Options:

Apple fans are contagious…

And research has just proved it.

Apple is not only the brand that marketers love the best, but it’s the one that
consumers recommend the most, according to new research from Satmetrix,
originator of the Net Promoter score.Apple posted a NetPromoter score of 77
percent, which means that 83 percent of respondents would recommend the brand to a friend versus 6 percent who would not.

Being an Apple fan, I have always admired the way Apple has worked hard and built huge fan clubs over the years. Offline Apple fans get together in Apple store and learn about new products. Customer experience and customer service inside Apple stores is great. Employees are friendly and they will go out to make you comfortable in the stores. Its fan clubs are present online also – in the form of dedicated blogs.With these fan clubs, Apple is able to promote its cool designer products and their ease of use.

Apple has always surprised, created passion and excitement amongst its fans while launching new products and services.This passion and excitement is so contagious that no force in the world can stop it from spreading.

In India, Apple products do not have much presence (except for iPods) but it has some die-hard fans like Zoobie and Me to spread the greatness of the brand.

Links to this post

Run agent run

Agents are planning to stop working with various airlines. Reason – airlines are planning to scrap the commission fee.

As British Airways and Delta move to a zero commission model from April 1, the
battle between travel agents and foreign airlines over the issue of payment of
commissions has intensified with the threat of halting foreign airlines’
operations out of Mumbai and Delhi airports.
Do customers need agents? I do not think so and here’s why:-

Price disadvantage: - Agents charge certain commission which is passed onto customers by airlines. With online booking system, customer can directly book tickets from internet and commission given to agent will be saved by airlines and some percentage of this saving can be passed onto customer by airlines. It is a win-win situation for customers as well as airlines.

No Convenience: - Internet is convenient as customer can book tickets while sitting at home. He needs not to outside, search for ticket agent and haggle with him to get his tickets booked. Customer can save his energy and time by booking tickets on internet. With agent, apart from money, he has to part with his convenience also.

Gap in service expectation and service delivery: - An airline is promoting themselves as world class airline with ‘luxury’ as their middle name and markets themselves as customer friendly airline. Well, customer sitting in dingy agent office, sitting with agent who does not know believes in customer friendliness, can certainly feel the gap in service expectation and service delivery which is not in the interest of airline. Customers also want to avoid such bad experiences.

Agents were required in old world of business as airlines wanted to reach out to customers in every nook and corner. Now internet has reached in far flung areas. Agents were reliable and responsive but so is internet. Agents need to look at the ways where in they can add value to customers and airlines. They need to lead the industry by helping them in doing more personalized marketing to customers.

They need to run or else their end is near.

Links to this post

Recession marketing

In these times of crunch, KFC is investing in future by doing cause marketing – they are repairing roads.

Don't be surprised if you see Col. Sanders out filling potholes. In an unusual
cause-marketing push, KFC is tackling the pothole problem in Louisville, Ky. in
exchange for stamping the fresh pavement with "Re-freshed by KFC," a chalky
stencil likely to fade away in the next downpour.


There are opportunities for more businesses by building huge goodwill amongst their customers and generating positive word of mouth.


Ideas I overheard:
• Gyms should let people who lost their job have a free off-peak-hours
membership
• Salons should give free haircuts/facials to anyone on their way to a
job interview
• Conferences should give scholarships to struggling small business
who ask nicely
• Restaurants should offer a free dinner for anyone who just got laid
off

Innovation in marketing is the key in these tough times and such acts of kindness will not be forgotten easily.


Links to this post

Why IPL will not be same?

