A Case for Delighting High Value Customers
Kathy Alexander
Innately curious about how things work | Dedicated to finding answers
My household is the picture-perfect definition of a high-value Xfinity Home. We have video, internet, phone (yes, a home phone) and home security with a $300+ per month bill. Some might call us crazy and many friends have tried to show us how we can save money by cutting the cord, but the truth is we like Xfinity. Even my 13-year old daughter has strong opinions on why cutting the cord would not actually save us money. And...you can't beat the voice-activated remote control and direct access to Netflix through the Xfinity guide.
Do I love Xfinity? On a typical day, I am probably an "8" on a 10-point scale. This may drop to a "7" if it's one of those days where we have to reset the modem or the set top box. So while I am not looking to drop my service, I am by no means giving them a perfect score on a regular basis. So the arrival of an email announcing that they are upping my internet speed at no additional charge is very welcome. It reaffirms my commitment as a customer and clearly gives me ammunition to hold back my cord-cutting neighbors.
The Xfinity announcement was clear, simple and completely on-target for my household - all elements of a successful effort to delight high-value customers. If you want customers to speak positively about your brand, you need to write the storyline for them while providing a proper incentive. In this case, a boost in speed is just what my household needs to feel appreciated...although I can't wait for 1 Gig to arrive!
Of course, this is just one example. Anyone else willing to share an example or two? Please post them below. Thanks!
Aspiring lunch eater with a penchant for jaywalking. | Find my new book on Amazon - Collaboration is the New Competition
6 年Another interesting conversation is that we bought a new couch online at All Modern. They use a third party to deliver oversized objects. The four hour window came and went. No phone call. At end of day I called and they said they didn't know and would get back to me in an hour. Long weekend. No call Tuesday, I called Wednesday - no idea, would call me back. I called this morning to hear, "Oh, we were just talking about you Mrs. McKinney..." So? No one cares about my problem, but I think it is an add0-on voice of caution that when businesses use 3rd parties for fulfillment how do they delight customers or have any sense where the relationship is going?? P.S. I hope I get my couch tomorrow!
Designer of Time ?, Gamer Mom ??, Speaker, Researcher // Increasing engagement by improving experiences
6 年We shifted our grocery spend nearly 100% to online ordering about 2 years ago. We use Kroger?Click-List and despite the short comings of ANY online grocery ordering service, they never fail to "make it right." You have to learn to use the system to your advantage for online orders - allowing and selecting substitutions strategically to ensure you have what you need for lunches that week or a specific recipe but still get a brand / product you are comfortable with. Kroger gets that and in times when they are out of stock of what we want they comp a like item, wave our order fee, or add in an extra coupon. When the person is reading off our order summary at the car, there's rarely a problem they tell us about without offering a solution or discount. They've won my loyalty (and saved me hours of shopping)!
Serial entrepreneur with multiple PE backed exits. Board Director and investment banker in the data, insights, and analytics sector. ESOMAR President 2021-2023.
6 年Priscilla McKinney?I think this relates back to what we discussed last week...coming from a place of HELPING vs selling. My best brand experiences have come from moments of what I can only describe as brand empathy...where I feel like someone truly understands what I need and gives it to me. Case in point, T Mobile coming to my rescue when I was on a 45 day international trip and I smashed my phone on day 1....and a service guy (who spoke no Greek) called literally all over Athens, Greece trying to find me a replacement phone. And when he couldn't find one, he comp'd me the entire 800 Euro purchase price. Now THAT is how you create brand affinity.?
Aspiring lunch eater with a penchant for jaywalking. | Find my new book on Amazon - Collaboration is the New Competition
6 年I have built an entire business around your line, "If you want customers to speak positively about your brand, you need to write the storyline for them while providing a proper incentive." When people don't want to spend money on marketing they typically say something about how "word of mouth" is the best form of advertising. What they fail to consider is what you pointed out here that companies must "load their lips" and give them the story to share that is proactive and relevant. THAT is the best form of advertising.? As far as sharing some examples, my best example is that I have NONE to share. Seriously, I have sat quietly for three minutes after reading this article and have yet to come up with an example. As the power of AI increases I do hope brands will use it to identify nuances in customer behavior and provide us with relevant offerings and more. This personalization of the experience is not only possible, but eventually will be expected.? Kristin Luck?do you have any examples of this to deepen this conversation??