Innovating the Customer Experience

Apple, Amazon, Starbucks and Target have become the gold standard for creating an exceptional customer experience.  These companies use positive customer experience to differentiate their respective brands and thus create fiercely loyal bases.  Every company would answer yes to the question, "Do you strive to create a positive customer experience?"  But how many can say they achieve this goal?  According to a recent article not that many in the United States.

The key to creating long lasting impact through positive customer experience comes from integrating this concept into the core culture of an organization.  A great example is Mark Cuban the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.  Cuban took over a losing organization and from the top down worked to create an enjoyable experience for the fans.  He would greet fans at the door, sit in the cheap seats, publish his email address on the scoreboard and personally answer every correspondence.  This type of culture permeates through organizations, helping them reach their aspirational goals.

The link also uncovers some other great case studies on the power of customer loyalty.

Innovating the Customer Experience

Who would throw a snowball at Santa Claus?

The fans of Philadelphia are the worst in the country, they hurled snowballs at Santa Claus!

In the new book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, brothers Chip and Dan Heath, define why some ideas stick and others don't. They say that for an idea to become "sticky", a term borrowed from Malcome Gladwell in the The Tipping Point, it must be presented as a Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional Story. The authors were able to identify some common threads of stories, events and myths that have stood the test of time. One urban legend that fits the bill is the famous Halloween story of people putting razor blades in apples. It was so widespread, I remember taking my candy to the hospital for an X-ray. Wonder if Hilary Clinton's Universal Health Care Plan will cover this? This legend became out of hand and in 1985 an ABC News poll showed that 60 percent of parents worried that their children might be victimized. The authors note, that same year researchers studied every reported Halloween incident since 1958 and found it to be a myth!

I would imagine that the Heath Brothers are not big Philadelphia Eagles fans because there is no more "sticky" story than the Eagles fans pelting Santa Claus with Snowballs. This story has been told and retold thousands of times and has portrayed the Philadelphia fans as the worst in the country. In a new book titled The Great Philadelphia Fan Book, co-authors Glen Macnow and Anthony L. Gargano set the record straight on what happened on that cold December day in 1968. The Eagles were in the midst of a horrendous season and the team owner Jerry Wolman was considered public enemy number one. The Eagles were finishing off a 2-12 season and residing firmly in last place in last place. Yet there were over 58,000 fans that showed up. The halftime show was supposed to be a Christmas pageant but due to bad weather team officals sent a 19-year-old fan wearing a bad Santa suit on the field with the introduction of "The Philadelphia Eagles wish you a Merry Christmas." Macnow, who recently tracked down 'Santa' said, "Santa had it coming for a different reason actually, Santa was a surrogate that day for Jerry Wolman and others. The poor kid just happened to be representing the frustrations." The 19-year-old 'Santa', Frank Olivo, says he has no hard feelings. "I'm a Philadelphia fan, I knew what was what. I thought it was funny,"

So were the actions of a few frustrated fans, on that fateful day, really that bad? Keep in mind, this happened 40 years ago and is still being talked about today! Even more astounding, this story is the main reason why Philadelphia fans are portrayed as being the worst in the country. Talk about "sticky!"

Made to Stick

I just finished a great new book, Made to Stick.  First of all is has one of the coolest covers you will ever see.  There has been a lot of recent talk of successful marketing tactics that extend reach to other senses such as taste and touch.  I was in the bookstore and just had to reach out and touch this book, it has a piece of duct tape on the front that looks and feels like the real deal.  With all that being said, the content is even better.  

I won't attempt a book review but one concept I have to discuss is called The Curse of Knowledge.  This is a concept that I have faced many times in my career.  The premise is simple, people get too close to a concept, product or idea often times feel the need to share every piece of information they have gathered.  This is quite obviously detrimental when selling almost any product or service.  You don't need all the background information on why something is great, just tell me why it is great.

There are many other great learnings in this excellent and well researched book.

http://www/madetostick.com/blog/

Personal Brand

What is your individual brand identity?  This is one of those things that everyone talks about but never finds the time to actually do.  I will be taking 45 minutes next week to make a powerpoint presentation on my individual brand.  Don't think I'll share it, it seems a bit weird to do that.

Good luck with your individual brand.

Your Brand

Great Marketing Blog

In searching for content for this blog, I've realized there is little to no quality information on the basics of marketing available on-line.

The last post from Jack Trout outlined the complexity many bring to the science of marketing. The purpose of this blog is to bring some of the old school fundamentals of marketing to the forefront. With that being said, there is some very innovative and new thinking about marketing as we know it today.

Bottom line, this is a great time to be in the field of marketing.

Check out this blog below. There are some great links to very interesting marketing theory, stratgies and tactics. This will certainly give a different perspective than our friend Jack Trout.

FutureLab

Marketing 101

Here is a great article from Jack Trout.  The simplicity of his insights are powerful.

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/06/15/trout-marketing-101-oped-cx_jt_0615trout.html

Fundamentals

John Wooden is one of the greatest coaches of all-time.  His record speaks for itself with 10 NCAA Basketball Championships in 12 years while the coach of UCLA.  However, Coach Wooden has solidified his legacy by sharing his principles in many books, interviews and essays.  The underlying message in all of Coach Wooden's teaching is a mastery or focus on the fundamentals.

  

This blog, Fundamental Marketing, is being created with this inspiration.  We will explore ways to improve our knowledge and hone our skills though understanding the fundamentals of marketing.

Additionally, this blog has been started with another purpose.  During this year and into next I will be co-authoring a book about football.  I will use this blog to document the marketing efforts for the book and also hopefully gather some advice along the way.

Please comment on your thoughts or post articles that can help with the stated objectives for this blog.