I fan of Kings XI Punjab team (being a Panju, I cannot help) and I know this year’s IPL will not same for me and for other fans as well.
Loyalty towards teams is required if IPL has to build a strong and sustainable brand in long run. Cricket indeed is religion in India but IPL is not about popularity of cricket. It is much more than. It is about fans cheering for their teams. It is about fanfare associated with their teams. It is about connections with teams and fans. It is about building strong connections between teams and their fans.
Here are few things which fans will miss in IPL - II
• No emotional connect: Last year whole Eden Garden stood up with Shahrukh to their team. The frenzy it generated cannot be explained in words. He was able to connect with Kolkata fans emotionally and everybody in the stadium started cheering for Knight Riders. This emotional connect will be missing all together as people will be watching match but connect with Shahrukh and Eden Gardens will be missed and missed badly.
• No connection with fans: Last year I personally interacted with lot of fans of Kings XI during the matches and it almost looked like a strong community is in the making. But this year there won’t be any such community existing. There won’t be any fans that will rupture into Bhangra when there are four or six is hit. There won’t be any fans dressed in colorful attire and cheering their team vociferously. I will miss these communities of fans.
• No rituals: Last year IPL teams could not build any rituals for their fans. Some ceremonies which are seen as cool to be followed. Certain codes, if followed, will distinguish the fans of Royal Challengers from Punjab XI. Last year none of the teams could do this. This year, teams started to work on membership cards but nothing materialized. May be I have to wait for next years’ IPL to build some rituals for my Punjab XI team.
IPL you will be missed. Come back soon.

Links to this post

Building relationships...

Read an interesting post on Everyday Gyaan about their search of pup.

We spoke to quite a few 'breeders' (supposedly), who turned out to be nothing more than agents or 'fixers' in Mumbai. All they asked is, 'What breed? What color? Male or female?' Once we had answered their questions, they named their price (exorbitant), and told us that it would be on our doorstep the following day. Mail-order puppies, we were clear were not our cup of tea. We wanted a puppy the old-fashioned way - 'meet' the mother and take a look at the puppies and choose the one we liked.

The decided to buy from Kamal. Why? He ensures that he delivers great customer experience.

  • He wants to ensure customer satisfaction by asking his prospective customers to check the pups first and then make a decision.
  • He instills confidence in his customers by providing them correct and verifiable information.
  • He provides great customer service by sending pictures of their pub as delivery of pub is 8 days away.
Kamal knows that he is not in the business of selling pubs. He is in the business of building relationships.

Links to this post

My Tryst with Service - The Big Chill Cafe

This week I went to The Big Chill Cafe- a fine restaurant located on the high street of Kailash Market. Big Chill never takes prior reservations. Reason - large number of regular walk-in customers who over the period of time have become fans of Big Chill.

Place is vibrant with light brown colors on all walls and good music playing at just right volume. Throw in some old Hollywood movies poster everywhere including on the menu and everything is set for a great Saturday night.

Menu is elaborate with a brief description given with each dish. To order you have to just tell the serial number (kind of ID) of dish to steward and he/she will understand. Staff was friendly and they knew every detail of every dish mentioned in the menu.

Food took sometime to arrive but we were not in a hurry, as we were a group of friends happily chatting away to glory. But, as soon as the food arrived we forgot everything and were tempted to dig our teeth in the food. Food was great and everybody liked everything (well almost).

Pricing of Big Chill is on a higher side, as a meal for two costs around Rs 1000 - Rs 1200. A glimpse into our order

Lime Soda - Rs 70
Spicy Chicken Wings - Rs 250
Portugese Piri Piri Chicken - Rs 370
Four season Pizza - Rs 320
Apple Crumble - Rs 140
Awkward expressions after eating Apple Crumble Pie - Priceless

Big Chill is a great place to spend Saturday evening.

Links to this post

Real relationships are yet to be built...

But, as we all know, relationships are NOT a commodity. And never will be. I know a lot of people that would help me out if I begged them to and just a handful that would come to my rescue before I even opened my mouth. They are the ones that have got my back. It’s the STRENGTH of the relationships that I have, not the NUMBER.
This is true for loyalty programs in India. Most of the times CRM is content with number of customers enrolled in loyalty programs instead of the amount of business customers (number of visits, bill value etc) are doing with the organization.

Enrolling new members are like building an asset but CRM should try to maximize returns on this asset. To maximize this effort, a solid retention strategy is required. This can be achieved by:
  • Tracking amount of business customer is doing with the organization
  • Designing specific promotions based on customer's purchase history. Tesco never send same membership statement to three customers
  • Giving discounts on products and service that matters to customer
  • Remembering them on their birthdays and anniversary
  • Sending handwritten thank you note (once in a while will not hurt).
With the availability of technology this is not difficult, however customer needs to be at the center of whole CRM strategy. Is that difficult to do?


Links to this post

Choice of words...

AIG is under fire because it paid huge performance bonuses to their top employees. Martin Bishop has an intersting take on it.

