Make Sure Customers Get The Same MessageMake Sure Customers Get The Same Message

Personalize. Customize. Localize. Businesses pursuing better relationships with customers need to communicate with them whenever and however they prefer, Fred Matteson, executive VP for Charles Schwab & Co., said at a recent PeopleSoft Leadership Summit.

"The Internet made speed essential and location irrelevant," he said. "You can't have a customer use one communication channel and later get a different message when he decides to use a different channel." Whether by phone, E-mail, or office visit, it's imperative for customers to get the same message. "If choice becomes synonymous with confusion, you'll risk losing customers," he said, noting that Schwab's integrated PeopleSoft Vantive CRM applications have given the company a single view of its customers.

Companies can take the complexity out of communication by not making customers recite their name, address, and Social Security number with every communication, Matteson said. Another way to avoid this dilemma is by not asking customers to repeat their current situation to the call center when they've just discussed it online. "The interaction between the customer and business needs to be interpersonal. It's not all about collecting data," he said.

Schwab continues to assess whether it requires its customers to take any unnecessary steps and when it makes sense to alter technology to improve customer interactions. "Even though we've been operating with one customer database since the beginning of our existence," said Matteson, "we're still not where we want to be with CRM."