Survive in the Business World

¶ … survive in the business world today, any company is obliged to not only concentrate on profit and the bottom line, but also on human relationships. Specifically, relationships with customers are particularly important. The reason for this is that customers are the main factor in the success or failure of a company. Ensuring that customer relationships are healthy also ensures the company's future health. The ice cream company, Ben & Jerry's, has built excellent customer relationships by a variety of means over the years of its existence. The evidence of this lies in the fact that the company is still prominent as a business in a society that is becoming increasingly health conscious.

There are several elements that ensures the success of Ben & Jerry's customer relations and concomitant popularity. One of these is the unusual flavors featured on the company's ice cream menu. These include "Chubby Hubby," "Half Baked Carb Karma," and "New York Super Fudge Chunk," among many others. This places the company in favor with the young, hip and imaginative generation in its customer base, while also attracting a large amount of media interest.

The company's social philosophy is another element that puts it in favor not only of its customers, but also of the media and of society in general. This philosophy entails building a successful business in combination with creating a force of social change. The company does this by actively creating jobs, ensuring job satisfaction, and providing their workers with significant benefits such as a pleasant work environment. This is a legacy carried forward even after the company's purchase by the conglomerate Unilever.

A further element of Ben & Jerry's excellent customer relations is the way in which incoming mail is handled. Incoming letters are generally divided into three categories: fan mail, information requests, and claims. Fan mail mostly contains comments and compliments on the product and the customer experience while shopping at Ben & Jerry's. Information requests relate to nutrition or other issues related to the company and its products, while claim letters usually contain complaints. While the complaint category is regarded as the most important in terms of response time, Ben & Jerry's follow the principle of responding to all incoming mail, regardless of category. This, according to the company's philosophy, generates customer goodwill and therefore also ensures the company's continued high position in the market.

Chapter 9 confirms this principle. Letter writing, according to the reading, is an extremely important business activity. It entails two-way communications between the company and its customers, in that customers provide valuable feedback on products and the need for improvement, while reciprocal communication from the company promotes the company's image and goodwill from customers. This is something than Ben & Jerry's accomplishes with its principle of responding to all incoming mail.

I do not as a rule send letters or e-mail to companies, although I have done so on an occasion or two. What motivates me to do so is if I have an extraordinarily positive experience of a specific product. I therefore tend to fall within the "fan mail" category, as I feel it is more important to look for the positive than the negative in a product. I do however also understand that honest complaints form part of the feedback necessary for a company to perform at its optimal level.

While it might not be strictly necessary for Ben & Jerry's to respond to complimentary letters, I do believe that it is a good idea to do so. The reason for this is that it promotes good customer relations, the company's image, and encourages customers to return and spread the word about the company. The good feelings promoted by such responses is a very effective marketing tool. When I for example complimented a chocolate company on their goods, their letter of appreciation made me feel as if they truly care about what their customers think and want. It projects a feeling of importance to the customers, which is indeed the case: the customer is the most important part of a successful business.

For the same reason, the urgency that Ben & Jerry's assigns to claim letters is sound business procedure. Complaints reflect negatively upon a company, its product and its service. Complaints spread even faster than compliments in terms of word-of-mouth advertising. It is therefore in the best interest of the company to deal with these as quickly as possible. Furthermore, a quick response to a complaint will again place the customer at an important position, and potentially placate an irritated frame of mind. Taking complaints seriously will furthermore place the company in a positive light in terms of ethics. When complaints arrive, it is a case of projecting goodwill to a customer who is not experiencing this attitude to begin with. Customer goodwill is desirable for the success of a company. Positive responses to legitimate claims help to retain the customer base, which is far easier and less costly than to recruit new customers. Claims also help a company determine its existing shortcomings, so that these can be remedied for the benefit of both the company and for all customers. This is the premise for Ben & Jerry's philosophy of answering claim letters as a top priority.

Chapter 9 offers some advice for drafting an effective response letter to a claim. Sensitive language is particularly important, as the company wishes to placate the customer, rather than invite further conflict. To accomplish this, the responding company should carefully cultivate a tone of regret, but without using negative words. The emphasis should be on the positive; on what can be done to remedy the situation. At the same time, the company should be careful not to make unrealistic promises such as those containing the words "never" or "always." Further elements to avoid in such letters is unprofessionalism by blaming individuals or departments within the company for the error, or indeed blaming the customer. Even if the customer is at fault, the primary aim is to retain his or her business. Therefore it is important to be as positive as possible, while at the same time being realistic about the solution to the problem.

Chapter 9 further illustrates the point of goodwill promotion by means of a letter in response to a customer's request for information. The writing process, according to the reading, entails three basic steps: prewriting, writing and revising. The prewriting process determines the purpose and style of the letter. This is determined by reading the letter carefully, anticipating what the customer requires and to what tone and style she will respond best. The style is then adapted accordingly: plenty of personalized references to the customer's letter are used, while the requested information is enclosed. The letter also has a very positive, lively tone, which appears to be in tune with the customer's age and purpose in contacting the company in the first place. The writing process itself then aims at realizing the purpose and tone established during prewriting, while revising is reserved for any improvements that are regarded as necessary.

It is therefore clear that letter writing is an important activity in any company. In addition to promoting the company to other businesses and entities, letters also form an important part of a company's personal relationship with its customers. Personal responses to letters especially promote the positive image of a company to its customer base, providing the satisfaction necessary for positive word-of-mouth advertising.

In letter writing, especially in response to complaints, it is therefore vital to focus on positive rather than negative aspects, even while the negative is addressed openly and honestly. When Ben & Jerry's are therefore obliged to respond to information requests with both positive and negative news, it is important to emphasize the positive

In such responses, the positive element is mentioned first. The company's response begins positively, explaining that something can be done about the situation, or that some of the news is good. This is then followed with the negative element. The problem is thoroughly explained, including possibilities for dealing with it in a positive manner. The correspondence then ends with a return to the good news and, if appropriate, an invitation for further correspondence. In this way, bad news is presented in the position of least emphasis - in the middle of the letter. At the same time, the bad news is presented and explained clearly, without the impression that the company is attempting to minimize its importance or deceive the customer in some other way.