Fresh Ideas In Progress
Rewarding the customer with exceptional service
Since November of 2007 we’ve been writing about consumer experience on a Google blog Eric set up. Lyn does most of the posting, though there have been times I couldn’t resist adding my two cents.
What does a company such as ours have to do with customer service?
It’s the most important brand issue I can think of. Whatever you spend on marketing communications is worth practically nothing if you’re not delivering when you face your consumer. And increasingly it’s your website that’s face to face with her.
Shopping for a car? You’re likely doing research on the web. Same with clothes, homes, music, electronics and on and on. One of the things we’ve been doing lately is finding ways to bring the web itself to retail. There’s the web bar we recommended and installed in Dunes Properties’ Real Estate Studio in downtown Charleston. And for Stanley Furniture Company’s Young America retailers we encouraged an iMac on the floor programmed to show every product from the myHaven collection in any of up to 20 different finish colors.
I really believe this: the web has changed everything. How we shop, how we learn, how we stay in touch, how we keep up…. And the company’s or brand’s or product’s website is much more than a catalogue or ecommerce opportunity. Today it’s the face of the company, brand or product. More than an ad, maybe even more than the store.
We’re working hard to wrap our brains around the issues involved in the consumer experience, whether it’s obtaining feedback from guests at Pine Needles or building product information and installation videos for Stanley Furniture. We need to add an edge to our Consumer Experience blog - I know that. We need to be critical as well as demonstrative of best and worst practices.
It’s a work in progress, one we’re working on with virtually all of our current clients. We’ll keep you posted on our progress, our victories and defeats.