From a marketing perspective, this is also a story about the power of names. What's sent everyone completely over the edge is that they think that AIG executives have been paid performance "bonuses" despite the economy-wrecking performance of the company. Whereas the reality is that these executives were given "retention contracts" to try and keep them working at the company through a time when it was likely that many of them would leave.
This is an important lesson in customer service as well. What do you say and how do you say can be a differentiator between excellent and poor customer service. Use words
  • full of enthusiasm
  • to show empathy
  • to show respect
Use words which we use for our guests. Right words will make your customers feel special.

Everybody wants to do business but few go an extra mile to treat customers as guest.

Be the one.


Links to this post

Customer Service Lessons from Cooking


Cooking is an art. I have read this lot of time. I have listened this lot of time. But now after cooking numerous different dishes, chef in me has realized that this indeed is more of art and less of science.

I use garlic and ginger in most of dishes as they are integral part of most North Indian dishes. But at the same time I experiment a lot of different masale to make my dishes more delicious. Sometime I succeed and sometime I don't.

The same is true with Customer service. We follow processes laid down by the company. But we can help customers by adding our own masale.
  • Acknowledge the customer with smile and eye contact
  • Do not guide him to product, escort him. Best would be fetch that product for him.
  • Try to answer customer queries to best of your ability
  • Add your signature. Always.

Links to this post

Get A Kick - Customer Service Quote

Links to this post

Nano is coming...

Nano, people's car and cheapest car in the world, is all set for its grand debut on Monday.

According to report in Mint

As Tata Motors Ltd readies for Monday’s launch of the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, the company’s employees and its distributors are busy tying the loose ends for a smooth roll-out.
Heading the effort is the chairman of the company, Ratan Tata, who drives a Nano whenever he’s at the company’s plant at Pune.
“By doing that, he is putting himself in the place of the buyers of the car, his reasoning being that when he drives it around, he is likely to identify trouble spots or glitches much before the car gets into the market...,” said a parts supplier for the Nano who claims to have heard this story from employees at the factory.


Yes, Mr Tata is driving Nano so that he can find technical problems, in case there are any, before it reaches to the consumers. It does not end there. Training is also imparted to dealers and sales staff.

Such proactive actions highlights that
  • Company knows its product well before its consumers get to try
  • Company can anticipates queries and concerns that customers can raise
  • Staff is better equiped to answer all customer queries
  • Staff can explain each and every detail to the customers
This is customer focus at its best. Nano has already garnered enough of limelight and now Mr Tata is going an extra mile to ensure that his people are all set deliver grand experience to all prospective customers of Nano.

Links to this post

My tryst with service - Village Cafe




This time my stop is at Village Cafe, opposite IIT in SDA Market.

This place is located in a basement and stairs which lead to main restaurant have dim light. There is smoke (non tobacco smoke) all around the cafe. We discovered the reason a little later- they have fruit flavoured hookahs, which appeared to be hot favorites. On entering the cafe it seems that you have entered in a different world.

Interiors of the cafe are done like an authentic village house. Walls are painted to give muddy look and are decorated with rural artifacts.

We asked for menu and waiter came instantly. Waiter did not greet or smile, he kept the menu on table and went away. We placed our order and kept on admiring the interiors. Since the cafe is located opposite IIT campus, a lot of youngsters were enjoying their weekend over there.

Order took sometime to come and it came in installments. Coffee came first, our sandwiches came little later. Coffee was not in the same league as of Barista or Cafe Coffee Day. Filling inside wrap was not hot. There is a Subway above Village Cafe and it seems owner of two properties is same as Subway ketchup and napkins are used in Village Cafe.

Although the cafe is situated near college but prices are not very pocket friendly.

Cafe Mocha - Rs 56
Chicken Lebanese Wrap - Rs 58
Lemon soda - Rs 58
Veg Salad - Rs 70
Subway condiments and napkins - Absolutely free

What was good
  • Interiors

What could have been better
  • Food
  • Friendly staff

Village cafe is way behind its other competitors like Cafe Coffee Day and Barista and it needs to do a lot of catching up.

Links to this post

Time is ripe

Marketers in US are trying to rise above recession by taking bold steps. Adage reports that Cessna want to get over the fear of recession by being bold.

