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We can all appreciate great surprises, right? Something that is given to us or happens to us that adds just a moment of excitement and delight that we were never expecting. Do you remember the last time you were genuinely and pleasantly surprised by someone? Did that surprise create a deeper bond with that person? Well, the same holds true in marketing. When brands surprise and delight us, we remember that event and it serves as a meaningful deposit into our emotional bank account with that brand. And we know how important creating emotional connections are with consumers in today’s connected economy. Consumers today want brands to not just tell them they care but show them! Surprising and delighting your consumers helps to create a strong emotional bond with your brand … and that’s key when it comes to building brand love!
I’ve had a couple of “surprise and delight” experiences lately that I’m happy to share (building positive word-of-mouth).
I have to admit that getting PLEASANTLY surprised and delighted by my cable company is something that I never, ever expected. But it happened, and I’m happy to share my experience. I had been having some connectivity issues and had a cable box remote control that went on the blink, so I called Comcast customer service. After getting through the typical question tree, I was connected with a very pleasant and helpful customer service representative who walked me through the process to resolve my immediate connectivity issues and, after completing her troubleshooting, she told me that I was due a complimentary service call to upgrade my main cable line which would not only keep future issues from occurring but improve our connection speed. After she asked me what the most convenient time FOR ME would be, she quickly scheduled the appointment for the very next morning. When I asked about how to go about replacing the remote control, she directed me to take it to a store very near my home and just exchange it for a new one at no charge. I hung up from that call pleasantly surprised and I remember telling my wife that Comcast has REALLY stepped up their customer service game. The next day, the technician showed up (on time) to upgrade my main cable line. He had read on the service ticket that one of our remotes wasn’t working and he proactively brought a new remote and paired it with our system! What a pleasant surprise … and delight. He not only completed the complimentary service call, he saved me a trip to the local store to swap out my remote!
You might be thinking, that’s not exactly the strongest surprise and delight example, but when you consider the industry and the low bar for customer service satisfaction that has been in place for so very long with that industry, I would argue that it is a game-changer.
Hat’s off to Comcast for stepping up their game in basic customer service, and for finding ways to surprise and delight its customers.
Another recent example of a business surprising and delighting me came from a local restaurant, Peach and the Porkchop in Roswell, GA. I generally seek out restaurants who offer a corkage fee so that our party can enjoy great bottles of wine without breaking the bank. First of all, not all restaurants offer a corkage fee, which certainly creates a barrier for me to consider dining with them. My experience has been that the ones that do offer a corkage fee typically make you feel a little guilty about bringing in your own bottle of wine. But in the case of Peach and the Porkchop, nothing could be further from the case.
When we arrived at the restaurant with our bottle of wine in a nice leather tote, the owner approached us, welcomed us, and asked what special wine we had brought in. He looked at the bottle and complimented us on our selection and shared that he was aware of that wine but had never been able to offer it in his restaurant. He then took it from us and said he would take very special care of it until our table was ready. When we were seated at our table, our waiter immediately brought out our wine, a very nice decanter, and two appropriate wine glasses. He then proceeded to pour our wine into the decanter and invited us to enjoy. We were immediately impressed by this and were made to feel like VIPs versus cheapskates for bringing in our own bottle of wine.
After an incredible meal, we were prepared to pay our check which should have included the corkage fee. When we saw that there was NO corkage fee on our bill, we asked the waiter if he had forgotten to include it. He immediately explained, “oh no, our manager appreciated you bringing in such a nice bottle of wine and he’s waiving the corkage fee”! Wow, what a surprise and delight moment! The owner could have put profit before customer satisfaction and charged the corkage fee, or not even offered a corkage fee at all. But, he understood that exceeding customer expectations and surprising and delighting them can and will have a substantial impact on the emotional connection consumers have with his brand.
Clearly, the restaurant could have focused on the short-term and on maximizing profit from our visit that evening. But by not focusing on short-term profit, but rather making a deposit into our emotional bank account for the restaurant, the owner will end up making so much more money from us over the near term. We have already talked about our great experience and will gladly revisit this restaurant on many occasions to come.
While these examples might be considered small in the grand scheme of things, I would argue that it is the small things that companies can do that will have the biggest impact. These stories exemplify the idea that companies do not have to spend much time or money or sacrifice much profit, in order to create genuine surprise and delight moments. And when brands surprise and delight us, we remember that event and it serves as a meaningful deposit into our emotional bank account with that brand. When people surprise and delight us, our bond with them is strengthened and love begins to build. The same holds true for brands with consumers. Find ways to surprise and delight your consumers and the love, and incremental profits will follow!
Brad Taylor is a foodservice and CPG marketing veteran with over 34 years of
progressive experience in leadership roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Pizza Hut, Inc., and in the advertising agency industry. Brad has consistently led teams to achieve strong B2C results through a keen understanding of how to effectively position and activate brands directly with consumers and through deep collaboration with B2B partners including customers, franchisees, strategic alliances, and marketing services partners. Brad has direct experience solving marketing challenges with leading brands including Circle K, Coca-Cola, Disney, Domino’s Pizza, HMSHost, Pizza Hut, Sodexo, and others. Additionally, Brad is a skilled orator and facilitator and currently serves as a part-time marketing faculty member at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University.
