Apple and Disney deliver some in-store magic

In a recent post I talked about Disney’s plans to revamp their stores with help from Steve Jobs from Apple. I have also posted before about how Apple are the masters of retail (among other things).

I guess regular readers will not be surprised given that this blog is all about celebrating brand organisations that get the importance of designing & delivering winning brand experiences that delight consumers.

Anyway, I came across a post at Retail Customer Experience that highlighted 5 lessons from the Disney/Apple story:

1. Product knowledge isn't everything. It is also about new and exciting retail experiences...be on the lookout for great ideas outside your own product category.
2. Even great companies get stuck. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, advice or coaching from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds.
3. Experiences are tough to copy: Experiences are not only difficult to replicate, but also they allow you to command a premium for that very same product or service.
4. Retail should be fun: We need to bring the joy back to shopping.
5. Innovate in downturns:

These are great tips that all retailers should consider if they are looking for ways to get customers to buy again and may be even advocate to their mates.

Brand organisations ignore angry consumers at their peril

In years gone by brand organisations could ignore unhappy consumers.

When they delivered a bad brand experience, e.g. poor product performance, rude customer service, etc, it didn’t matter too much because consumers could do little about it, other than tell a few of their friends and stop buying.

If they got lucky their story might have got media exposure through newspapers or a TV consumer programme.

Fast toward to today and the things are completely different.

The digital age has put the consumer firmly in control.

The web is littered with examples of brands that have suffered because they have delivered bad brand experiences that have so incensed consumers they have found ways to use social media to get the attention of a wider audience.

Here are some infamous ones:

Dell ignored Jeff Jarvis’s complaints until he posted a ‘Dell Sucks’ blog. A large anti-fan club was born. [I’ve written about this before.]

United Airlines ignored complaints from an upset passenger who had watched his guitar being badly handled by baggage handlers. He posted a video and on YouTube got over 5 millions of hits. [see YouTube video]

Apple took no notice of early consumer complaints about broken glass covers on their newly launched Nano, until his consumer blog post generated massive backlash that they could not ignore.

A Comcast engineer was recorded fast asleep on a couch while on hold waiting for engineer support which has also had huge volumes of views and comments. [see YouTube video]

Last week there was a news story about how a disappointed holiday maker was ignored by Thompson Holidays until his ‘rant blog’ beat them on Google searches.

These ‘head in the sand’ stories always follow the same pattern:

Step 1: The brand delivers a bad brand experience (e.g. poor product delivery).

Step 2: The organisation compounds the problem by delivering further bad brand experiences (e.g.poor customer service, ignoring the problem, etc)

Step 3: The bad brand experience story spreads quickly across the world (via social media) turning millions of consumers off the brand.

Twitter has turbo-charged the speed and scale at which this type of story spreads. (See previous posting.)

Any brand organisation that permits these types of problem is likely to incur significant unwelcome extra costs to the business trying to put things right.

It is therefore vital to have people and processes in place that knows how to prevent this type of problem.

Better still, have people and process in place that know how to WOW consumers so they talk positively about your brand.

Brands with more advocates than competitors will win.

Hyundai go from strength to strength

I think Hyundai are doing things right.

They are rapidly progressing up the reliability rankings and have developed some smart promotion strategies designed to get noticed by price sensitive consumers who are anxious about the recession.

This is helping them grow market share, which is clearly great news for them.

However, in my view, this is just the start.

Each new buyer gives Hyundai 3-5 years to deliver two of the most positive brand experiences:

1. Driving the car (one of the most powerful).
2. Visiting the dealer (to enjoy 5 year warranty)

These brand experiences should give Hyundai loads of opportunities to provide great customer service and build strong relationships.

Assuming Hyundai continues to get it right they should be able to convince owners to buy again, and possibly even make them advocates.

This is great as these advocates will promote Hyundai to their friends and family, who in turn may consider and possibly buy a Hyundai.

And so it should go on....more owners; deeper brand experiences; more advocates; more sales.

I shall watch their progress with interest.

[By the way, I just bought a new Hyundai .]

British Airways is a great airline but I wish they could add some magic to the brand experience

British Airways (BA) are our national carrier so an easy target for negative media stories. They are not alone. Even Virgin get it wrong [see previous post]

I am a regular business traveller and I think that, to be honest, they deliver pretty good brand experiences. 

So, how does BA perform on the Brand Experience Promise, Deliver and Deliver framework?

They promise and generally deliver a pleasant, safe and reliable service. I’m writing this blog from the JFK in New York. I fly home on the red-eye tonight and (God willing) will arrive home safely and on time.

Do they deliver brand experiences that delight?

