A true story of engagement

It’s been a hell of a long time since my last post. There’s been a whole bunch of reasons why, but only one that’s actually interesting… and that’s my recent engagement to my girlfriend. Before you click away I promise I won’t bore you with tales of romance. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Believe it or not, I’ve found a way to relate the experience back to marketing (how romantic is that?!?!). Indeed, I found my own tale of engagement to have important lessons in customer engagement (pardon the pun). Stay with me… it’ll all make sense soon.

My own take on marketing theory is similar to the Seth Godin school of thinking – everyone who touches a customer/client is a marketer… even if they don’t know it. While is may sound strange to some, customer service staff are most definitely marketers. Real life experiences have one hell of an influence on a customer’s perception of a brand… moreso than any marketing message ever will. Indeed, this tale focuses on a couple of recent experiences that changed the way I perceive two businesses.

The shitty customer experience

I love curry. So much so that my fiance playfully refers to me as a curry muncher. So when I recently discovered a curry restaurant around the corner from my work I was delighted. However, that feeling was quickly tainted by my first customer experience…

‘What do you want!’ barked the snarky looking staff member who served me. I knew I wanted curry, but they had a lot of options. What they were lacking however were labels for each curry.

‘What’s that one?’ I asked pointing at one of the curries. She started serving it into the take away container immediately.

‘Hang on. What is it?’ I asked. ‘Butter chicken’ she snapped back. Fine… I like butter chicken. It’ll do. I pointed to another one. Same question. Once again she ignores me and begins serving. Sigh…

‘Excuse me… can you tell me what it is please?’.

‘Rogan Josh’ she snaps back. I guess that’ll be fine as well. She gives me the serving. Next problem. My meal is nine tenths rice and one tenth curry. This wasn’t cheap curry either (or should I say outrageously expensive rice).

‘Ummm… can I have some curry with my rice?’ I say somewhat tongue in cheek (but somewhat serious). Now she’s really annoyed. It seems I’ve insulted her work. She snatches the serving back and puts the teeniest little extra bit of curry on it. Urrgh… forget this. I concede defeat, take what I’m given and leave, never to return. Which is a shame because the curry was great. But my customer experience sucked so much that I’ll make a point never to buy from them again. I figure I probably would have eaten there twice a week. Over the course of a year that’s a fair amount of cash their friendly staff member just cost them. Let’s recap… this particularly sprightly staff member:

1. Spoke to me in a rude manner
2. Failed to answer my questions
3. Gave me a product I was unhappy with

No marketing message from that restaurant could ever change my perception of the place. My customer experience has forever tainted my perception of the restaurant. I guess it could have been worse though. At least I didn’t get served poo…

The incredible customer experience

My second tale is a much happier story. And as you may have guessed, it relates to my recent engagement. Which is just as well I suppose because nobody wants their engagement to be a shitty experience! I wanted to do something unique for the special occasion. I’d already booked a trip to Tasmania, an island an hour off the coast of my home town. Part of the reason I chose Tasmania is because of its amazing natural beauty and wilderness, something both my fiance & I appreciate. So a nature tour sounded like a perfect way to pop the question.

I tracked down a company called Inala who provide personalised nature tours. I called their office and spoke to Tonia, who I advised of my very special request. I told her of my wish to propose on a secluded beach. But of course, having never visited the island before I had no idea where to do it. I needed her local knowledge to choose the appropriate location. What’s more, I also needed her help to plan a covert operation in which Inala would set up the proposal site for me (complete with champagne and the proposal written in the sand). In her own words, it was ‘a mighty responsibility’… But it was a responsibility that the people at Inala handled unbelievably well.

Over the following days we liased regularly via email to concoct our cunning plan. Tonia was not only professional, but genuinely excited to be involved in the event. Within a few days we had a watertight plan. And plan worked to perfection. The location Tonia selected was unbelievably beautiful. I couldn’t have chosen a better one myself. And the covert operation to set up the scene of the proposal worked brilliantly. My unsuspecting fiance received the shock of her life. Then there were the little extra touches that Tonia and the Inala team threw in. A floral wreath made from local flora was settled next to the bottle of champagne. And Tonia ended the day by giving us a card of congratulations. It’s fair to say that Inala nature tours created an amazing experience we’ll never forget.

So what’s the point of these random stories?

The point is that marketing does not operate in a silo. Customers don’t judge a product based on its marketing message. Marketing may influence a customer’s purchase decision, but their perception of the brand is based on a whole range of factors including price, product quality, opinions of friends and of course customer service/support (amongst many other things). Bad customer experiences become bad marketing via word of mouth.

My local curry restaurant has a great product. But I won’t buy it, and I tell my friends not to go there either. Conversely, I have probably told almost a hundred people about my amazing experience with Inala. Some of them are going to Tasmania soon. I suspect they’ll give Tonia a call. And of course, with this blog that message will ultimately spread to thousands. There is a reason the Internet is called word of mouth on steroids…

Good marketers don’t just concentrate on creating outstanding marketing campaigns. They also create great brand perceptions by managing all elements of the customer experience. Anyone can make a sale with a crafty marketing message. Just ask any spammer. But not everyone can keep that customer coming back for more…

And for those who are interested, here’s a snap of the happy couple. Now do those look like the faces of satisfied customers or what…?

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