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Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com
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Ugh, walking into another meeting to advance your new business venture or propose a new idea and you know the audience is hostile. This is Corporate America. Not that they are inherently mean and vicious but the climb to success in a corporate environment can elevate single-mindedness over team play. Get noticed, show you’re smarter than that person at the podium and keep things as they are with the “if it ain’t broke” mentality, those are the daily challenges you face as a corporate entrepreneur.
So why? Why go through that? Because beneath the surface, you know this is the right thing to do and you know these are good people at heart and once you break through, they will support you and ride the wave to success together.
And that’s my story, building a new business from scratch inside a large global organization was my challenge. And one day, after a tough session and what felt like a beat down, one of my co-workers who’d been through similar experiences made the statement, around here it feels like “every game is an away game”. I connected instantly with those words and felt relief I wasn’t alone in the challenge. I concluded this was really just a rite of passage and conditioning for the stamina to make things happen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really proud of my company and all the success over the years and the wonderful people that I’ve come to know as friends and co-workers. It’s been a blessing and I’m a better person for having worked there.
So, from that experience and many others like it, I have advice for my fellow corporate entrepreneurs and those aspiring to make a change inside a complex matrix organization:
In summary, take action, be resourceful, welcome change and embrace the challenge. And by the way, I’m proud to say we were successful, the new business is off and running.
My thoughts…
The thesis of this article, “Every Game is an Away Game,” is a metaphor for the challenges faced by athletic teams who must travel to play on their opponent’s home turf. Playing in unfamiliar territory is a disadvantage which requires work to overcome.
In his first paragraph, John speaks to the need to understand one’s audience so as to craft a message that will be received most favorably. To embellish on his primary point, John mentions the need to understand the company culture and management style, the importance of building a team to ensure success; to be a team player; and to build consensus. Stated another way, one must know their company’s management style, its culture, to be successful.
There’s no question that a corporate environment is very competitive, both externally and internally. Although new models speak to the benefits of collaboration and teamwork, corporations are still hierarchical organizations with intense competition to move up the ladder. As with any product, competition is ultimately a positive force. It makes one work harder and smarter, to become better prepared to find solutions to vexing issues.
At the same time, corporations are social organizations. People are not only expected to do their best work through healthy competition, they are expected to be friendly and to get along with one another. After all, people want to work with other people who are enjoyable to be around. A toxic, dysfunctional work environment is not optimal for maximum effectiveness.
John packed a lot of wisdom into this article. My overall takeaway is that the modern corporation is a crucible to sharpen one’s skills. I couldn’t agree more!
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Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com
Current Assignments
A Guest Post By Mark Grace, President, BeyondVia
Changes may come and go away, but some big changes stay a long time. Big changes may become part of the basic fabric of life. It is a safe bet that the big changes of the internet and related online activities like shopping and video watching are here to stay. Almost every person has a cell phone. The changes brought about by the Internet and cell phones are relatively new. So, what is the NEXT big change to stay?
The NEXT big change is that consumers will buy entire experiences, and fewer stand-alone, single products. Just as society moved from agricultural to industrial products, we are moving to an experience economy. Consumers are growing more befuddled each day with the millions of products to choose from, and no one to help them integrate all these choices together in their complex and time-crunched lives. Consumers just do the “best they can” to assemble a life. To reduce the complexity, many consumers just follow routine habits and do less. Companies are beginning to realize that the more they require customers to do, the less they will buy and use.
Some companies are implementing the NEXT big thing buy selling entire experiences of all required products and actions. Examples include experiences like getting from here to there (i.e. Uber) or overnight living experiences in a community (i.e. Airbnb). Consumers will be able to economically buy entire experiences with multiple products and services all at once, at the time of need. I call this type of buying – Experidigm™ purchases. Consumers will be able to buy experidigms like Better Health Care, where traditional medicine is easily partnered with eastern medicine like acupuncture and with Better Food Experidigms. Better Food experidigms may focus on natural and fresh, prepared for immediate delivery, car traffic willing or by flying delivery drones. Specific experidigm related community centers may spring up to assist consumers in designing and living their NEXT experidigms while using the internet on their phones – big changes work together.
As with all big changes, some short-term impediments stand in the way. So far, the biggest impediment to selling and delivering entire experiences is the “silo” structure of companies. In the current product world, companies tend to build a “profit” silo for each product and have that product silo compete internally for resources, bonuses, and customers. “Silos” sell their product, leaving it up to the customer to figure out how to integrate the single product into their life. Company attempts at “cross-selling” multiple individual products to serve customers rarely work, as the trust between “silos” is low when performance bonuses may be compromised. To deliver entire experiences, some silo companies build marshaling and logistics experience organizations that deliver the entire customer experience. These experience organizations can source products from internal silos and external partners to ensure customer satisfaction. The goal is to be part of the ongoing customer experience. Products are being commoditized by ultra-efficient supply chains. Experiences are value added.
