(In the following post, the Internet/cable TV provider names
have been changed to protect the irritating.) 
When cable TV/Internet provider Kimcust took over Invision in my area a couple of months ago, my husband and I had to (1) change our e-mail address, (2) notify all our contacts of the new address, and (3) change our address on every auto-pay account, e-newsletter subscription and Web site registration we had. Not unexpected, but kind of a pain nevertheless.
Before we could finish, Kimcust took away our auto-pay option and raised our rates.
This week, we received a letter:
“As one of our valued customers, we owe it to you to let you know when you’re missing out on something important. And you are. You’re missing out on savings. Big savings!”
The letter encourages us to add a Kimcust service by promising to save us 30% off our current phone service provider.
Let’s recap.
(1) Kimcust took away some of our free time by forcing us to write checks to pay our bills each month.
(2) Kimcust raised our rates at the same time it took over our service.
(3) Now, Kimcust wants to save us money by having us pay the company more money.
In reality, the letter points out how little Kimcust knows about us, its “valued” customer. Kimcust has never answered any e-mail we’ve sent, never asked us if we’re a happy customer, never asked us how much my current provider is charging us and makes it extraordinarily difficult to reach someone by phone – never, in other words, treated us as a valued customer.
Does your organization write letters like this?
The marketing department can’t exist in a vacuum. Before you send your next direct-mail piece or fundraising letter, read it from your customer’s or prospect’s perspective. Check with your call centers and review your client satisfaction surveys. Look at your renewal rates.
Make sure your organization has treated your customers as valuable, because simply calling them valuable won’t make them feel so.
Posted by cdashnaw 
