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A week ago, I thought the post office should be more like The Gap .
I’ve changed my mind. They should be more like… The IRS?!
I was at a Gap store on Sunday and it was mobbed. There was a long line for the dressing room, and once you got in, the staff was completely overwhelmed. There were only two people trying to manage what seemed like thousands of t-shirts, jeans, and skirts. The clothes were overflowing shelves, piled on top of racks, and falling on the floor.
I found a top I wanted to buy, and headed for the cash register. Again, there was a long line, with only 2 cashiers (out of 6 registers). I took one look and left without the top. Sorry Gap, no sale. While I’m sure that $14 more or less won’t make a significant impact on their bottom line, those lost sales do add up. I wonder how many other people abandoned their purchases that day?
Oddly, I did find a startling example of good service two days later… at the IRS. I wanted to check on my refund. They’ve got a site that gives you the estimated mail/transfer date, based on when you filed. Or, you can type in your Social Security or Tax ID number and get personal information! Wow! I’m impressed. If you want to check on your own refund, the site is here.
Every year during football season, fans show up with their bare chests painted in the team colors. It may be cold, but they don’t care; they’re part of a tribe of fans and they want to share/show it.
Your company may not have a big stadium, or team colors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop your own fans.
1. Make connections, not commands. Help when your customers have a problem. If someone wants to be removed from your list remove them immediately (it’s also the law). Don’t tell them how to fill out the customer survey by pre-filling it with “highly satisfied” check marks. Ask for their opinions, and listen to the answers.
2. Act on the answers you get. Bodo’s survey (in yesterday’s post) worked because people love to share their opinions (that’s why customer reviews on Web sites are so powerful). It will also help you tailor your promotions, and your products to what your customers want. No sense increasing your production of lawn mowers if most of your customers are renters, not homeowners.
3. Invite participation. Hold contests for best slogan. Ask people to invent a new flavor (winner gets a case of it). Take pictures of customers using your product and post them on your site. Or, better yet, ask them to send their own photos.
4. Understand your customers’ needs (and show it). Solicit feedback and offer incentives that matter. Don’t reward your customers with 4 $30 gift cards that expire in 10 days. Instead, send a check, credit their accounts, or offer points towards buying something they do want.
5. If you’re entering a new market, research the local environment. Most people in the US have cars, but not in New York City, where only 25% of the population owns a car. So, companies doing business here need to adapt. Trader Joe’s grocery store offers delivery. So does Home Depot.
6. Show your personality/tell a story. Be the quirky grocery store with products that are expensive or hard-to-find elsewhere. Show your two bearded founders in your ads. Tell the story of how they got together and made ice cream history.
How are you building your own fan club? Share your stories in the comments.
Forget everything I’ve said about targeting. It is better to “spray and pray”, to make your list as big as possible, reach as many people as you can. Never mind whether they want or need your product. After they see your message 1,000 times they will want it!
Don’t clean your list. Bounces don’t matter. What’s important is that your list is as large as possible.
Never, ever target your audience. If you sell women’s shoes, put your ad everywhere: GQ, Esquire, New York magazine, Cat Fancy, Popular Mechanics. All eyeballs are good eyeballs.
April Fools
Photo adapted from: demi-brooke
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?”
When I turned on my TV the other day for my daily morning news fix, I got a cable company house channel (channel 1) instead. This puzzled me because I never watch that channel, so I knew I hadn’t left the TV tuned to it. Curious, I changed the channel, waited a few minutes, turned the TV off, then turned it back on again. Back to channel 1.
Then I realized what was going on. The cable company is locked in a death match with satellite companies and phone companies offering TV services. They’re trying to counter the competition by pushing channel 1.
They’re running lots of commercials touting the fact that they have the channel and nobody else does. So, they’ve now programmed the cable box to automatically default to channel 1 when the TV goes on.
Trouble is (at least for me), I never watch channel 1. I have no idea if others do, but the point is I want to watch what I want to watch, not what the cable company chooses for me. Yes, I can easily change the channel, but why should I have to?
Like the witch in the story, the cable company is focusing only on what it wants, rather than what its customers want. Are you selling what’s good for you? Or what’s good for your customers? Are you differentiating yourselves with something your customers find valuable, or something they think is worthless?
Photo: dbking