We all have a company or two that we can ’ t fathom life without . What are the few companies that if I told you , “ You can no longer do business with them , ever again ?” you would become extremely upset ? When I ask my audiences this question , the same brands always get mentioned : Apple , Starbucks , Nordstrom , and Amazon , along with numerous local mom-and-pop shops .
Now the important part is to think about what they have done and what they consistently do to make you so loyal , to make you feel that you cannot live without them . That is power . That is brand loyalty . The more people you can make feel like they cannot live without your brand , the closer you are to making price irrelevant .
The key deciding factors to being a business people cannot live without are : 1 ) great service / product ; 2 ) consistency ; 3 ) ease of doing business ; 4 ) employee evangelists ; 5 ) educate versus sell ; and 6 ) personalized experience . Let ’ s take them one at a time .
1 ) Great service / product . This is a given . It is the price of admission that your product or service better be damn good . However , this is typically not even listed in the top three reasons people love a brand . A company is in trouble if it is relying on its product or service to differentiate them in their market . Today every product or service is eventually commoditized .
2 ) Consistency . This is huge and cannot be overemphasized . More than anything else , customers want brands to be brilliant at the basics . Forget the bells and whistles ; just be consistent , reliable , accurate , and friendly in every interaction . Don ’ t make it dependent on which location or which employee your customer deals with .
CONSUMER MARKETING
Customer service
“ I Can ’ t Live Without It !”
Six things that make a brand indispensable BY JOHN DIJULIUS
3 ) Ease of doing business . See Amazon . See Zappos . See Nordstrom . See Uber . Amazon is the easiest and most convenient company for purchasing , from one-click to returns to customer support . Companies like Zappos and Nordstrom do not have return policies . Bring it back in a year ; you don ’ t need your receipt . Does your company have policies and rules to make your life more convenient ? How easy is it to speak to a human being ? How easy is it to find a phone number on your website ? Is the buying experience for your customers convenient for them , or for your company ?
4 ) Employee evangelist . Great brands have employee evangelists for two things : 1 ) what they do , and 2 ) the brand they do it for . Shop at Teavana ( owned by Starbucks ). Their employees love the product , love helping and discussing the benefits of different types of tea , and they love working for Teavana .
5 ) Educate versus sell . The best brands teach their employees to educate customers , as opposed to sell to them . I love technology . The moment something new is released , I have to have it ( worst thing a consumer can do ). One time , when Apple released a new iPad , I ran into the Apple store to upgrade . When the Apple employee asked me what I wanted , I said , “ I currently have the iPad , but I want the iPad 2 .” He could not have had an easier sale . However , he asked me what I used my iPad for . I said , “ For email , surfing the Internet , social media , and I read articles and books on it .” He said , “ Do you play games or watch movies ?” I replied , “ No , never .” He said , “ Don ’ t get it . It won ’ t be worth it . The big difference between the iPad and iPad 2 is the resolution that you would appreciate only if you played games or watched movies .” I couldn ’ t believe he talked me out of spending $ 500 . I was actually bummed ! I said , “ Well , maybe I will start playing games .” Seriously , I would have bought anything in the store from this employee after that . He wasn ’ t about selling me ; he was about educating me and making sure I spent my money wisely .
6 ) Personalized experiences . Every regular customer at Starbucks has “ their order .” It is unique , different from anyone else ’ s . It usually is something long and complicated like a “ grande single shot 4 pumps sugar free peppermint nonfat extra hot no foam light whip stirred white mocha .” Did you know there are more than 80,000 ways you can order your Starbucks drink ? What is easier , and more personalized , than that ?
Conclusion How can you be the company your customers cannot live without ? Review the six things that make a company a brand that customers cannot live without . Do an audit of how your company fares in each of the six categories and see where you can improve , so you can become the brand your customers can ’ t live without . ■
John R . DiJulius III is the author of The Customer Service Revolution and president of The DiJulius Group , a customer service consulting firm whose clients include Starbucks , Chick-fil-A , The Ritz-Carlton , Nestle , PwC , Lexus , and many more . Email him at john @ thedijuliusgroup . com .
62 Franchiseupdate ISSUE III , 2016