This is a long post so I’ll cut to the chase by offering you the marketing action points upfront that are derived from the story that follows…
- Think outside the box by offering variations on your products and services that get your potential and existing customers to say, “Wow!”
- Listen. Give your customers the ability to provide input and feedback on the products and services you offer to them.
- Respond. Let your customers know you heard them and if you implement their ideas and suggestions, give them a hearty thanks and an invite to be the first to offer feedback on the new and improved ______.
- Involve. Use web technology to turn your visitors ordinary browsing into an extraordinary experience. Consider Google’s new Street View that turns a simple search for an address into a 360° visual tour or iVillage’s virtual makeover tool that allows you to try out different hair styles, makeup combinations and the like on a virtual model of you.
How Famous Made Me Feel That Way
Do you make your customers feel special, as though their input and opinion count for something? If you don’t you’re missing the boat and you’re missing the opportunity to create that special bond we all want with our customers — the bond of loyalty.
Famous Smoke Shop created that bond with me a few months back when they really made me feel valued as a customer. Not always an easy trick to pull off in the online world.
Famous sells cigars on the internet and they do a rather good job of it. They stay in touch with their customers and offer a great selection ranging from good to exceptional values.
I recently made the decision to smoke fewer but better cigars. With 2 kids in college and a wife who’s just completed her 2nd Masters (showoff) I don’t have a lot of discretionary income to spend on the kind of sticks I’d like to smoke. Accordingly, I appreciate sites like Famous that offer premium cigars at often less than premium pricing.
I was therefore excited when Famous began offering a new Create-A-Sampler feature that allows you to build your own sampler pack of 5 different cigars … for the price of 4 (bonus!). Samplers have been around forever with the idea being that you get a chance to try different kinds of cigars without investing huge jack in the process but you are generally limited to selecting pre-configured samplers from a specific brand (5 different styles of Partagas for exampe). Famous is thinking outside the (cigar) box by providing customers the ability to customize their samplers; you can select 5 different cigars from as many as 5 different brands plus they price it a 5 for the price of 4 – a reward for your sense of adventure!
The upshot is that Famous creates a personal relationship with customers while creating an opportunity to expand their business by broadening those customer’s product buying horizons.
Famous really cemented their relationship with me after I sent an email praising their new system while suggesting that they could improve it by providing links to reviews of the cigars available. This way, a less-than-expert buyer like me would have a guide to make a more informed decision. It would be a smart move for Famous as well by insuring a better customer experience; a guy who likes mild cigars wouldn’t inadvertently pick-out a super bold smoke that would kill his taste buds for 2 weeks and vice-versa.
The cool thing is that they listened. I got an almost immediate response from, Arthur Zaretsky, the President of Famous Smoke Shop, that said that it was a great idea and he was directing his ‘web wizards’ to put this review feature in place. Then I got a follow up email from their web master, Chad Kercher, who invited me to try out the new system and provide my feedback.
To sum it up…
Famous thought outside the box with their Create-A-Sampler program which involves the customer at a deeper level than merely offering standard, pre-packaged selections and they listened and responded to customer feedback to give that customer a sense of recognition while more deeply investing him in his relationship to Famous.
What can you do to deepen your connection to your customers?
