4 Simple Steps For Creating A Positive Customer Experience

by David Stanley

“We’re Building Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company” – this was the statement in the Amazon.com customer rep’s email signature. I had just had anything but a “customer centric” experience. Receiving this statement in the automatic response email didn’t make be feel any better.

Beware Of Making Bold Statements You Don’t Live Up To

I order frequently from Amazon.com. Most of my experiences are pretty seamless, which is “customer centric.” In this circumstance, I needed to find out more as to why a book was late. I use their Prime service which ships via two-day air. My book didn’t arrive as scheduled and UPS said that it was labeled as ground delivery. If that’s the case, it was an Amazon.com mistake.

Going through the Amazon.com website didn’t provide me any answers so I needed to speak to someone. Good luck with finding that easily (which would be “customer centric.”) Finally, I did a Google search and found a customer service telephone number. Upon reaching a real person, I pretty much got the same spiel as I did with UPS.

The problem was that I didn’t receive the service I paid for. Then I had to press the Amazon.com rep to at least give me something for their screw-up. I got a $5 credit to use against a future purchase. Since the Prime program is a flat rate on shipping for a year, invoices do not have a charge for shipping so I wasn’t expecting a refund. However, I shouldn’t have to ask for something to compensate me for my aggravation. A “customer centric” company should have been proactive in wanting ease my inconvenience. At least that’s my expectation when I hear that terminology. Consequently, I judged the experience by my expectation. That’s what your customers will do too.

4 Lessons For Creating A Positive Customer Experience:

  1. Do what you say you’re going to do. Don’t make a bold statement and then not deliver on it.
  2. Make it easy for people to interact with your business. Don’t make them search Google for contact info.
  3. Don’t hide behind fine print or use business speak (say customer service, not customer centric.)
  4. If you make a mistake, take initiative in offering the customer a discount, provide a service or offer a freebie to compensate for the negative experience.

It’s always a challenge to win customers, especially in the economy of the last two years, but creating a positive customer experience shouldn’t be a challenge. The four lessons above are no-brainers (maybe that’s why more businesses don’t take these steps.)

A positive customer experience is a competitive advantage. What are you going to do to create one for your customers?

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How A Powerful Brand Can Help You Survive Negative Publicity

by David Stanley

Can your brand survive a public relations nightmare?

Toyota has enjoyed a strong brand perception even to the point of achieving near cult-like status and loyalty. Can the “Cult of Toyota” survive the current public relations debacle related to the recent recalls and U.S. Government investigations? It’s too early to tell, but they haven’t suffered the knockout blow that weaker brands would have. The power of their brand is sustaining them for now.

What are the lessons for marketers?

Don’t Just Open For Business, Build Powerful Brand

A couple of years ago my oldest son was ready to get his drivers license. What I discovered during the process of vehicle shopping revealed much about the power of brand perception. I found a GMC product and a Toyota product at a used car dealership. These two vehicles were comparable in size, mileage, and features – about as “apples to apples” as you can get. The Toyota was priced $4000 higher!

A one-time instance? Nope. Back in January prior to Toyota’s major recall and bad PR issues, I was again shopping for a used vehicle for another son getting his drivers license. While visiting with our local used car guru, the same issue came up—Toyota vehicles had higher resell value than American-made autos.

Toyota has built the perception of making quality vehicles. That perception has embedded itself in the brand image the buying public has of Toyota.

Once Established, Brand Perceptions Are Hard To Change

Now the oldest son is about to graduate from high school. I made a deal with him that if he got enough scholarships to cover the tuition to the college of his choice, I’d buy him a new car. He’s taking that deal seriously and has recently begun asking about what brands he should consider. I said Toyota and Honda, even after the Toyota recall.

We live on a ranch and have three kids so a larger SUV fits our current needs. Our family vehicle is a GMC Yukon XL. We hit 120,000 miles a few months back. My lingering perception is that you should get rid of a GM vehicle after 100,000 miles. (I had the same perception about Ford and Chrysler as well.) My trusted mechanic tells me that it’s no longer true. American made vehicles can be driven well over 100,000 miles these days. If I hadn’t spoken with a mechanic that I trust, I would have traded in the Yukon – most likely on a Toyota or Honda product. Why? My perception is they make a better quality product. The reality is also that they have enjoyed higher resale values.

Even though Toyota has issues today, I still have an overall positive perception of the brand and believe it has a realistic chance to survive the current crisis. That’s the power of a strong brand.

What are you doing to strengthen the power of your brand? Are you building solid relationships with your customers through quality products and outstanding customer service, or are you just open for business and hoping for the best?

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Are You Saying What You Think You’re Saying?

January 28, 2010

It’s hard to see the picture when you are inside the frame. It’s easy for us to get wrapped up in our own perspective and think that we are communicating clearly. Scott Faircloth shared an amusing story about his six year old daughter’s “promotional” signage for her fashion show. He was kind enough to let [...]

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2 Lessons All Businesses Can Learn From An Auto Industry “Outsider”

January 19, 2010

The decades long decline for the U.S. auto industry culminated last year with a government “take over” of two of the three domestic auto companies. The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article on Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group LLC. Since he is also the CEO of Italy’s Fiat SpA, he is technically not [...]

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4 Fundamentals To Grow Your Business

December 2, 2009

Could your business go from fending off a robbery attempt by Bonnie and Clyde to out performing big box competition? Meet Dougherty’s Pharmacy, an 80-year old retail pharmacy that has not just survived, but continues to thrive utilizing old-fashioned service and modern-technology in the face of fierce, large chain store competition. Check out these numbers: [...]

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Has Consumer Behavior Really Changed?

November 19, 2009

Consumer buying habits have changed. Nobody wants to pay full price anymore. I heard this statement by a commentator on a CNBC yesterday. Then I get a marketing research newsletter by email summarizing a new study, entitled “Marketing to the Post-Recession Consumers,” by Decitica. The article states that the study “addresses the lasting effects of [...]

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Think Old Media Doesn’t Work And Advertising Is Dead? Better Think Again!

November 9, 2009

Nobody watches TV these days. Nobody listens to radio. Advertising doesn’t work any more. It’s all about social media and online connections. If you spend any amount of time online today, you’ll run across these declarations over and over. But while the pundits have been prophesying, they’ve missed the reality of what people are actually [...]

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A Bold Marketing Strategy In The Coffee Wars

November 5, 2009

Starbucks has more than 11,000 U.S. outlets. McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts have aggressively adopted a lower-priced coffee strategy. Many higher end brands have taken a severe in hit the recent economic downturn. Starbucks has even been closing stores after a period of aggressive expression. Conventional wisdom says that now is not the time to launch [...]

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3 Keys for Competing With The Big Boys

October 29, 2009

It’s a rare occasion when visiting with a prospective client if they don’t bring up concerns about competing with the big boy companies. This is true in retail and service categories. Of course, the main issue always revolves around price. So is it possible for smaller companies to compete with the big boys? Short answer: [...]

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How “Old” Marketing Helps “New” Marketing

October 18, 2009

Who would’ve believed it? Despite the growth of online sales and all the buzz over social media, the lowly catalog remains a key marketing tool for many businesses. Why? Because it still works. Jeffrey Ball, The Wall Street Journal’s environment editor, wrote an article dealing with environmental issues involved in creating and mailing catalogs. What [...]

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