Come on Amazon, you can tweet better than that

I got this randon Tweet from Amazon.

I was both surprised and disappointed.

The item they offered is completely irrelevant to me, and the cost was in dollars (I'm UK based).

It adds up to a really poor digital strategy....poor targeting...poor offer

What a poor brand experience.

What a shame.

Amazon buys Zappos, the brand experience grand master

This probably shouldn't be a surprise...Amazon buys Zappos.

Or rather, as Tony Heist (CEO Zappos) would rather say (see email to employees): "Zappos and Amazon sitting in a tree..."

Like many, I have posted before about Zappos' core values - that focus on WOWing consumers with winning brand experiences - and how these have helped them grow from strength to strength.

The challenge for Zappos will be to maintain their strong culture and build on the massive success achieved to date with this new business relationship.

I wonder what happens next. A global roll-out would seem like a real possiblity.

I will watch with interest.

[Read this good article Retail Customer Experience]

Brand experiences from Phillips and Toyota that will get noticed

I've recently seen some 'making of' blockbuster films that I think are better than the final ads.

Here are two of my personal favourites.

I love this film. It shows that Phillips really understand the passion their target consumers have for cinema.

There is something about this Toyota Prius that makes me smile.



The number of viewings are pretty small but the depth of viewing and number of comments means they are Brand Experiences that are getting noticed and being talked about.

I think that makes them effective.

Brand experience is a strategy, not a slogan

I’ve borrowed (and slightly changed) this quote from an article in a new Peppers and Rodgers on-line journal

It is a great article; take a look [Customer Strategist]

It supports a number of points I've made before...

Delivering great brand experience will grow the bottom-line:

“.. several recent studies confirm the link between customer experience and bottom-line performance”

Emotion contact is more effective than rational communication. It’s about what you do and how you treat consumers, not what you say, that is more influential:

“Customers feel first and think second—and interactions with a company strongly influence their heart and produce a longer lasting impact than communications directed toward their heads.”

Training and culture are key:

“Many companies lack the employee training and automated processes necessary to create the insight, interaction, improvement, and orientation necessary for a successful customer experience program.”

“Simply revising structure and technology doesn't suffice; company culture has to be changed for improvement."

If you want to build a competitive advantage consider seriously how you can work with others in your organisation, maybe using the PDD framework, to find ways to deliver compelling and relevant brand experiences that will genuinely WOW consumers.

Electrolux create a fantastic brand experience for diners in Paris

Wow, how about this for a unique and really cool eating experience.

A restaurant built of glass on top of the Palais de Tokyo that has spectacular views overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

Check out the story [New Media Age]:

"... created a 12-person ‘food experience’ in Paris, which allows diners to host their own dinner parties or food workshops encased in a glass room on top of the Palais de Tokyo museum."

Brands in the laundry and cooking category are generally regarded as pretty dull by consumers, so they tend not to get talked about.

This Brand Experience however will get talked about.

They are apparently going to do something similar in London.

Smart move Electrolux.

How they try to get employees to delight train passengers in Japan

Thanks to Guardian.co.uk I recently heard about the Japanese train company that is scanning its employees to make sure they smile properly.

What an extraordinary story.

Okay, I am a great believer that customer facing employees in any organisation should be delivering experiences that delight shoppers/users/passengers.

However, I don’t think that a smile scanner is the answer.

I think this Japanese company should provide training that guides and inspires their employees to deliver positive experiences every day, in a way that will genuinely WOW its passengers

A start point is look at what other organisations are doing [check out my Brand Experience Culture posting]

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 .]

Flyers don't always care about the brand experience

I spend most of my time blogging about the importance of delivering great brand experiences that drive advocacy.

I focus mainly on approaches and brands that get this right.

I also occasionally talk about brands that get it spectacularly wrong.

Ryan Air, however, falls into a completely different category.

I read in Brand Republic that Michael O'Leary, chief executive, is currently talking to Boeing about designing airplanes with standing room.

Unbelievable.

Ryan Air are already planning to charge 'cattle' (fka passengers) for going to the toilet, as well as abolishing check-in facilities and instead demanding that all check-in on-line at a cost of £5.

Oh well... there will be proportion of flyers for whom price is the only factor and Ryan Air are doing an extremely efficient job finding new ways to cater for this group.