Say "Yes"

I recently read a post which reminded me of a very effective rule I adopted in some of my hotels:

If the answer to a guest's question is "no", you need to find me or your supervisor first. On the other hand, if the answer is "yes", go for it....make the guest happy.

99 times out of a 100 this will not lead to a "giving away the house" scenario. And if it does, who cares, it's only 1 out of a 100.

I think this rule is essential to providing Memorable Service, and creating an emotional bond with your customer/guest.

Church of the Customer: 10 resolutions for 2005

All great advice. I like #9 the most. A good example of staying in touch and creating an emotional and memorable bond with your customer.

Link: Church of the Customer: 10 resolutions for 2005.

10 resolutions for 2005

2004 was a busy year for word of mouth. From BzzAgents to blogs to podcasting, marketers have more tools than ever to facilitate buzz.

That's word of mouth. Customer evangelism focuses on building relationships with existing customers who spread the word and believe in your company, its people or its values. Customer evangelists volunteer to help you find other customers just like themselves to help grow and strengthen your community. They do this voluntarily because you have bonded with them emotionally.

2005 may be the year that word of mouth and customer evangelism come into their highest prominence yet; to help out, we have assembled a list of ten resolutions to consider for the new year. After all, year-long resolutions about customers seem a lot easier than staying with a new diet.

Say it with me... In 2005, resolve to:

1. Gather more customer feedback. Call at least one long-term or loyal customer every week.

2. Be more transparent. Napsterize more of your systems, processes and decision-making to customers and watch how they naturally take ownership of the concept and the company.

3. Be more authentic and personal. Focus email newsletters and website content on stories about
customers, and less on branding your company as the savior of everything.

4. Napsterize your knowledge. Offer at least one how-to case study to an industry trade magazine about a successful marketing effort you created. Ideally, it will demonstrate how the program created word of mouth and inspired customer evangelism.

5. Give up rewards programs. Let your competitors create expensive and headache-filled programs that reward customers with cash, rebates or points and let them attract the unprofitable customers.

6. Communicate with customers more often. Start off by simply asking what you can do to improve the relationship.

7. Be more visible. Speak to at least three trade associations about issues and solutions affecting your industry and customers. Resolve that your presentations will not focus on your products or company.

8. Divide at least one product or service into a bite-size chunk. Make it inexpensive, easy or fun.
Stand firm when the engineering group says this cannot be done.

9. Get customers involved. Offer your most passionate customers a special-access or backstage program, such as a customer advisory board, a VIP tour of company operations, lunch with the CEO, or an invitation to beta-test new products or services.

10. Somehow, change the world. Create at least one new product or service that will change the lives of your customers.

Always Give Your Customer A Little More Than They Expect

These guys are doing exactly that...performing beyond expectation. This is a recently received e-mail from Zappos regarding a status of my wife's order.

Happy holidays from Zappos.com! We have some good news!

Although you originally ordered Standard (4 to 5 business days) shipping and handling, we have given your order special priority processing in our warehouse so that your order will ship out today, and you should receive your order in 2 Business Days (from today) instead.

 Business days are Mondays through Fridays, except holidays, so you should receive your order by

Thursday, December 30th 2004

.

 Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It is simply our way of saying thank you for being our customer.

The above order has already been packed and we will be emailing you your

UPS

tracking number later today, when our computer systems are finished processing all of today's transactions.

We are constantly striving to improve our service. If there is anything that we can do to help improve your experience, please don't hesitate to let us know. If you've enjoyed your experience with us, please tell your friends and family about Zappos.com!

Thank you for helping make Zappos.com the Web's Most Popular Shoe Store!

--------------------------------

Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team

cs@zappos.com

United Shows Their Colors Again

A nice piece from steve on how impersonal United can be (but, to be fair, it's not just United). Just goes to show you how Memorable can work the wrong way.

Link: tompeters! leadership training development project management.

An Inside Look

What a great idea!

I can think of so many applications in order to get customers emotionally involved BEFORE the product is even completed. How about the construction and pre-opening phase of a really cool hotel or resort?

Link: Kong is King.net | King Kong | Peter Jackson's Production Diary.