May 4, 2010
Do something weird for your customers. Get paid well.
Over my coffee this morning I caught Peter Merholz’s post What Trust Brings to Amazon, Zappos, and USAA over on HBR. Peter encourages us to do build trust with our customers. And he dares us to do it with something unexpected…even weird.
A great way for companies to demonstrate great customer experience, instead of just to talk about it, is to do something weird, something unexpected, something bold that draws deeply from company values. These “somethings” turn into features so distinct that rarely are they copied. And because of this, these features become iconic elements of the company’s brand. All that’s required to pull this off is a healthy dose of trust in your customers.
The weird and unexpected can indeed be good. Drawn from company values – even better. Yet I think there is a critical & additional ingredient that yields the best performance payoff for this brand of boldness: the weird examples Peter shared all contributed to solving the needs that each company’s customers want them to solve.
Take Zappos. Since nearly its beginning, the company said it wanted customers to have “happiness in a box.” A leader I met just yesterday – fresh from a visit to Zappos – quoted CEO Tony Hsieh: “Were a customer service company that sells shoes.” Tony’s been doggedly consistent about this for years.
That’s different than Nordstrom, another good “service reputation” company that started as a shoe store. I’ve always thought Nordstrom was more about making specialty fashion accessible with good service. At Zappos service is WHAT the company does. At Nordstrom, it’s HOW they work.
Free shipping both ways would be a bold and unexpected move for Nordstrom too. Yet for Zappos, it goes straight to the heart of “happiness in a box.” It is one of many features of an operating model built as a service company – other features Nordstrom also doesn’t have. Because it so closely represents the “happiness” Zappos solves for its customers – the very reason they exist – I’d argue Zappos gets a better financial performance payoff for this bold action than Nordstrom ever could.
Bold. Unexpected. Weird. And to get the best financial payoff…drawn from the very essence of what you solve for your customers. Now that’s a dare!
As I finished my coffee, I knew the right company chose the right bold, unexpected, and weird action.
Fantastic post Linda.
Bold, unexpected and weird. I love the idea of ‘unexpected’, but I’m having trouble with bold and weird. Here are the 5 ingredients (or r.u.l.e.s) that I believe can take customer experience to the next level:
Your extra or ‘purple goldfish’ needs a combination of these five things:
Relevant – it needs to be seen as added value by your customer. it needs to address their needs.
Unexpected – leverage the power of ‘surprise and delight’. Tickle your customer into wanting to talk about the experience
Limited – the extra needs to be signature. Something that’s unique to you and your business.
Expressive – it isn’t always what you give, as much as it is how you give it. Be genuine and authentic to show you care.
Sticky – is it noteworthy / buzzworthy? Is it worth talking about?
Maybe bold and weird mostly apply to sticky. Here is one example that I like. There is a Mexican restaurant in Long Island called Besitos. At the conclusion of the meal the wait staff serves complimentary churros. Churros are kind of different, but here is the kicker. With the bill the restaurant gives these tiny Guatemalan worry dolls. They are little half inch woven dolls. The legend says that if you put them under your pillow you wake up with no worries. I’d call that ‘sticky’, but some might call that bold or weird. Either way . . . people are talking.
Best,
Stan
@9inchmarketing
‘The average distance between the brain and the heart is 9 inches’
I don’t think the free shipping both ways is so unique it is rarely copied – or maybe I just have a similar philosophy to Zappos – since we offer free shipping both ways (except on clearance items) It just sets an expectation with your customers that you want them to be happy with their purchase and you are willing to put your money where your mouth is.