What makes a Brand successful? Product that customers want at a price customers are willing to pay is price of admission. But how can you stand out above the crowd and show customers that you value their patronage in a way that makes them want to buy even more from you. At Marketsmith, we say the difference between good and great comes from understanding and respecting your customers. You show that understanding and respect through:
- Communicating with customers through their preferred methods (if they want only one email a month or one catalog a season, not four, then send one; if they want mobile notification of specials then be sure to give them that opportunity).
- Providing top level customer service. Make sure you customer service reps (on the phone, in the store, on online chat) are knowledgeable and trained to be helpful. Evaluate and compare your service levels using programs such as Marketsmith’s Shoppersmith to identify ways to improve performance in this arena.
- Making opt out easy for customers to stop receiving communications they do not want, in any medium. Ask customers through surveys, such as Marketsmith manages, to find out what touchpoints resonate in order to minimize opting out. Respect customers’ choices to create the most effective contact strategies.
- Having enough confidence in your Brand to be straightforward and honest with your customers. Honesty lets your customers and prospects know that you value their time and attention as well as their business.
Zappos is known for its huge product selection, superior customer service, and free shipping. All of those elements comprise its marketing strategy, which has been successful. However, we think that Zappos has taken customer service and respect to a new level. After a recent visit to the Zappos website, a prospect went to an informational website and up popped an ad for Zappos. Retargeting is not an unusual marketing practice. But, what was unusual about this ad was at the bottom, it said if the prospect wanted to know why he was seeing the ad, he should click. And then this message came up:
At Zappos.com, we know different people like different things, so we want our ads to reflect that. That’s why we love these ads! They display products that are relevant to you versus a typical ad that showcases a limited product offering.
Here’s how it works:
These are the last products that you viewed on Zappos’s website:
People who looked at these products often ended up choosing the following products:
Knowing this, we’re able to create personalized ads for you. These ads feature some of the products you looked at on Zappos.com as well as some related products.
Importantly, no personal information of any kind was shared with any of the sites we advertise on. Everything is anonymous.
Now that you know more about how it works, if you still prefer not to see any personalized ads from Zappos, just click here.
It is worth noting that the prospect did not opt out of receiving retargeted ads. He really appreciated the information on what happened. And while he did not buy anything from Zappos that day, he will definitely go back to the site another time when he is ready to buy.
Marketsmith applauds Zappos on its self confidence and transparency.
Tags: advertising, customer experience, customer profiling, Customer Relationship Management, customer respect, customer service, Internet customer service, Marketsmith, online advertising, retargeting, target marketing, Zappos Category: Newsletter Articles. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.