Sep 18th

Customer Service is New Marketing

by @nateriggs

IMG_0740Technology has made us all potential publishers and helps increase the speed at which we form new relationships.

Zappos has been a good example of a company who understands this idea.  Seth Godin wrote about Zappos’ customer service back in April.  I wrote my own thoughts about the acquisition of Zappos by Amazon in July.

Overall, Zappos’ value was largely determined by their leadership and the company’s efforts to deliver stellar customer service.  Time and time again, they exceeded the expectations of the people buying from them.  And word got around.

Customer Service is New Marketing
In our office building, the lunch line at The Belmont Deli (a.k.a Caroline’s) is usually wrapped outside the door and always a wonderful experience.  The owner, Caroline, totally gets customer service and human relationships.

The picture you see doesn’t do this post justice. I missed the lunch rush today, but the story is worth telling.  It’s that important.

From the hours of 11 a.m. to about 1 p.m., you’re sure to find a line of about 15-20 people eagerly awaiting a taste of Caroline’s famous Tomato Parmesan Creole Soup.  While she hustles around getting orders out, she calls each one of her customers by name and never misses a beat.

In fact, Caroline can somehow remember each person’s usual order, and even which company they work for.  She often plays connector and happily makes introductions between her customers while they wait in line.  Caroline takes time, no matter how busy she is, to smile at everyone who comes in the door.  All of this makes the experience of getting lunch from Caroline a pleasure.  And she stays busy. Very busy.

Here’s the catch.  She doesn’t use Facebook, or Twitter or LinkedIn to build her brand, and the Belmont Deli doesn’t even have a website.  She doesn’t have time to worry about that, nor the need to have it.  She’s busy running a small catering company and preparing really good food for hungry worker bees who love doing business with her.  They tell other people how much they love doing business with her and they keep coming back, over and over again.

Our office (The Belmont Building) sits right at the base of the Arena District in Columbus, among blocks of other places to eat.  Yet, every day, I see people from surrounding office buildings visiting Caroline for their daily fix of good food and friendliness.

Happy customers are good marketing channels, and both Zappos and Caroline are hitting the ball out of the park.

What are you doing to create a better experience for your customers?  Are your happy customers marketing your business for you?

by @nateriggs

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Comments (6)
  • http://www.agent-seo.com/ Jacob Stoops

    Ahhh…word of mouth. In this day and age with technology the way it is, this is very refreshing to hear. Wonder what people did before Facebook and Twitter? Must have been a terrible time to live :-)

  • http://www.agent-seo.com Jacob Stoops

    Ahhh…word of mouth. In this day and age with technology the way it is, this is very refreshing to hear. Wonder what people did before Facebook and Twitter? Must have been a terrible time to live :-)

  • http://toknowbetter.wordpress.com/ Kim Ratcliff

    Good story about great customer service. Cafe Brioso comes to mind in my work neighborhood.

    I believe it’s the job of marketers to spread the word about customer service. Sometimes the marketers are customers—like Caroline’s—who spread the word gratis. And sometimes we give them channels for spreading the word, like online customer reviews, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

    I think that the challenge for marketers is operating with integrity by following the rules of the social mediasphere (mutuality, authenticity, transparency) and using social media as a channel to spread the good word.

    So I guess I don’t think that customer service replaces marketing. Customer service always has and will be there—without it, combined with quality products, we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on when marketing. It’s just a matter of spreading the word about great customer service. The who and the how are what matter here.

  • http://toknowbetter.wordpress.com Kim Ratcliff

    Good story about great customer service. Cafe Brioso comes to mind in my work neighborhood.

    I believe it’s the job of marketers to spread the word about customer service. Sometimes the marketers are customers—like Caroline’s—who spread the word gratis. And sometimes we give them channels for spreading the word, like online customer reviews, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

    I think that the challenge for marketers is operating with integrity by following the rules of the social mediasphere (mutuality, authenticity, transparency) and using social media as a channel to spread the good word.

    So I guess I don’t think that customer service replaces marketing. Customer service always has and will be there—without it, combined with quality products, we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on when marketing. It’s just a matter of spreading the word about great customer service. The who and the how are what matter here.

  • http://www.sigmacreativeonline.com/ Christian Adams

    This brings me back to the fact that gatekeepers are gone, consumers have become CEOs, and that the phrase, “the customer is always right” has been transformed yet again. Obviously, the saying is more of a mindset than a reality, but as consumers with more options and businesses have more competition on the local, regional, national, and global level it is easy to for new entrants to go up against less agile conglomerates. Ultimately it benefits the consumers on many levels whether it is new brands or old brands losing market share and playing catch up. I will agree with Kim in that I don’t think customer service necessarily replaces marketing and PR, but it works hand in hand to solidify market share, awareness, and ultimately growth and sustainability.

  • http://www.sigmacreativeonline.com Christian Adams

    This brings me back to the fact that gatekeepers are gone, consumers have become CEOs, and that the phrase, “the customer is always right” has been transformed yet again. Obviously, the saying is more of a mindset than a reality, but as consumers with more options and businesses have more competition on the local, regional, national, and global level it is easy to for new entrants to go up against less agile conglomerates. Ultimately it benefits the consumers on many levels whether it is new brands or old brands losing market share and playing catch up. I will agree with Kim in that I don’t think customer service necessarily replaces marketing and PR, but it works hand in hand to solidify market share, awareness, and ultimately growth and sustainability.