Thursday, August 23, 2007
CUSTOMER SERVICE = BRANDING!
PUSH PLAY TO VIEW THE SHORT WELCOME VIDEO FROM ALASKA
There isn’t a company in the world today that doesn’t emphasize the importance of customer service. Their annual reports always focus on their commitment (and the commitment of their outstanding associates) to meeting the needs of their customers. Their mission statements, while generally hard to understand, somehow insures that customer service (usually in some other ubiquitous terms) is an important part of the company’s vision.
This week, the New York Stock Exchange released its third annual survey of CEO’s from around the world. It wasn’t surprising that these company leaders believe that meeting and exceeding customer expectations is the key to driving sustainable growth in the future. The survey, as reported in USA Today, said that with so much product (and store) parity it was customer service that could be the key differentiator in the marketplace. Sounds like branding to me! The CEO’s also said that they would budget more dollars for customer relationship management in 2008 to reflect that they are serious about serving the customer. This made me wonder if they were as committed to building and strengthening their brands at the same time. If providing great customer service is exceeding customer expectations at the store, and if branding’s job is defining those expectations, then, why do so many companies feel that customer service and branding are two separate functions? Why do HR and Operations determine the service standards and how to implement them while Marketing is charged with developing a brand strategy that will communicate to the customer what to expect when they come to the store? In fact, everyone should work together to insure that the service standards and the brand promises are in synch with each other.
We see so many fast food retailers put a sign up on their marquees or in their windows saying “Now Hiring, Smiling Faces”. Sure we all would rather a smiling face on the other side of the counter or drive-thru window, but what we really want is someone who will get our order right, get it to us fast, and all the time speak a language we can understand. Efficiency is a lot more important in this industry than a gleeful employee (to the customer that is), Looking at last month’s retail sales results, I noted that the stores that did well in an otherwise slow month, were those who are doing a great job with their brands and exceeding customer expectations at the same time.
Stores like Costco (+7.0% comps), Target (+6.1), JCPenney (+11.0) and Nordstrom (+9.4) all have great brands, and they all provide different levels of customer service. But these levels are consistent to what they are promising to their customers via their brand strategy. Costco provides a different level of service than Whole Foods even though they are in similar businesses. Nordstrom promises more service when they sell a pair of shoes than does Payless. JCPenney has gone very promotional, yet still offers a better experience than most department stores out there.
It’s proof once again that when the brand strategy is developed, all of the departments must agree to it and make sure that they live up to it. “Customer Relationship Management” is popular today and a lot of money is being spent to keep existing customers and geting them to spend more. Don’t make it harder than it is. Branding is about the relationship with the customer and it starts with providing customer service that consistently meets or exceeds our marketing promises
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3 comments:
I had a great customer service experience at Best Buy this past weekend. This was in contrast to past experiences where you would be very lucky to find any service when visiting the store. On May 28 I purchased a Samsung remote earpiece for my cell phone. Last week the plastic clip which wrapped around the ear snapped and was not repairable. It was also nearly 60 days past their return time limit of 30 days and I did not have the original receipt (although I did have my credit card bill which showed the purchase) and to top it off I did not have the credit card with me which was used to make the original purchase (required).
The clerk at the return desk looked at the situation and reviewed all of the above. He then directed me to get a replacement off the rack and to come back to the front of the line and he would process an exchange. Back at the rack, I discovered they were out of the model originally purchased. The floor clerk showed me an alternative which was a small upgrade in price and better technology. He then escorted me to the front of the returns line. The clerk who originally helped me had left the counter. The floor clerk went out on the floor and found “my guy”. He immediately processed the exchange without a question or comment and indicated he just wanted me to be able to get what I wanted and maybe do some more shopping.
This was an amazing experience for me as the customer. Best Buy has really gotten their act together in the past several months. (Maybe the company is making your blogs required reading to their employees.)
DB, San Diego
Thanks, Don. One of the reasons that Best Buy has grown to be the number one in market share in their category is because of their emphasis on service, personified by your experience. Circuit City on the other hand continues to take away service and experience and their share has gone with it.
Lessons learned.
I do agree that Best Buy does a great job as far as service goes. However, I have a short story to show someone who does even better than them. I bought a brand new iPod touch the first day they were out without buying the optional extended warranty from Best Buy. Later I found that the screen was working correctly. I called Best Buy to find out what to do and they said that since I don’t have the Best Buy extended warranty there wasn't really anything they could do.
So, I went only to apple's retail website and scheduled an appointment with a "mac genius" later that day after work. At the Apple Store I explained my problem and the "genius" looked at the iPod. After looking at the computer and going into the back, he tells me that since I didn't buy it at the Apple Store all he could do was exchange it at the store for a brand new one and not send me a brand new one. I was stunned! So, I didn't buy it at their store, but yet they will give me a brand new one.
Since they were all sold out of my iPod he said that one on the next shipment would be reserved for me and he took down my information. This experience showed me why Apple is constantly ranked so high in customer support and continues to increase its market share. they have truly made customer service part of their brand.
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