I am loyal to British Airways and am pleased to be traveling with them. I’m in the executive lounge so have access to good food, drink and a nice shower. I am on-line thanks to their wireless network which is free. The air stewards should be polite and I hope to enjoy a recent film then catch a little sleep. 

Do I think they will do anything that will delight me in such a way that I go wow..that was a great brand experience? I suspect probably not. 

Should British Airways be trying to find ways to delight me? Absolutely. 

It’s tough, but if they could do something a bit magical I would probably move from being more than a loyal traveller by becoming a fan, and possibly even an advocate. 

If BA could delight more customers with great brand experiences they would turn more customers into advocates. This should help them achieve higher levels of business success that marketing alone could never deliver.

O2 success demonstrates why brands should focus on delivering brand experiences that delight customers

There is an excellent case study (IPA Effectiveness award) about how O2 changed the game in the UK mobile category by shifting their business focus from acquisition to retention.

At the time all nine UK brands concentrated their marketing budgets and efforts on trying to sign-up more and more customers - through heavy weight media advertising deals, deals, deals...

This was creating customer dissatisfaction, high levels of churn and an erosion of customer loyalty.

O2 decided it was time for change.

They started to put the customer at the centre of everything they did by delivering brand experiences that would delight customers. This included:

•  Offering deals to existing customers only
  
• Rewarding existing customers
  
• Hiring extra staff to ensure their customer service improved
  
• Changing their communications to highlight their new commitment to existing customers.
  

At the time this was a bold step but the results were impressive. New customers increased, churn declined and satisfaction ratings improved. The other key metric - average revenue per customer - also held steady.

Today O2 goes from strength to strength as they continue to find ways to delight customers with better and better brand experiences. I think their recent sponsorship of the O2 dome, and the Blueroom and priority tickets for shows is brilliant.

Other categories could learn from this.

I recommend getting key stakeholders in the brand organisation together to collaborate and find ways to genuinely deliver brand experiences that delight customers. If you get it right – like O2 – customers will become fans, and hopefully advocates.

It is a straightforward formula. More brands should try it. 

Mercedes find way to drive advocacy

Mercedes-Benz USA has just launched a new exclusive hotels and resorts program for existing owners. It entitles them to stay at a collection of distinct properties with exclusive benefits that include complimentary use of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, welcome gifts and room upgrades.

Lisa Holladay, manager of Mercedes-Benz brand experience marketing said: “Our new Destinations program extends that luxury experience by offering exclusive customer benefits through select, hand-picked properties that are quite extraordinary.”

This looks like a really good idea. As ever, perfect execution will be vital.

If they get it right it should be a great way to delight existing consumers.

If they get it wrong it could be a disaster.

Anyone responsible for delivering brand experience should look at this type of approach and consider how they can design approaches that delight their consumers.

It is a powerful way to drive advocacy.

On-line retailers should consider how to add some magic to the consumer buying experience

I bought a new laptop from ebuyer.com this week. The experience was okay but it could have been so much better.

I went through a typical computer buying process. (I asked a friend, searched on-line, went into a couple of stores, and then eventfully bought on-line.)

So, how did I feel about the final on-line buying experience?

To be honest I felt pretty ambivalent.

The on-line transaction process was easy (which it often isn’t). The laptop arrived when promised. It works. I have a free support number I can call for one week.

Is ‘feeling ambivalent’ a good result for ebuyer.com?

I don’t think so.

They really missed a trick. They could easily have telephoned me to ask whether the laptop had arrived and whether I was happy with it. It would not have been hard to organise given they have my mobile number and they would have known that I’d received it (through the parcel tracking system).

I would have been delighted.

It would have delivered the kind of brand experience that would have made me a fan and possibly even an advocate.

A good delivery service is clearly important. However, my suggestion for all organisations is to think about the brand experience from a consumer point of view and work-out how to incorporate ways to delight after the delivery. Use the PDD framework to help. It often does not require much time & effort and the ROI pay-back - as a result of having more fans and advocates - can be huge.

Why aren't on-line retailers closing the sale?

I read in Mark Lowe’s blog (Google UK Country Manager) that around 65% of on-line shopping baskets are abandoned at the check-out.

This is a shocking number.

Bricks and mortar retailers worked out long ago that in order to keep customers loyal it is essential to deliver a great brand experience in store. A key part of this experience happens at the check-out. I think it was Tesco that once did a campaign saying they would not permit queues of more than 3 people - and then, presumably at vast expense, changed their operation and retrained staff to ensure this promise was delivered.

Why don’t on-line retailers sort it out? They must be looking at the conversion data. They must be calculating the impact on their bottom lines. The cost to fix shouldn’t be huge? The ROI isn’t complicated.

