Investing in advertising is a common practice in our current enterprises, which is good! Investing in marketing and communication is a good thing which we should embrace. On the other hand, most companies see departments as customer care or their call center as a cost, which is strange in my opinion!
Call centers, for instance, are places where consumers take the lead and decide to contact your company. You have their full attention during that call. For the consumer this call is very important and they really expect your time and your positive intention to help them out.
Why do we see this as a cost and not as an investment? We invest so much in advertising of which we know only a limited part of our target group will be reached. The same company often refuses to invest in a real intense communication moment with a consumer: a 10 minute phone call. The KPI that is used most often in a call center is the duration of a call. Which is totally wrong! This motivates people in the call center to get rid of the client as fast as possible. I don't know what your experience is, but I certainly feel that duration of a call is their key KPI and certainly not my satisfaction after the call.
Imagine there would be a Telecom or Energy company who would turn this around and would see their service towards existing clients as their primary focus. I would like to be their first client, but I'm afraid there is still some work to be done to turn things around like that. But I'm convinced that every consumer conversation is a huge opportunity to grow your business.