A pleased customer is our best advertisement

Thanks to my friend Faris for bringing this old ad to my attention.

As he say's, it is far more relevant today than the time that it was originally written.

Jeff Jarvis - in his book 'What would Google Do?' - sums it up well when he says: "your customer is your best ad agency".

Why?

A happy consumer is extremely valuable because they can tell their friends about you. When people talk to their friends in a positive way about your brand then that it's more powerful than any ad.

The internet has changed the game when it comes to talking positively about because social media is like word of mouth on steroids. Word spreads fast on-line (see Dominoes story)

If you are a smart brand marketer you will focus on delivering brand experiences that delight so that your consumers talk positively about it. The even smarter ones listen carefully to what is going on on-line and amplify anything positive that is being said.

Here's a good example.

I blogged last year about a fantastic holiday I had in Nikoi Island (see post).

They spotted my post (smart listening skills) and commented on it, offering me a couple of free cocktails on my next visit. They then linked my blog to their site which has resulted in loads of people clicking on my story, I assume before they commit to making a booking.

Later that year I won 'best blog about Nikoi Island.' The prize was 2 free days on the island.

The 'advertising' value they have had from me (on and off line) must have delivered them an excellent return on investment.

Take note. Think how you can delight consumers. It is worth it.

Deliver customer service brand experiences that build sales

There is a great post at ICC│Decisions.

It basically says that brand organisations should flip there thinking about customer service and regard it as an investment not a cost.

When brands get customer service right it can have dramatic effect on sales.

It is not a new idea.

I’ve posted about it before. I think it’s simple.

A consumer that contacts customer service usually has a problem. This is terrific opportunity to deliver a brand experience that delights.

The more magical the better.

As Jeff Jarvis says in his recent book ‘What Would Google Do?’: “Your customers are your ad agency.”

A delighted consumer will buy again; and maybe even talk about the brand.

I am a customer that has become the ad agency for Nikoi Island

To be true to one of the main themes of this blog I have to tell you about Nikoi Island.

My wife discovered it on-line (via Tripadvisor.com) and thought it looked idyllic.

It was. We were there 3 days and they were magical.

So, why am I writing about it?

As you may spot in the picture, while there I finished Jeff Jarvis’s book ‘What Would Google Do?’ [See my previous posting]

One rule in the book is: “Your customers are your ad agency.”

I agree. 

I am advocate (I’ve become Nikoi’s ad agency).

Why? That’s easy. They promised (it looked great on the website); they delivered (the transfer, facilities, food, etc, where excellent); and they delighted (the staff and service was perfect)

Read this blog... go there...what else can I say? (Oh yes, read the book.)

Brand organisations must not under-estimate the power of social media

I posted recently about a great new book by Jeff Jarvis (What Would Google Do).

 

Another story in this book has helped me better understand the power of social media and how it is changing the game for brand organisations.

 

This story is  about what happened when Jarvis bought a dodgy lap-top from Dell in 2005. He explains that despite paying extra for at-home service, he spent hours on the telephone to overseas call centres, sent it back a number of times and had to start from square-one every time he called.

 

In desperation and to let off steam and wrote a blog untitled “Dell sucks.”

 

To cut a long story short what happened then was that others started to leave comments and links to his blog about their problem lap-tops. These actions took on a life of their own, soon creating a large anti-fan club that caused Jarvis’s blog to appear progressively higher in Google search and eventually reaching the first page under Dell’s home page.  

 

These conversations were starting to damage Dell’s brand.

 

Dell started to suffer declining customer satisfaction scores, revenues and share price. (Jarvis acknowledges that this was not solely down to his blog.)

 

Jarvis offered Michael Dell four tips:

1.    Read blogs about your brand

2.    Talk to your blogger consumers

3.    Blog yourself

4.    Listen then show us how you are going to improve and use bloggers to help.

 

If you want the full story and an explanation of how Dell turned it round, and loads of other good stuff, I suggest you buy the book.

 

For me his story clearly highlights 3 vital things:

·         Brands must deliver what they promise.

·         Brands must listen to what consumers are saying and use what they learn to find ways to work-out how to delight them.

·         Brands must not under estimate the power and importance of a good social media strategy.

 

My advice for anyone in a brand organisation with responsibility for building successful brand experiences is to pay very close attention to all the above.  

Is Jeff Jarvis right to say ‘your customers are your ad agency?'

I have just started reading an excellent book called ‘‘What Would Google Do?’ by Jeff Jarvis.

In chapter 3 there is a section called ‘Your customers are your ad agency.’ In it Jarvis says: “Customer service is the new marketing,” citing Dell and Google as evidence of the vital role customer services plays in building a successful brand.

I think he is half right.

There is no doubt that customer service is a critical stage of the consumer path to advocacy. Delighting consumers must be the goal. However, it is not the whole story, particularly for a lot of low involvement brands (Fast moving package goods, financial, white goods, etc).

The brand promise (to get noticed and encourage trial) is a start-point for these brands.

Then there is brand delivery (at 1^st and 2^nd moment of truth) which also has to be brilliant [read previous posting about Apple stores and service is marketing].

If you are working in a brand organisation look for others involved in delivering brand experience and find ways to work with them to break-down silos. It is a business imperative in this new connected world to ensure all parts of the Brand Promise, Delivery and Delight (PDD framework) are joined-up.