Introducing Philip Kotler

Philip Kotler 0:00

CMOs should want every complaint to come up to them on a list every week. I want to know what problems we encounter that did not satisfy consumers and I want to look at the list and diagnose the sources of complaints.

Joeri Billast 0:16

Hello everyone and welcome to the Web3 CMO Stories podcast. My name is Joeri Billast and I'm your podcast host, and today we have the immense privilege of welcoming one of the most influential figures in marketing history, professor Philip Kotler. Let's dive into this insightful conversation. Professor Kotler, welcome on my podcast. Aiming for zero complaints is ambitious. Why is it essential for?

Philip Kotler 0:51

CMOs and entrepreneurs today.

The Philosophy of Zero Complaints

Philip Kotler 0:52

Yes, I'll tell you that I have seen many companies mishandle complaints, not having any training of its people on how to handle complaints. So when I discovered a new book written by a friend of mine, gautam from India, that he had published a book, a very good one on Zero Complaints that's the title I decided to read it and I was very impressed with the observations both on the theory of handling complaints and on the solutions and benefits from good handling of complaints. So I want to mention what I think the book is addressing in the set of propositions.

Philip Kotler 1:40

First, all companies will experience complaints from customers, employees, investors and stakeholders. That's inevitable. Two most complaints are valid. There are some invalid ones and most complaints are valid and will hurt the company's image if poorly handled, image if poorly handled. Three many complainers don't know how to lodge a complaint, who to contact. A high percentage of our large companies don't even have a phone number at the corporate level, especially the Fortune 500s.

Philip Kotler 2:21

Four most companies handle complaints 500s. Four most companies handle complaints awkwardly. Not many manage to resolve the complaint at first contact and with satisfaction. Five complainers who are not satisfied will inform this is the bad part will inform many other customers and acquaintances and friends how disappointed they are with the company. And six complaints can be hurting the company if they're poorly handled about, depressing the revenues from what they might have been maybe 16 to 20% of the potential revenues.

Philip Kotler 3:06

So the argument

CMOs and Complaint Management

Philip Kotler 3:08

is those are the propositions that the companies should. It should distinguish between the way they're handling complaints today and how they should ideally handle complaints, and there's a big difference there. We even say maybe a company should appoint a chief problem officer, because complaints come out of problems and it's the job of such an officer to make sure that problems that come up are spotted and solved successfully and so on. So that's just a recommendation of a book that deals with a serious problem where much benefit would come to companies by internalizing in all of their stakeholders this attitude that we will satisfy customers. So it's just another way of saying let's dedicate ourselves to complete satisfaction of our customers. Thank you.

Joeri Billast 4:10

Absolutely good advice for myself too. When I buy a service or a product, I do some research and then what stands out is all the reviews that have a one star. The five stars nobody reads them. And then I look at how do people, how does a company, react to those complaints? So I think that's a really good advice. Thank you so much, professor Kotler. Maybe if there is one advice that you would give to our listeners, cmos, what would it be in terms of complaints?

Philip Kotler 4:38

one advice that you would give to our listeners, cmos. What would it be in terms of complaints? Cmos should want every complaint to come up to them on a list Every week. I want to know what problems we encounter that did not satisfy consumers and I want to look at the list and diagnose the sources of complaints whether the sources are some of our people not doing a good job or we didn't develop our product well enough to move to the customer when desired and with the anticipated effects that we advertise that product would do for the customer.

Joeri Billast 5:14

Absolutely, and if people want to buy the book, they can get it on Amazon, I imagine.

Philip Kotler 5:20

Yes, it's available from, of course, Amazon Books and others.

Joeri Billast 5:27

Thank you so much for spending some time on my podcast, Professor Kodler. It was really a pleasure to have you. I studied your course when I was at university too, so thank you so much. And yeah, university too. So thank you so much. And yeah, for everyone listening. Thank you so much for listening. Really use this advice for your benefit and I will see you back next

Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Joeri Billast 5:46

time. Take care.

Philip Kotler 5:48

Thank you very much.

Joeri Billast 5:50

Wow, what an extraordinary conversation that was. We learned that handling complaints isn't just good customer service. It's a strategic imperative for any forward thinking company. Actively identifying, addressing, eliminating the root causes of customer dissatisfaction businesses can significantly boost their brand image and revenue potential. Thank you so much for joining this episode of Web3CMO Stories. If you enjoyed today's insights, please share this podcast episode with your peers and subscribe for more transformational conversations. If you haven't given me a review yet, this would give me great pleasure, because five stars would help me reach an even bigger audience, and I hope to see you back next time. Keep innovating and take great care.