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Examples of customer experience focus
Jul 27, 2007
Applegate Farms makes turkey bacon with this wording on the back of the package:
"At Applegate Farms, we don't spend a fortune on marketing and advertising. We trust our products to speak for us. Most of our customers hear about us from our friends."
And that, in three sentences, is the premise of "good experience" in business. If you focus your efforts on making a great customer experience (from turkey bacon to techie websites - whatever it is you create), then you'll maximize your chances at success. Customers are connected enough now, thanks to the Internet, that they can handle some, or all, of your marketing and advertising.
But customers will only spread the word if they have a genuinely good experience. So - how does one make a great experience? Focus on quality; be authentic; respect the customer; and most importantly, get executive buy-in. The more all this comes from the top, the better it does.
Some companies really are doing this right. One example I think of right away, from this year's Gel 2007 conference, is John Williams at Frog's Leap (see his Gel video clip), which makes great wine with an all-organic, earth-friendly growing and production process.
I also like No-Ad sunblock, which claims (and I believe them) that they create a high-quality sunblock at reasonable prices because they don't pay for advertising. They rely on word-of-mouth to advertise the product.
This isn't to suggest that advertising and marketing have no future; the meteoric success of Google should put that theory to rest. But this does say that a true customer focus is what succeeds best.
What other companies or products can you name that follow this focus on good experience?
See also: Budgeting for Advertising and Customer Experience
My company adheres to these very principles. The company is Utilikilts ("American made utility kilts for everyday wear").
We put a wad of business cards in the pocket of every kilt we sell. Our customers speak for us and are our greatest salesmen.
We do not do product placement. All our product photos were sent to us by customers, or shot in-house on employees.
This is a major part of the integrity of our business, and it is something we guard very carefully. Our customers respect that, and we trust them to speak for us.
(By the way, I love this blog. I read it religiously.)
- CJ
Marketing Geek
Utilikilts Company
Seattle, WA
I'd love to believe you. Make a great product, and it'll sell itself. How then do you explain Windows? It is certainly NOT the best consumer operating system out there. Yet it controls over 90% of the desktops planetwide.
Given enough time, AND a competitive market, the best experience is likely to win.
The operating system "market" hasn't been competitive, to put it lightly.
While Trader Joe's does send out flyers, I'd imagine 80% of its new customers come from raves of other customers. From their product development (based on customer input) through their returns policy (if you don't like it you can return it), they are totally customer focused.
Re Utilikilts they definitely have an edge if only purely on originality. "He wears a what?" I've shown friends the Utilikilt site when trying to explain why one of my friends, who wears a Utilikilt, is so quirkily great.
I think we all aim for maximum business return from customer referrals, and my business (The Reef Resort in Cayman) certainly benefits from shooting from that goal, focussing on the customer experience at all times.
Other examples I can think of that get huge benefit from word of mouth (although they likely all advertise, a lot of their business is by word of mouth advocacy) :
- See's Candies
- Enstroms Toffee
- Anse Chastanet (resort in St Lucia)
- Joie de Vivre Hotels (SF based boutique hotel chain)
- Any number of bespoke small car companies, but how about Morgan Motors in the UK, they've never spent a dollar on advertising in nearly a century (to my knowledge) and have a multi-year waiting list for their product
And two from a recent visit to CA.. never saw an ad for either, but they are always busy, and provide excellent products and VFM
- Trader Joes
- In N Out Burger
Avoiding the need to advertise is the holy grail of a focus on customer experience. We have gone from a standing start to about 50% repeat/referral business in 7 years as a hotel, I hope to increase that percentage further as time goes by !
Mark--
Great post! As you are already aware, I run a start-up not-for-profit and the real message behind my efforts is to truly connect people to who they are helping.
I honestly still haven't figured it out quite yet, but it's great to see other people creating a personalized experience.
BTW, I made the Creative Good event. It was a great day and wish we could have met in person. You reasons for missing it, I hear, were exceptional. Congrats!
Sean
My family and I have been using No Ad suntan lotion for a long time. It is reasonably priced, pleasantly scented and works! My father was the one who started using the products after a dermatologist told him about it after a bout of skin cancer. Since we're long time beach goers (Jersey Shore), we've learned what works over the years.
Coca Cola thought they were so well known they could cut half of there advertising and Pepsi took advantage by increasing there's and took 20% of Coca Cola's market share. Coca Cola has een trying to get it back ever since.
Smithfield's Barbeque Ribs found in select stores- heat/cook for 7 minutes only- delish!
I'll make a case for another "company" in this category: the United States of America.
In recent history, no other country has come even close to the U.S. in terms of aggregate inflow of foreign populations. And while we see advertisements for other countries, cities and other international destinations on a daily basis, the U.S. has relied on good ole' w-o-m marketing for a few hundred years. In fact, one might argue that the company has been so successful, that the loyal customers (U.S. citizens) have initiated negative messaging campaigns because they are worried about demand exceeding supply. The U.S. experience is SO good, that the customer base is hoarding the product. (Think: Seinfeld season 7 -- Elaine and "the sponge.") Someone needs to do a Net Promoter study on this.
Conclusion: the United States is the No-Ad sunblock of the world. Though, it probably won't prevent cancer.
(PS: Mark, love the new book.)
-Tom