Think about Amazon. They know the importance of the transaction phase to help achieve a seamless (and profitable) brand experience. They understand that when you make a brand promise, deliver it and then find ways to delight consumers, consumers are likely to buy again and may be even become an advocate.

I can see why Mark is frustrated and calling out for change.

If your on-line conversions are disappointing I strongly recommend that your organisation (both large and small):

• Read Mark’s tip.


• Get the right people to collaborate to work out a fix.


• Review whether people have the right KPIs, as conversions should not just be the responsibility of the ecommerce department but everyone with responsibility for brand experience management.

Virgin turns problem into a PR masterstroke

This story about a letter of complaint to Richard Branson shows the strength of the Virgin brand and provides good insight into how Virgin truely understand how to manage the customer brand experience.

It works on many levels.

Richard Branson telephones a loyal but hacked-off customer. This action alone probably turned that customer into an advocate.

Virgin’s PR machine then goes into overdrive. They circulate the letter and talk about the telephone call.

It's brilliant.

At a stroke Virgin have turned a loyal but disaffected customer into a likely advocate and created an awesome PR story.

All brands should take note. Brands organisations need to have systems in place that can effectively handle customer problems because, when handled elegantly, it is possible to transform unhappy customers into powerful advocates.

Brands should invest in working out how to use Twitter

I’m new to Twitter but I discovered, thanks to Mashable, that there are a number of brands that are working out how to use it.

Here are some of the reasons why some of them say they use Twitter:

Jet Blue

To demonstrate the brand is built by people who care
To talk too many, but even better… to listen.

Ford

To humanise the Ford brand and put consumers in touch with real employees.
To test how it could support strategic communications.

Hertz

To develop a relationship and build a dialogue with consumers.

Dell

To listen, learn and engage with blogs and other social media.

The numbers are quite small (100 – 36,000 followers) but it a brand uses Twitter to successfully engage with it's consumers it must be a powerful way to deliver brand experiences that can turn influential consumers into advocates.

HMVs purchase of 11 music venues is a game changing move

HMV - a leading record store in UK - has very cleverly transformed its business model and potential fortunes overnight.

The world knows that the record business is in long term terminal decline given that digital, file sharing, etc, has changed people’s music buying behaviours forever.

HMV have moved into the live music business through the purchase of 11 live music venues.

This is a perfect business fit for them, as summed up by their CEO when he said:

‘The deal was far more than a rebranding exercise of some of the venues. Music is very much part of our DNA, and by extending the HMV brand into the growing live music and entertainment market our customers will, as never before, be able to access and experience music in all of its forms via HMV"

Put yourself in the mind of the consumer and compare these two different types of experiences.

In a store you are wandering around, looking at stuff, maybe thinking about the pleasure you'll get when you play what you buy for the first time. There may be some pain at the check out [cost, time, rude staff, whatever] but basically it's an okay brand experience.





In a gig you are with yor mates, the band is great, the music is loud, you're having a fantastic night out. What a great brand experience.





By moving into live music business HMV has, at the stroke of a pen, opened-up massive and extremely relevant brand exprience opportunity that should transform how consumers' feel about them. Not to mention the interesting merchandising, cross promotion, loyalty initiatives (tickets to gigs), etc, opportunities.

All this should help drive HMV music buyers through the path to advocacy to become fans and advocates.

Like the O2’s success with the Docklands Dome, I think this link is inspired.

Advocacy must be a focus for the whole brand organisation, not just marketing

One of the most powerful ways to persuade a consumer to become an advocate is by delivering compelling brand experiences every time they encounter a brand.

I have been playing around with a conceptual framework (below) that aims to help with mapping the main moments that consumers' encounter a brand.

The Brand PDD™ framework is a useful way to help teams to identify the brand experiences that an organisation needs to deliver to move consumers through the following stages on the Path to Advocacy:

Notice is when a brand gets on the radar of a consumer; when they see/hear about it and consider whether it is right for them.

Choose is the process the consumer goes through when trying to decide what brand(s) makes it to their short list – usually based on ability to meet functional and/or emotional needs.

Buy is when the consumer enters the store (on or of-line) and goes through the process of purchasing the brand – sometimes referred to as the first ‘moment of truth.’

Use is when the consumer uses the brand; not just when they unpack and use it for the first time (second ‘moment of truth’), but every time it is used.

Be Loyal is when the consumer buys again.

Be a Fan is what a consumer becomes when they have been well treated and feel valued by a brand organisation

Advocate is when a consumer proactively talks about the brand in a positive way to friends, families, etc.

Once the optimum brand experiences have been identified for each stage then gap analysis can provide insight into levers (opportunities to explore) and blocks (issues to fix).

