Thursday 30 October 2008

North Carolina Day 1, Part 1: Customer Service Ethos

You read a lot about it, but to see in practice the customer service ethos which permeates every level of the campaign is really striking. In the Obama office in doewntown Raleigh, NC, “Respect, Empower, Include” (the campaign’s volunteering motto) is emblazened across the door – and is actually repeated in every Field Organisers’ meeting. The campaign plays entirely to its volunteers’ individual strengths and networks. (An excellent description of this in Ohio by Zack Exley is here).

They work to a principle of ‘Lucky 7’, developed out of the Wal-Mart marketing principle that if you make personal contact with someone 7 times, their positive experience will mean that they will buy and keep buying. For the Obama campaign, it’s not just voting – as Barnard and Braggins might have it – but volunteering.

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