Exceeding Expectations

Recently, I was thumbing through Bark Magazine because I am the ultimate consumer when it comes to products for our dogs - Puck and Miguel. About midway, I came across an ad for for Windsor Vineyards offering custom labels personalized with our dogs' photo. “Hmm, that would be a cool gift.” And as an added benefit, 5% of the order was being donated to the ASPCA. I was able to scratch my inner creative director, support a worthy cause and get wine – all at the same time. “Not bad, eh?”

So with credit card in hand, I dialed the 1-800 number. I was greeted immediately by a live person - always a plus in my book! Kellie took my order, verified the shipping information and instructed me to submit an email to her with a favorite picture of the dogs. A few hours later, I received a mock up of the label to proof. It looked great, I approved the label via email and Kellie acknowledged and processed my order. 4 days later, I had a case of wine customized with personalized labels. Cool!

From start to finish this was a great customer experience – a helpful, live voice answering the phone, a simple (email) follow up process and timely delivery. I have since referred three friends to the Company and am looking for an excuse to place my next order. Windsor truly exceeded my expectations. What did they do right?

1. They allowed me to create a personalized product via email. No uploading, passwords or other hoops to jump through.
2. There was a live, friendly person on the other end of the phone.
3. They connected to a cause near and dear to any dog owner’s heart – the ASPCA.
4. They were timely in their deliverables.

If your customers were writing this blog, what would they say about their experience with your company?

Write a letter

We spend a concerted amount of time trying to scheme how to reach our customers. We are emailing, blogging, podcasting, searching for the next SEO trick and so forth. And while these are great avenues for communication – they seem to be lacking. They are missing the personal touch. Have we forgotten the basics?

These days, 95% of my correspondence is email based. The daily ritual is to peruse emails over the first cup of coffee, sorting out legitimate messages from those that promise me “more male power.” When I go to the "real" mail box – typically I receive bills, an occasional check (oh, we like those!) and some form of mass produced solicitation. Doesn't anybody love me?

Remember when you were a kid and you received a letter a distant relative or a pen pal (ah, pen pals – have they gone the way of the instant gratification chat rooms?). When I was in high school (back in the Stone Age), I corresponded with a friend who had moved to Florida. It may have only lasted six months, but I anxiously awaited these missives from my friend, read and reread their contents, and longed for the next installment in our on going correspondence.

I used to shop at Nordstrom’s. Early in my buying days, a savvy salesperson was kind enough to send me a thank you note (handwritten, no less!!) for my purchase. A few weeks later, I received a note from the same person noting the shirts that I liked were on sale. This went on for several months. 8 out of 10 times, I would end up making a purchase. Ultimately, the correspondence stopped. Most likely, the sales person moved on. And while I still occasionally shop Nordstrom’s - the relationship is gone - as is any urgency.

Ok, so I don’t expect your customers to be fawning over their mail boxes anxiously waiting to hear from you, but . . . When is the last time you sat down and wrote a thank you note to a customer? Acknowledged a vendor who went out of their way to assist you? It could be that extra something that puts you top on mind the next time they are in the market for your services.

"If you want to know your true opinion of someone, watch the effect produced in you by the first sight of a letter from him." Arthur Schopenhauer