Wanted: the Marie Kondo of customer communications
How are the New Year's resolutions? Eat healthier, exercise more, drink less or – very hip – clean up rigorously? That's what Marie Kondo is all about in her book 'Tidy Up!'. Decluttering is what the Japanese preach, because a tidy house is a tidy head. The most important question when cleaning up and throwing away is that you ask yourself with all the stuff: does this make me happy?
For me, cleaning up my workplace is the starting point. I start with the pile of insurance papers, which disappear into folders. In this, my eye falls on a cover letter from my disability insurance. The name of the product 'UNIM Renewed 0510 AOV' is mentioned three times: in the subject line, the opening sentence and in the reading description of the policy.
I took out this important income insurance two years ago and apparently it was a UNIM Renewed 0510 AOV. The letter doesn't say much, but I do wonder if the UNIM Obsolete AOV policy also exists. And what does UNIM stand for? To stay with Marie Kondo: does this make me happy? No. What an unclear letter, full of jargon too. As a customer, I can't do anything with it. You would think that several communication experts and lawyers would have looked at the letter and found it to be correct. I save the policy and the letter goes with a big wave to the waste paper.
I also clean up the digital clutter in my mailbox. In it, an encounter with my spam box, which contains a shocking 567 unread messages. I scan the list of emails and they are mainly newsletters recommending products or services. In all honesty, this is also a tragic sight. Most e-mails don't even start with my name and the question 'Does this make me happy?' cannot be answered in the affirmative. I select all e-mails and with one push on the big red cross, everything disappears into the digital trash. Look, that cleans up nicely, this does make me happy.
The question that remains with me: Where is the Marie Kondo of customer communication? The man/woman who makes it fun. That image in letters brings large chunks of text next to it. Which embellishes terms and conditions. This ensures that newsletters are only sent if they make the customer happy. Yay, Marie Kondo from customer communications, we need you!
This blog was written for CustomerFirst and published on January 31, 2018
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Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She's a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person for CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years of corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
