Aug
20
Why customer service influences your brand
Your brand and reputation fall apart when your customer service falls apart.
Recently we stayed at the Shade Hotel, a hip new luxury boutique hotel in Manhattan Beach. The room was to die for: chromatherapy lighting, a jacuzzi tub, a Tempurpedic bed and pillows, a high-end expresso machine. Shade sells itself on giving its guests an experience of balance, harmony and well-being and “unparalleled personal service.” Unfortunately, their service falls flat.
Shade’s crowded lobby spills into the busy bar area, leaving hotel guests who check in or out feel cramped and awkward. We were asked several times, as workers added new seating around us, if we would were waiting for a cab. It was clear we were in the way. The cab that was called for us—a van to LAX to hold all our luggage that took 30 minutes to arrive—was stolen by a drunk bar guest. The front desk person seemed unconcerned that the cab designated for us had not been secured by the valet and that we’d have to wait another half hour for a new cab. I wasn’t reassured that the new cab would be held specifically for us. Both the front desk service and valet service failed in their jobs, and several other employees made it clear that we were in the way of them expanding the bar even further into the lobby.
We would have stayed at Shade again. We loved the room and the “experience"—all up until the last 30 minutes. Shade’s bad customer service at the “end game” of our experience negated all the goodwill we felt up until that point.
what your customers will remember
Good customer service is critical to any business, but when you sell a high-end product or service, it needs to be even better. Shade hasn’t replied to the customer service survey I sent in that detailed all of this. After dropping nearly $400 at their hotel, we’re left feeling like chopped liver and that the Shade Hotel did not live up to the promise its brand made. The chocolate on our pillows at night, the high-end products in the bathroom and the free shot of espresso don’t make up for the final 30 minutes, when we were unappreciated and ignored.
Two times can critically make or break your business: the beginning, when a customer first sees the “face” of your company, and the end, when your customer leaves your services or product behind. Your end game is what customers will remember; do you create an endgame that establishes further goodwill, or do you leave a sour taste in your customer’s mouths?
Your brand can promise the world, but if your service doesn’t live up to the promise your brand makes, you weaken the reputation of your business and strength of your brand.
August 20, 2007 - 7:25pm
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Jun
14
Brand Cosmetic Surgery: Is it time to change your branding?
Makeover shows are popular on television these days, from redesigning rooms to improving one’s personal style to busting restaurants out of the cookie-cutter mold. Indeed, an episode of Restaurant Makeover a couple weeks ago featured a “makeover chef” who revamped a restaurant’s entire menu - because all that restaurant did was offer the same types of food as everyone else on the block. There was nothing to set that restaurant apart, catch the customer’s eye, or make a customer come back again and again.
When you look at your brand and the brands of your competitors, what do you see? Are they all alike? Is there nothing distinguishing or eye-catching about your brand? Have you had the same one for over twenty years, while your niche has changed?
There are both pitfalls and profits in changing your brand. For example, it can be mistake to radically change your brand, as some companies do once they’ve been bought out or merged with other companies. Identity is lost. However, as the above article notes, “small is good,” and “medium is sometimes necessary.” But what about huge changes? Sometimes, even major brand changes are justified.
It all depends on how much name recognition your brand has. Don’t change it without consulting with your customers, and potential customers, about why they come to you based on your brand. If your customers are steadily dwindling away to your competitors, changes are probably necessary. But changing for the sake of change, especially repeatedly, can create a disconnect and confusion with your customers.
If you’ve already got a great story and booming business, keep at it and make incremental changes along the way to ensure your business’ story remains one worth telling. But if you’re like the bar in restaurant makeover that offers the same quesadillas that everyone else serves, now’s a good time to consider a switch to Roti Canai.
June 14, 2007 - 9:42pm
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Jun
06
A logo is not your brand
Seth Godin talks today about logos. The most important line in his article?
“...find an abstract image that is clean and simple and carries very little meaning--until your brand adds that meaning. It’s not a popularity contest. Or a job for a committee. It’s not something where you should run it by a focus group. It’s just a placeholder, a label waiting to earn some meaning.”
Too many designers and marketing folks are using the word “brand” to describe a company’s logo, stationery or business cards. Your brand isn’t your choice of the color purple, or the cutesy illustration you use on your site (unless, of course, you become known for the cutesty illustrations on all your work, and that essentially becomes your brand) or the typography you choose.
Your brand is a combination between the meaning you create about your company, product or service, and the meaning others put on it over time. If an agency or designer tells you they can assist you with branding, casually ask, “Oh, you mean my logo and business cards?” If the answer is yes, without any other detailed information about how a brand is built over time, consider finding yourself a simple logo designer, and find a brand expert or do the branding yourself. Sound like a scary proposition? Read any of Seth Godin’s many books, or The Brand Gap, and you’re halfway there.
