Little things really do add up.
Like many people, I have several prescriptions with Rite Aid Pharmacy. Refills are easy; you just call the number on the bottle a few days before a prescription runs out, tap your way through the automated voice prompts, and pick it up the next day. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's convenient and a good, simple use of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology.
Today, though, I caught the next wave. Coming home and finding a voicemail on my home phone, I listened to an automated message from Rite Aid asking me to call an 800 number about my prescription. When I did, it took me through a several minute IVR session which proceeded by reminding me that my prescription was about to run out, asking me if I wanted to refill it, and then asking if I wanted to sign up for a free service that would automatically refill my prescriptions every month and let me know when they were ready for pickup. No more effort on my part, and I get to save an extra few minutes every month.
Again, it's nothing earth-shattering. The technology has been around for a while. But how many companies are reaching out and touching their customers in a a true service-oriented fashion, not to sell new products or services but simply to improve the customer experience?
Yes, the better companies bend over backwards to respond to problems (although most companies still don't). And yes, it's obvious that Rite Aid is trying to sell me more stuff, prescriptions and otherwise. Most likely they will, too. So it's definitely good marketing.
What's different here is the basic approach: Service matters as much or more than the products themselves, promotion is less important than service delivery, and good things come to those who continually improve the customer experience.
What free services are you adding or changing to improve customer experience and build customer loyalty?
Photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives
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