"Timidity didn't get you this far. Why put it in your business plan now?" says Cessna in a type-filled ad that starts strong and then wimps out a bit at the end.

The ad ends: "One thing is certain: True visionaries will continue to fly. Because, in tempestuous times, leaders recognize it's not about ego. Or artifice. It's simply about availing yourself of the full range of tools to do your job." The tagline is simply "Rise."

This is time to rise. This is the time to make investments as your competitors are not investing. This is the time to be innovative in product designs, product launches and pricing strategies. This is the time to embrace customers like never before.

This is the time to act. Act fast.


Links to this post

On call when customer needed most...



Recently, I visited an exhibition pertaining to handicrafts. Footfalls were not very high in this exhibition and most of stalls hardly had customers. Zoobie stopped at a stall and showed some interests in products displayed in that stall. But it seems sales associate of the stall did not have time to attend customer and she was busy in chatting on phone (in above photo).

I observe this quite often that you visit a store and find employees busy taking some "very important" calls on their mobiles. Is something more important than customers? I doubt.

This clearly shows
  • employees and organization do not care for customers.
  • that organization is missing out important feedback as communication channel is not there.
  • that staff is not delivering desired experience displayed and advertised through other channels.

Organizations cannot blame recession for their bad performance in business. Careless attitude towards customers employees is equally hurting their business. In fact it is doing a damage which cannot be measured and cannot be rectified once economy starts booming again.

Links to this post

Customer Service Quote


"Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy ... your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products."

 Jack Welch

Links to this post

Chai pani and service

"All I could conclude is customer service is an exceptionally rare thing here. If one is lucky enough to find a society officer, bank official, electricity and water service provider, a telecom representative that helps them out without wanting palm greasing or giving hollow assurances, it’s your lucky day."
Well another story about our Sarkari and zero customer centric attitude.

Well I am not surprised to read this story. In fact this is something with which I grew up. Babus always ask money for chai pani and I have always wondered how much chai they drink!

Links to this post

Customer experience and sports fan clubs

Good customer experience helps retail stores, restaurants, service providers, web sites and places where customer interactions happen, in creating great customer connect. But can good customer experience help sports team in creating great customer connect. Yes.

Arizona Diamondbacks prove customer experience is equally important in sports.

They improved look and feel of the stadium so that customers can feel comfortable inside the stadium.

"Now when you walk in, you see the field, you smell the grass. You feel like you're in a ballpark," Garfinkel says. Even little things like placing the trash cans in inconspicuous areas and keeping the condiments table clean make a difference: "It makes the fan experience more visceral."
Colors of team shirt were changed so that there is better connect with fans.

There was no sentimentality in 2007 when they changed the uniform from coral, turquoise, and purple - colors unpopular with men - to the current black, tan, and Sedona red.
CEO Derrick Hall also ensures that he cultivate a strong fan club by targeting kids.

As focused as Hall is on keeping existing fans happy, he's even more obsessive about cultivating the next generation. If he's out to dinner and sees a youngster wearing a D-backs hat, he'll pick up the family's tab. He chums the under-18 fan base by giving away loads of free tickets to local schools.
Will our home grown IPL teams do something to cultivate fan club?





Links to this post

My tryst with service - Passion - my cup of tea


My second post in this series is about Passion - My Cup of Tea. Passion is a tea cafe and is located in Priya complex in Delhi. Priya complex is one of the busiest markets in the city and it houses the best of pubs, restaurants and brands.

Bright colors have been used for interiors of Passion and place was clean. Overall, Passion gives a feel of a youth hangout place.

It is a self service restaurant and I went to order. Order taker was mechanical in reciting his scripts. He took my order and told me that order will be served in five minutes. As I was patiently waiting for my order, I noticed that some of the furniture kept in cafe is giving away and crying for repair work.

Order presenter took my name after 5-7 minutes and I went to collect the order. Tea was good but Almond Honey cake, that I had ordered on Zoobie's suggestion, was better. I loved the combination of hot tea and honey. By the time I finished, my tummy as well as heart were overwhelmed.

A lot of Indians might not want to pay Rupees Fifty for a cup of tea as every nukkad serves good masala chai for 5 bucks. However, I enjoyed my evening snacks.

