same group said they had no relationship with the firm itself, and 60% welcomed such interaction — provided it was relevant.

Ernan Roman, the CRM consultancy's founder and principal, doesn't believe misguided communication is harmless: The cost, he said, is customer alienation and waste — and in an increasingly eco-friendly environment, paper waste is a no-no.

But wasted time isn't much better. A chief information officer once told Roman, “I don't want to be [unnamed company's] mailroom, routing its mail to the relevant person at my firm.”

So how did Microsoft's customers characterize relevant communication? Aside from requesting that any interactions with a potential small business unit be fee-free, clients wanted training and tech support. As one respondent said, “We would appreciate your help in learning how to get more out of our investment in IT. Make it easier to get answers…it's wonderful that Microsoft wants to help small businesses.”

Microsoft heard and responded. It established Small Business+, a value-added program for customers that provides training in business practices and software, free and discounted chat and phone support, personalized communication based on each member's profile, and in some cases local offerings.

Small Business+ uses a 15-question membership profile to customize Web sites and communication. Data is collected in exchange for access to program benefits. Regular e-mail newsletters, as well as separate promotional e-mail and direct mail offers, are customized to recipients.

Roman's research also helped Microsoft craft messages by revealing how members viewed offers and informational communications.

Opt-ins for Small Business+ are running between 40% and 70% depending on customer segment. Other metrics also affirm the program's effectiveness. E-mail clickthrough rates as high as 75% are fueled by a mix of profile-based personalization and perceived value through product-use tips. And spending by Small Business+ members significantly exceeds that of non-members — another indication that the program is delivering pertinent content.

Relevance is the effort's overarching theme. Roman's research helped Microsoft determine how marketers defined an opt-in relationship — what it constituted and the information needed to facilitate it. This allowed Microsoft to avoid asking for data that would turn potential members off to the program.

For more CRM and database marketing material, go to http://directmag.com/disciplines/crm/.

Tough Talk

You think customers just shrug off marketers' mistakes? Here's what they had to say about some firms they've dealt with. (Responses are from interviews conducted by Ernan Roman Direct Marketing's “voice of customer relationship research” projects.)

• “Mail should be specific to my role, to what I do all day long.”

• “A true relationship means two-way communication!”

• “When you tell me to go to the Web, what I hear is ‘Go…help yourself.’ ”

• “E-mail may be the base of your communications with me, but I'm getting too much junk. If it's really important, send it to me by [postal] mail.”

• “An opt-in relationship would be a huge competitive differentiator.”

• “The fastest way to be forgotten is to buy.”

• “Value of your marketing materials? One garbage can per day — 2 feet by 16 inches.” — RHL