Sometimes all the intention in the world – still means that a customer does not have a good interaction. The question I pose is can we please all the people all the time? I was saddened by an email I received directly from a customer this week – accusing RedBalloon of not listening….. I reviewed all his correspondence, we had clearly acknowledged each of his concerns and offered suggestions, hence I could see that the RedBalloon team member had listened….
Tag Archives: Customer Excellence
Number 1 rule of Retailing = Entertainment
This week we have seen the demise of Fletcher Jones and the opening of Top Shop. My 15 year old daughter texted me, saying ‘I’m even more excited than when Zara opened – it is British and I love it – when can we go?” Many Australian retailers are left thinking “what happened – where did our customers go?”. We are in the peak of Christmas season and there is not one retailer in Australia who is not holding their…
Qantas Unions will determine this week
As I sit to write my regular ‘Coming up this week’ blog it is not as simple as looking in my calendar and preparing myself for what lies ahead. Last week was a complete whirlwind – three speaking engagements, two entrepreneurial workshops and one EY entrepreneur of the year judging… which were in addition to my usual meetings and appointments. I thrive on being this busy… however, I probably could not maintain last weeks frenetic speed for more than a…
A ‘luxury’ brand experience.
I am fascinated by how organizations personify the brand experience. It is often so hard to get it right. One thing is promised in advertising but the in store experience is completely different. Company owned stores, however should ‘in theory’ have a far better ability to ensure that the brand is executed consistently at every touch point. This week I was at the AICD course and one of the female participants said she was desperate to get a new handbag…
Coming up this week – 7 Feb 2011.
Verne Harnish raised an interesting question this week in his Insights Newsletter… the notion that there are no such people as ‘internal customers’. This week I had such a variety of customer conversations. I am very clear that our customers are those people who spend money with us…. However I also believe that the idea of customer extends to those people that allow you to be profitable – and to that end I include my experience suppliers in my ‘customer’…
Thank you
‘I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks’. William Shakespeare. As I just complete my tenth Christmas at RedBalloon – I experience a sense of overwhelming gratitude. I have been truly humbled to see how RedBalloon has captured the imagination of so very many people. In my wildest dreams ten years ago I never thought that we would make such a profound difference in all sorts of ways. I thank the businesses and organizations that believe in what…
Five points on Social Media iStrategy 2010
I spoke on a panel this week at the inaugural Australian iStrategy event. (there were about 400 in attendance) I’m very glad that I got input from Vashti who heads up our @redballoonteam effort because it is our marketing guru’s at RedBalloon who own the strategy. As we formulated our ideas of what I would share we quickly realized that there is only one word that means much at all – and that is authenticity. At the same time we…
Cut through
I’m a marketer and a ‘sucker’ for new things… but the shear volume of messages that I’m bombarded with each day overwhelms. It is very hard to be a remarkable ‘purple cow’ as Seth Godin implored – when everyone is claiming to be a ‘purple cow.’ Real cut through comes from the authentic experience someone has of a brand. At RedBalloon we just figure that rather than making ‘promises’ and ‘ trying to sell’ stuff – we will just let…
Corporate Customer Love
I recently read the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh – CEO of Zappos.com – He believes much of the success of his $1billion online retail business comes from it’s commitment to the culture of the business – which allows every person in the business to stay customer focussed. He talks about customer happiness with religious zeal. The culture of the business means that there is not a department accountable for customer care – the whole company is. Every employee…
The 10 point Customer Excellence Checklist
I’ve been reading the book ‘Delivering Happiness’ by Tony Hsieh CEO of Zappos.com. There are a significant number of similarities between RedBalloon and Zappos. As CEOs we both wanted to create a place where we too wanted to work. We both believe in experiences over stuff, we both believe that the key to success of business this century is transparency, vision, values and alignment. And we both believe the company’s culture and the company’s brand are really just two sides…
Imagine running a business based on fun - that's what I decided to try when I left a very serious corporate career in marketing to set up RedBalloon...