Cardmom Saffron Chai - Rs 55
Hazzlenut Frappe Tea - Rs 55
Almond Honey Cake - Rs 55
Spotting of lot of beautiful faces and hunks - Absolutely free

What was good

  • Food
  • Interiors

What could have been better
  • Furniture
  • Friendlier staff
As the saying goes "Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage.", tea lovers should visit this place for the sake of tea.

Links to this post

Clueless but volunteers


"The risk is the demand and the ability to engage the customer…"
Kishore Biyani

I met two volunteers of iamgurgaon few days back. They call themselves a movement which is an enabler of change. I asked for more information from the volunteers and they were clueless. Blank faces. Volunteers and clueless!!! They took couple of minutes to mumble few words but it is of no use to me.

People volunteer out of passion and/or intent to bring change. If passion or intent is missing than you are a spectator and not a participant. Be there for a reason and not be reasonable by being there. You are doing injustice to your organization and to your customers.

Engage your customer.


Links to this post

Committment+intent= memorable customer experience

I have been looking for a specific product in Spencer's Hyper, Gurgaon for last two-three weeks and was not able get it there. Every time I requested sales associate to get the product and he assured me that you will get it next time.

Today I went to Spencer's Hyper for my weekly shopping. Sales associate recognized me from a distance and came running to me with my product. I was impressed with his committment and intent to help customers. His timing and delivery of customer service gave me delightful and memorable customer experience.

I have always been fan (not a loyal customer but fan) of Spencer's Hyper and with today's incident this bond just got stronger.

Links to this post

Customer Service Quote#4


"That the powerful play of life goes on, and you may contribute a verse."
Walt Whitman

Play your part in making your organization little non-sarkari and more customer centric.

Links to this post

Brand conversations

Idea sandbox became a fan of L.L Bean. Social media played a role in that.

Idea Sandbox posted a blog entry on quality and value proposition of L.L.Beans on their blog.


"L.L.Bean has it right. They’re not offering unusual discounts, slashing prices, cutting quality or any non-sense."

Within ninety minutes from L.L. Bean PR posted a message on Twitter and thanked him for his feedback.

"I just received a note in my inbox from Twitter indicating that LLBeanPR is now following me. The comment below is on twitter."

L.L.Bean Rocks


L.L. Beans is
  • looking for feedback in social media
  • initiating and following conversations around their brand
  • building fan clubs
  • asking people/customers to participate in brand building
Kudos to L.L.Beans. I also became their fan.

Links to this post

Dirtiest hotels in India




Tripadvisor has published a list of dirty hotels in India. Centuar Hotel in Delhi takes the honor of dirtiest hotel.

One customer review says

"It was decayed to say the least. I slept in my clothes and did not open my bag in case something crawled into it during the night. Take spray and a weapon!"
Here goes another customer review

Breakfast in the end was topping the experience: the waiter was sleeping, the other waiter was not that fast to serve us in half an our some toast, but tea coffee (back but without taste) we received.

Power of online social media is increasing and it is helping customers making their decisions. You will love it or hate it but cannot ignore it.

Links to this post

Awry Interctions #2 - Subway asking customers to leave

Joe found above message written in Subway. It seems Subway is doing well in these times and can afford to lose few customers.

All organizations is trying to focus on customer retention and Subway is willing to let go them. They sure have guts!

Links to this post

My tryst with service - Rajender Da Dhaba

I have decided to review an eating place, a retail store, a website or any other place where customer interaction happens with brand or service. These reviews are based on my personal experiences.

First one in the series is Rajinder Xpress (Rajinder Da Dhaba in vicinity is their branch nly) in Safdarjund Enclave (New Delhi), where I went for a lunch on Sunday.


Outside of this restaurant is not clean and not at all inviting. As lot of my friends have appreciated its food, so I decided to go inside with Zoobie.

Inside eating place is clean and all but two tables were occupied. Couple of tables were occupied by foreigners also and it seemed they are regulars over there.

Waiter came quickly to attend us. He was friendly and helped us in choosing our dishes. One peculiar thing which I noticed that in their menu lot things a listed as pair. For e.g. if you will order papad, you will be served two and not one. Same is true for paneer roll. It is their comapny policy! If you have come in large group then this works well for you.