The process of doing this, that I call Brand Experience Management (BEM), is a good way to get silo departments to collaborate so they understand the contribution they can make to drive advocacy; and why it needs to be joined-up with other department’s efforts to be most effective.

One of the main purposes of this blog is to share my views about brands that are delivering winning brand experience strategies and brands that are not; using the PDD framework to highlight why.

Marketing departments must look beyond making the Brand Promise

For years marketing department focus – in terms of time and money – has been on promoting the Brand Promise (typically via traditional media).

This is the stage where the brand is making a promise to the consumer about what the brand will deliver.

This stage has two parts. The first part, and the very least a brand wants to do, is to get noticed, to get on the radar of the consumer (i.e. they see it/hear about it) so they will give some though as to whether it is right for them.

The next part of this stage is to persuade the consumer to select their brand. This is the part where consumers are actively making choices about which brands they want to buy.

Successful marketing people have a clear view, and are involved with, the delivery and also the delight part of the business because they know consumers will not be duped. It’s simple, if consumers don't get what they are expecting, they will not buy again.

Successful marketing people also know that when a brand delights a consumers it they will talk about it. The explosive growth of the internet has given these advocates a platform that makes them even more powerful.

The worry is that many marketing people don’t consider the delivery and delight parts of their business. They leave it to the sales and customer service people (who have different KPIs).

The world has changed. This provides a great opportunity for brands operations to re-evaluate their operational processes and if necessary to change.

A good place to start is to review your operational balance using the PDD framework, and consider ways to collaborate closely with other parts of the business that play a role in moving the consumer through the path to advocacy.

Gut feelings are driven by brand experiences

I really love how Marty Neumeir’s (The Brand Gap) defines of a brand:

“A brand is not a logo, identity or product…a brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organisation.

(.. a person because brands are defined by individuals not companies.....gut feeling because people are emotional, intuitive being..”)

Marty goes on to say:

“In other words it is not what you say it is...it is what they say it is.”

I have said before (see link), I think actual brand experience is the key. Brand experience drive perceptions; which will shape what consumers do and say (about a brand).

The power of the consumer is increasing. It is therefore vital to get brand strategy right.

Why is it that brands so often get it wrong?

Brand Delivery - the moments of truth

This stage of the PDD framework is simply about the brand delivering the (brand) promise that has been made to the consumer.

The first part of it occurs when they go into the store to buy. Ideally they buy without distractions of competitor brand offers. It is sometimes referred to as the first 'moment of truth’ because it is the first time the consumer discovers whether the brand delivers the promise.

The second part (‘second moment of truth’) is when the consumer uses the brand; not just when they unpack and use for the first time, but every time they use it.

The delivery at both these parts is vital. If the consumer intents to buy but is switched to a competitor brand, or the brand doesn’t deliver when being used, then the marketing effort is wasted.

If a brand is successfully delivering the promise then the next thing it should focus on is delighting the consumer, to cement consumer loyalty and motivate them to become advocates.

Sounds straightforward…but why do so many brands get it wrong?

Brand strategy and the PDD Framework

How should brand organisations be thinking about consumer brand experience; and the Promise, Delivery and Delight (PDD) framework?

Brand strategy is all about choices. A key strategic decision all brand owners have to make is what PDD balance should be delivered to consumers between each of the PDD components, in terms of finance and resource.

On the face of it shouldn’t be complicated.

Do brands need to Promise? YES…if they don’t they will not generate consumer interest and desire (to try/buy).

Do brands have to Deliver? YES… if they don’t they will not survive (secure repeat purchase).

Do brands need to Delight? YES…if they want to drive advocacy.

The balance varies a lot by category but in my experience a lot of brands don’t get the balance between each right.

The credit crunch is going provide few opportunities for brands. However, one opportunity they will have is to review their PDD balance and consider whether to change it.

Brands that get the PDD Balance right will win

Brand experience can be split into three parts:

Promise - this is the start point. It's the part marketing people focus most of their time on. The brand essence, character, benefits, etc that are usually promoted via advertising.

It is when consumers are told all about the brand and what will happen/how they will feel when they buy/use the brand.

Delivery - this is what actually happens when the consumer buys/uses the brand.

It is when the promise that the brand has made has to be delivered.

Delight - this is when the brand goes beyond what was expected.

It can be the magical bit because when consumers are delighted by a brand they turn into a powerful and positive force.

It is the brand that gets all three parts of this PDD framework right that win. They turn consumers onto the brand - they deliver what they promise - they then exceed expectations and can transform buyers/users into advocates.

We know from The Ultimate Question work that brands that achieve the highest category NPS score (a good indicator of brand advocacy levels) will win.

The challenge for businesses is to get the balance between all three parts right. Not to over-invest in the Promise and fail on Deliver and Delight. It is about PDD balance.