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Blog posts tagged loyalty
Be different: Put your customer ahead of profits
March 22, 2010
OPINION, OR MAYBE EVEN A FACT!: You must be different from the rest.
FACT: We now live in an ‘experience’ economy
In today’s world, the big budget brands are treated with suspicion. They now need to prove themselves. Old World marketing tried to give different personalities to what were essentially similar products. Think of the weak, wet stuff known as lager in the Eighties. Nowadays, customers are inclined to think that if a product looks, sounds, smells, feels and performs in roughly the same manner, then it probably is roughly the same. So, somehow you must create that difference that separates you from all the other similar products.
OPINION, OR MAYBE EVEN A FACT!: Brand preference has always been a function of perception, but now you have to try much harder to create (and maintain) the perceived difference.
The customer’s experience should be made to be unique in tangible, physical ways. A corollary to this is that if your service is intangible then a powerful way of branding yourself is by creating tangible (and ideally memorable) experiences.
HOW DO I DO THAT THEN?: One way to deliver the difference is through the service experience.
‘Doubting Thomas’ consumers demand tangible differences in your product or service.
OPINION: In a world where everyone copies each other, it takes a lot to keep your experience different.
In our novelty culture, it takes even more effort to keep the customer’s experience fresh and surprising. How is this to be done?
Shoreditch brews up a dis-loyal community
February 08, 2010
Shoreditch’s bustling café society is thought to be the first place to offer customers a disloyalty card in order to drum up business for local independent baristas and reward customers for trying new places in the area.
The loyalty card is a well-established consumer psychology tool but the idea of collecting stamps from eight different coffee houses in order to gain a free coffee was dreamed up by award-winning barista Gwilym Davies to combat the homogenised high street coffee culture.
The reason behind teaming up with fellow independent coffee shops arose due to the overwhelming demand and lengthy queues at Mr Davies' shop on the back of winning the World Barista Championship.
Initially he tried suggesting nearby alternatives that he recommended on a whiteboard, something that might be the last thing a small retailer might want to do in a very competitive and cost-sensitive industry. But as a supportive gesture for fellow traders and to help satiate the increasing lust for good coffee, it still wasn’t enough and so the disloyalty card was born.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Mr Davies' business partner, Jeremy Challender, said: “There are a lot more places opening, and as prices are the same, it seems a shame a lot of people haven’t experienced high quality coffee. It’s totally different to what you get in a high street chain.”
The partnership has seen eight independent coffee shops join in with the venture which, if successful, could see the consumption of 45,000 coffees and a new culture of using local coffee traders and award winning baristas that are passionate about the content of the cup they vend.
As a retailer, would you try a similar scheme with fellow businesses?
Customer service with a cherry on top
April 07, 2009
Marketing? Isn’t that a huge area to tackle? Sure, but not if you break it down into bite-size chunks. So after getting to grips with advertising, we turned our thoughts to another vital topic, customer care.
We’re all customers and know that excellent customer care is something that makes a business stand out. In fact, customer care is at the heart of all successful companies as it can help you develop a loyal customer base and improve relationships with your customers.
Easy to say — but where do you start as a small business? On the Marketing Donut we explain — without the jargon — what customer care actually is and how to get a handle on it.
We outline the different areas that make up customer service and give suggestions on how to communicate with your customers, understand them, and improve your customer service and handling their complaints. Keep communicating with them so you can respond as their needs change and reward them for their loyalty which gives you the opportunity to sell more to them.
With the help of our high-profile experts, such as Derek Williams, initiator of the WOW Awards, and Darren Young of the Customer Service Network, we provide you with sound advice and various tools to crack this vital part of running a business.
Customer care sounds easy now, doesn’t it? Find out what you’re already doing right and where you can improve on 20 April, the launch date of the Marketing Donut.
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