We ordered for paneer roll, romaali roti with dal tadka and dhaniya adraki paneer. Food came quickly and was tasty.

Food is reasonably priced. (All prices are in Rupees.)
  • Dal Tadka - 70
  • Paneer Adraki Dhania - 100
  • Paneer Tikka Roll - 85
  • Roomali Roti - 7
  • Loud conversations of staff amongst themselves - Absolutely free
What was good
  • Clean place (inside)
  • Good food
  • Value for money
  • Friendly staff

What could have been better
  • Clean surrondings
  • Waiters should more well versed in english as foreign customers were having difficulty in conversing

Links to this post

Recessionary marketing by JetBlue

Read a great story on JetBlue's commitment towards customer focus and customer service. JetBlue has decided to refund the tickets of people who have been laid off by their companies.

New York-based value airline JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announces The JetBlue Promise Program, boosting customers' confidence to book travel by honoring a full refund to anyone who experiences involuntary full-time job loss prior to their trip.

"JetBlue is committed to helping customers book stress-free travel plans, and based on their feedback we made adjustments to our refund policy to allow them to book with confidence," said Robin Hayes, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for JetBlue Airways. "This price promise allows them to book early and take advantage of our low fares without worrying they will lose their money if they need to cancel their trip due to job loss."

This is great recessionary marketing which will bring confidence in customers. Customers who will never forget this great gesture especially the one who will use this service.

They will be JetBlue's customers...for life.

Links to this post

Google baba sab janta hai!

Google baba sab janta hai (Google remeber everything)!

This is my favorite dialogue and also shows how much I trust Google searches. But I am sure, I am not the only one.

Lot of corporates use Google to check their prospective employees and customers are checking reviews of services and products offered by companies before making purchase.

Seth Godin has written a short post on how Google is can be used for personal branding.

Make sure you people speak positive things about your brand (personal and corporate) in social media because everyone is using this tool to know more about you.

Links to this post

Shopping in recessionary times

Businessweek has published an interview with Paco Underhill. He has some interesting observations on how consumers are spending their hard earned money in these recessionary times.

Consumers are spending sparingly.

Recently, Underhill and his trackers have seen some unusual behavior on the part of shoppers that illustrates how hard it has become to get them to buy.

But all is not lost. Consumers are spending more time in aisles and reading more about products. Best time to emphasize on the value that you are providing.

Now the average amount of time shoppers spend in the aisles is increasing, by around 20%, he estimates, as they read labels more carefully. That sounds like it might be a good thing for retailers.

Retailers will have to invest more on in-store marketing.

This gives stores an opportunity: If they can compellingly present information about merchandise—following Underhill's rules, of course—they might exert greater influence on consumers. "It's all about in-store marketing," he says. "It's making things occur to the shopper."

Some retailers like Whole Foods are already enticing customers with their novel ways of promoting merchandise.

We walk by a small sign stuck into a pile of Russian Banana fingerling potatoes that reads "How cute are these?" Underhill loves it. "These are more expensive than Idaho potatoes, so they're trying to find creative ways of getting you to trade up or try something new."

Then he notices a woman by the meat counter. "Sixty-one percent of the time she spends here is after she gives her order," he says. "While she's waiting, they want to give her...a lesson on what she might spend her money on next time." The subject of this particular lesson, written on a blackboard, is dry-aged beef. And scrawled on the display case glass: "NY Strip Steaks, $11.99 a pound." "Writing on the glass suggests it's new," Underhill says approvingly. "It might be there 24/7, but it looks like someone might have written it 10 minutes ago."

But Paco suggests that retailers will have to be careful while implementing new signs to boost their in-store marketing. Long signs are absolutely no-no as they fail to gain attention of shopper and thus whole purpose is of signs is defeated.

We move on to Williams-Sonoma, a retailer Underhill says "gives good store." We stop at a display of Peugeot pepper mills with a sign about grinding fresh pepper. The company says such signs are intended to educate shoppers. Underhill says they also help justify the prices. This sign is a bit long. Underhill figures it should be a 15-second read, which means about 30 words. This one has 100. "They could do a better job of matching the opportunity with the message," he says.

Follow above advices and you will deliver good customer experience which will keep you afloat.

Links to this post