WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A COMPETITOR?
The Zappos Family of Companies does. In Purple Goldfish 2.0, we share an example of this from Joe Gascoigne. In his words:
“As for an example, one that springs to mind is that if you try to order shoes from Zappos and they do not have the shoes you want in stock, they will actually recommend a nearby store that does. It seems counter-intuitive, but I think it really builds trust and it obviously works well for them.”
According to an interview with the late Tony Hsieh in Chief Marketer, he refused to see customer service as an expense. Rather, it’s an investment:
“Our business is based on repeat customers and word of mouth. There’s a lot of value in building up our brand name and what it stands for. We view the money that we spend on customer service as marketing money that improves our brand.”
Here is another great example from an article in Footwear News: According to Jerry Tidmore, who manages Zappos’ help-desk concierge service:
“One of the craziest stories was that of a customer who checked in to the Mandalay Bay hotel and forgot her shoes.” According to Tidmore, the guest called Zappos, where she had originally purchased the style, looking for a replacement, but they didn’t have any in stock. So, the company found a pair in the right size at the mall, bought them and delivered them to the hotel—all for free.”
When was the last time you obliterated a customer or client’s expectations?
How can you “Zappos” someone’s expectations the next time you deal with them?
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Stan Phelps walks the walk. He stands out in the sea of sameness by modeling his own Differentiated Experience (DX) message: Differentiation isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you do and, more importantly, how and why you do it. Stan leverages his unique collection of 5,000+ case studies on customer, employee, and brand experience to engage audiences with informative learning-based experiences. He believes purposeful DX wins the hearts of employees and customers, and differentiation ultimately boosts loyalty, retention, referrals, and results.
Find Stan’s in-person and virtual keynotes, workshops, and Goldfish tank programs at StanPhelps.com.