Astonish Your Customer(s)

Battlin' the big boys

Diapers.com became an overnight success in 5 years. In 2008 it did $90MM in revenue despite having started their business long after Amazon, Drugstore.com, CVS.com, Walgreens.com, BabyCenter.com (owned by J&J) and others had already reached scale in the category Diapers.com chose to found their business on.

Who would do that with a line of products that every retailers carries, usually as a loss leader and how would you do that?

1. Fast and FREE shipping  

2. Low, low prices 

3. Low, low costs (to allow for low, low prices)

4. 24/7 bend-over backwards customer service. Reps have no scripts and are totally empowered to serve and reward customers, especially the frequent shoppers and those that refer the service. In fact, they now spend $1MM annually on awards to customers bestowed by the reps. 

5. Stay in-stock 

6. No waste in the packaging of shipments (don't ship air)

7. Marketing dollars devoted to over the top customer service and free shipping which generates word of mouth

8. Measure, analyze, adjust (sell smart, cut costs, keep customer ecstatic)    

Not rocket science, just a clear vision and animalistic execution accompanied by analytics followed by action that helped them get smarter and better every day.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

(TY: INC 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies) 

What does it take

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you wn." Gandhi

"... Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Calvin Coolidge

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

How to offer help

Maybe you have faced a siuation where you knew someone needed help and you were willing to help them but you had anxiety as to the best way to broach the offer.  

Here's a bit of advice that I received: "Do you want me to help and, if so, is this the time?" 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

Go beyond (bed & bath)

Bed, Bath and BEYOND provides a remarkable back to school service for college kids. Visit a store close to home and scan the items you want to buy and pay. The local store sends the order to a BB&B store near school and that store boxes up the order for pick up when you arrive at school. 

I always thought the Beyond stood for the myriad items carried, beyond the mere essentials. Looks like the company took their name seriously and redefined the definition of what Beyond means. My neighbor already told me the story and now I'm telling you - all in the space of about 2 hours. People talk about products that deserve to be talked about - those that are both relevant and remarkable. 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

Simplicity sells (always)

Every big idea that works is marked by simplicity, by clarity. Your can immediately understand it when you hear and see it, and you can explain it to people.

Social Security: Retired people get a public pension to help them through old age. Medicare: People over 65 can receive taxpayer funded health care. Welfare: if you have no money and cannot support yourself, taxpayers will help you get back on your feet.

These things are clear. I can understand them. You understand them. President Obama's heath care plan is not clear, and I mean that not only in the sense of "he hasn't told us his plan". I mean in terms of the voodoo phrases, this gobbledygook, this secret language of government that no one understands - "single payer", "public option", "insurance marketplace exchange". No one understands what this stuff means, nobody normal. 

And when normal people don't know what the words mean, they don't say to themselves, "I may not understand, but my trusty government surely does, and will treat me and mine with respect". They think, "I can't understand what these people are talking about. They must be trying to get one past me. So I'll vote no." From Peggy Noonan, WSJ 8/22/09

O.D.O.o.O.D.B. 

What's the wienie?

What's a "wienie"? The finishing touch, the delightful magnetic bonus.

The wienie was popularized and practiced by Walt Disney. Wienies are what Walt gave his audience after they thought they were already satisfied. 

Examples: The seamless way the glass fits into the metal on the iPod; the "I'm Feeling Lucky" option on Google; the backseat seat-warmers (even though the driver never rides in the back of the car); the glow of the logo on the lid of a Mac; the atmospheric music heard when you enter EPCOT; the maitre de who remembers your name upon your next visit; Jiffy Lube vacuuming your car; a cool shopping bag from a retailer; the lime in Corona Beer; Terra Cycles reused packaging; your picture on Jones Soda package; being served Stella Artois beer in a stylized and branded glass; the sour ball at the bottom of an ice cream cone.

Does your product have a wienie? If not, why not?  

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

(TY: Walt Disney, Seth Godin)

                                   

Everybody wants the same thing

Everybody wants More (of something).

So, the next time you speak with your customers, ask them what they want more of.

Not, what more do they want from an analgesic or vegetables or dessert or snacking or the shaving experience. In their life, what do they want more of? 

It is likely that the more item will be connected to something that has a deep emotional underpinning - and, doesn't every marketer want to create a product that the customer will be emotionally connected to? 

Example: When I was marketing Coppertone, Moms often talked about the insanity of going to the beach with their kids (get dressed, load the car, drive there, haul the stuff, walk over burning sand, put on sunscreen, watch the kids in the water). They wanted more sanity in their beach experience. The Coppertone brand could not solve all those issues but we did create the first aerosol sunscreen and took away one major hassle for Moms (sunscreen application), which gave Mom more sanity in her day. Coppertone gave Mom more of exactly want she wanted - sanity, not sunscreen. 

By the way, the product proved to be the biggest and most successful launch in the history of the sunscreen category.     

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.

(TY: Seth Godin)

Rational vs. Subjective

I have four children, aged 14 to 6. They love eggs, especially fried over-easy and hard boiled.

Get this. They only eat the yoke of the over-easy and only the white of the hard boiled. Our dog is the grateful beneficiary of this waste, but I digress. However, they will eat the yoke and white of an over-easy provided the egg is included in a bacon and egg sandwich. With me so far?

I can't tell you how many times I have given a live dissertation as to the contradiction in their behavior. I explain that if they like the contents in one form they are going to like it in the other. It's not a complex issue and I explain it live and in person, time and again.   

Not a dent.They won't even entertain a free-trial to see if my hypothesis is right. They have become deaf and blind to this topic.

When the product is broken - in the customers mind - you can either spend money and time explaining, rationalizing & adding proof points; talk to people that are willing to listen; or change the product.

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.  

In one word

Suppose you took your Flip Video into a store or onto the street, like these Google guys did (here), and ask people to describe your brand in one word.

Would they convey why your product is the absolute best in its market?

Would their word match your brand position or brand essence? 

What is the difference between people that just bought your product and someone that only buys it sometimes? 

How about if you did the same exercise to people that just bought your main competitor? What one word would they use to describe that brand? 

The sidewalk is free and so is asking people questions. If a Google genius can use this simple method to learn and make a compelling case to his team and management, you can too. 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.  

(TY: Rick Reilly, Seth Godin)

How many customers to be a success

I suggest that you read this incredibly interesting take on the matter by the very plain speaking, yet incredibly insightful, Kevin Kelly. 

The synopsis: A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author (or product manager) - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living. 

O.D.O.o.O.D.B.