Experidigm delivery is proving successful in certain industries. For example, for energy utilities, suppliers offer hundreds of products and software solutions working together as the Smart Grid experience. The goal of the experience is to have maximum uptime for the energy to flow to consumers. In commercial construction, owners are requiring structures to be more flexible and responsive to changing needs and lifestyles. Buildings are becoming Alive Space experiences adapting real time to the changing experiences of users.
The word “experience” is being used a lot these days. In most cases, the word is used to focus on efficiently and digitally delivering all the transactions a customer may experience in the buying process, sometimes called journey mapping. This transaction mapping is a good thing, but it is still deeply rooted in the product world. The shift to the experidigm world focuses on integrating all the products and associated activities of the entire customer usage experience, not just the transactions.
The future for this NEXT big experidigm thing looks bright. The world is shifting from a product-based world to an experience based world. Enjoy your purchased experidigm. For more details, send questions to markgrace@beyondvia.com.
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Jim Weber, Managing Partner
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This past Friday, the Commerce Department reported the second quarter Gross Domestic Product, GDP. As anticipated economic activity was robust, increasing by 4.1%. This compares favorably to an adjusted 2.2% increase for the first quarter. The principal drivers of this growth were consumer expenditures up 4.0%, business investment up 7.3%, exports up 9.3%, and federal expenditures up 3.5%. This is the strongest activity we’ve seen in about four years. Hiring for factory jobs is reported to be brisk. Concurrently, the unemployment rate is 4.0%.Thank you for visiting our blog.
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Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
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Current Assignments
Debbie, a recent networking contact introduced me to John last month. When Debbie made the introductions, she said that John needed accounting support possibly requiring a search. John and I traded a few emails and phone calls but did not connect until this week.
When I talked with John he was very animated and emotional to the point of desperation. He was clearly having a bad day and unloaded on me. He wanted me to have as much background information as possible. John is a commercial contractor who has been in business for over 15 years. Although he can generate new business the gist of the conversation was about his current debt service. I inferred that he is on the verge of bankruptcy.
I had the opportunity to give him an overview of my background. I told him that had a 22-year corporate career managing retail stores and restaurants. During that time, I was responsible for the development and construction of new stores. Additionally, I told him that I serve as the business manager for my wife’s residential construction business. He took this as welcome news as he thought I could relate to his situation and positioned to help him. We agreed to meet Thursday afternoon to further explore a business arrangement.
I shared that conversation with my wife to get her perspective which was useful. The recession that began in the fall of 2008 hit the Atlanta market very hard. The following years were difficult for people engaged in the construction sector. We are well aware of the toll it has taken on the industry. We also understand what’s required to dig out of a bad situation to make a healthy recovery.
I had lunch with my attorney on Thursday and gave her the top line of John’s situation. I didn’t share any names, so the conversation was completely confidential. Although she is not bankruptcy attorney she has keen business insight. She told me that in today’s environment one cannot be forced into bankruptcy by one’s creditors. They understand that it is better to work with their debtors to minimize their loss. They know that if they don’t work with their debtors they risk losing their entire investment. She also suggested that this prospective client probably has one or more bad habits contributing to his problems. I had come to the same conclusion.
I continued to do my research on John prior to our meeting. I found that he was well-educated with two undergraduate degrees, including a degree in construction management and a master’s degree in construction management from a major university. Additionally, he had about 10 years of corporate experience working for major construction companies. His father was an architect and his grandfather was an engineer. He has the background to be a successful contractor.
John and I met Thursday evening over a couple of margaritas and chips at a local Mexican restaurant. We spent about two hours getting to know one another during which time he provided further clarification on his situation. The good news is that he is effectively managing his creditors, keeping them at bay. He has an issue with an accountant that unfortunately has control of all his financial information and an attorney who sued him to recover payment. He has paid the attorney most of what he owes so that debt is not much of a burden. His overhead seems high, with over 30% dedicated to insurance. He said he’s looking into a more reasonable alternative, as he should.
As we talked it became clear that John’s real issue is the need to generate more top-line revenue. Sure, he could raise more funds by increasing his prices to increase his margin, but the easiest solution to his situation is to generate more business. His concern is that he doesn’t have the personnel to support that growth. He needs someone to help him manage the financial side of the business particularly managing cash flow. He also needs a sounding-board to ensure that he is making the best decisions for his business.
By the end of our meeting, John asked me to consider working as his business manager. It’s an intriguing thought as it falls right in my wheelhouse. I suggested that we continue the dialogue and set up a ride-along next week. That will give us an opportunity to understand one another to determine if we can work together. This could become interesting.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope you enjoyed my point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, Managing Partner
ITB PARTNERS
Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com
Current Assignments
