Surprise Surprise...Apple deliver most admired customer experience

It came as no surprise to me to see that Apple ranked the 'Most admired customer experience' brand based on  a recent survey by Beyond Philosophy.

In fact most of the brands ranked in the top ten are of no surprise to me.

Listed below is the top ten. It also shows some of my previous posts that will give you some insight into why they have performed so well in this survey and, as importantly, in terms of sustainable business success.

1. Apple - Apple understand the importance of in-store delivery and delight
2. Amazon - Great experience drive word of mouth
3. Zappos - Zappo win by focusing on WOWing consumers
4. Starbucks - Starbucks coffee launch will cause a stir
5. Tesco - Tesco's neat scan to van app
6. Disney - Apple and Disney deliver some in store magic
7. Virgin Atlantic - Virgin turns problem into PR master stroke
8. Vodafone - no post (yet?)
9. Nordstrom - 4 tips on howto deliver consistent winning brand experiences
10. First Direct - no post (yet?)

If you work in a brand organisation that is looking for ways to outperform your competitors then one effective approach is to review the brand experience your are delivering your consumers and consider how you can improve it. It would be smart use the path to advocacy model and also look closely how the above winning brands deliver.

Those bad boys at Carlsberg know how to party

I love this ad.


It is surprising.


It is charming.


It is simple.


It delivers a brand experience that is absolutely what Carlsberg is about.


It will get noticed.

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

What a great Chinese proverb.


It is spot on and a key part of delivering a great brand experience at the buy stage of the path to purchase. The first moment of truth.


We all know shops we have visited when we had a poor brand experience with the sales person (rude, poor advice, no smile, etc). As a result we may have been put off buying or at least felt less inclined to rush back to buy again.


On the other hand, we have also all had a great interaction with a salesperson. A smile was probably a key part that left you with the feeling of a good buying experience.


It does not take much but can make a big difference.


Retailers know this but don't always have clear values or training in place.


Sure, it takes time and money but if you look at the loyalty and potential advocacy it is worth it [check-out advocacy drives growth paper from LSE].

Kia nail ad will get noticed

This is a nice ad for the Kia Picanto.


It is getting noticed on You Tube (over 3 million hits) and uses stop motion technique to promote Kia's small is beautiful message.


It delivers a fun, clever and easy to watch brand experience.


I like it.

What kills loyalty?

In a recent article Business Insider suggested 20 ways to kill loyalty. It admits to appearing negative but does provide a useful perspective - and check-list of what brand organisations have to avoid.


To me they the list is fairly obvious and a little repetitive, that said, the last point: 'a failed promise is a loyalty killer' is the deal breaker.


To be a successful brand you have to deliver the promises you are making (via brand communications). That is how you build loyalty, a key stage on the path to advocacy.


It is also important to remember that there are a number of different types of loyal customers [check-out Inertia, Transactional and Fanatical loyalists article], so for some consumers it is also important to find ways to delight them. 


That's how you build brand fans who are likely to advocate you and, as we all know, advocacy is the most powerful form of communication. 


Zappos know how to do this. They have a list of core values that everyone working there has to live and breathe. Top of the list is WOW through customer service.

Working out how to do delight/WOW isn't always obvious or easy but when you get it right, like Zappos, you will build a very successful business.