June 6, 2007 - 7:19pm
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Change the World on December 16
Tired of the United State’s foreign policy, unconstitutional IRS personal income tax, money pumped into the Iraq war with no end in sight, and our personal liberties eroded slowly day by day? Then join in the largest political fundraising in history: Tea Party 2007: A Fundraiser for Ron Paul. Be a part of a movement that leaves the media gasping, other political candidates bumbling, and our government scared of what will happen if Ron Paul is elected. Be a part of a momental change in the United States that says “enough is enough. No more lies, no more spin and double speak, no more loss of liberty.”
12/1/07 | Permalink
Politics and SEO
Rand asks "What if Ron Paul supporters became SEO Savvy?" It inspires me to go on an SEO crusade for Ron Paul, starting now. Did you know Ron Paul opposes the Iraq War?
10/12/07 | Permalink
Google Introduces Advanced Date Filtering
Want to restrict your google searches by date, even search for links that are less than 24 hours old? Matt Cutts has the low down on google's new advanced date filtering feature. Use it not only for searching, but to check out what new URLs Google has found on your site recently.
9/14/07 | Permalink
Facebook Application Privacy Concerns
Rae tells us why the compare people application on Facebook is a major privacy concern. If you use Facebook, you need to read about privacy issues with the Compare People application and delete it accordingly if you don't want your information used and shared with other people.
9/12/07 | Permalink
The Internet Loves Ron Paul, and So Should You
Here are 7 reasons why the internet loves Ron Paul. Ron's gaining a great deal of interest and support because above all else, Ron stands for liberty and shrinking the federal government.
9/7/07 | Permalink
Should you write for Digg?
Muhammad Saleem, guest blogger over at Copyblogger asks Is it Ok to write for Digg? I agree with his assessment of "(By) pandering to Digg...you risk alienating your core readership for a chance at a big traffic rush that might not convert to regular readership." Audience first.
5/23/07 | Permalink
Emigre Font Foundry New Release
Emigre releases "Malaga" a serif font offered in four weights, designed by Xavier Dupre. I like the quirks and personality of the all-caps version.
5/15/07 | Permalink
Discover the wonder of Malaysian food
Anne points us to the sumptuious recipe site, Rasa Malaysia, which is chock full of authentic Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese and Thai food recipes. Combined with photographic eye candy, Rasa Malaysia is both mouth watering and easy on the eyes.
5/7/07 | Permalink
Transferring Your Domain from GoDaddy to Another Registrar
Stuck on on the "transformation code required" part of getting your domain transferred from GoDaddy to another registrar? Check out this great step-by-step article from wandering.net on domain transfers from GoDaddy and how to find that elusive "EPP Transfer Code."
5/7/07 | Permalink
Take the ALA Web Design Survey 2007
4/24/07 | Permalink
Thumbs Up for Freelance Switch
Do you freelance or work out of your home? Check out Freelance Switch for a bevy of advice, columns, helpful hints and tricks and information from seasoned veterans on topics ranging from client management to billing to work/life balance.
4/17/07 | Permalink
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
If you read just one fiction book this year, may it be The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Quite possibly one of the most powerful and important novels written in decades, The Road has clung to my memories and will not let go.
4/15/07 | Permalink
Google Earth Maps Out Darfur Geneocides
It''s daunting to read the figure "200,000+ dead" but it's even more harrowing to see a visual representation of the deaths and displacement in the Darfur region of Sudan. Google Earth reveals a map of the destruction of Darfur. Moved enough to want to help? Check out Save Darfur.
4/10/07 | Permalink
IBM Uses Second Life
Short piece from Fast Company on how IBM uses Second Life as a training and mentoring tool. I have a feeling we're seeing just the beginning of the role of virtual worlds in business.
4/7/07 | Permalink
Free preview clips of all 23 songs from the upcoming Tori Amos “American Doll Posse” album
Prepare yourself for the electric guitar. 30-second clips from the upcoming Tori Amos American Doll Posse release (set for release in the states May 1) are available on this German site (click on the small "speaker" icon next to each song to listen). "Secret Spell" perked my ears the most.
4/6/07 | Permalink
Zen Internet and the Art of Blog
Want to get a daily dose of blog ZEN? Check out "Art of Blog," a site with a new quote each day from someone in the blogging community (including our lovely client Rae Hoffman) about, well, the art of blogging. Go. Meditate. Master you will become.
3/30/07 | Permalink
“All Along the Watchtower” Ignites Battlestar Galactica Season Finale
Are you a Battlestar Galactica fan? If so, BSG composer Bear McCreary's write up on composing a version of "All Along the Watchtower" for the last ten minutes of season 3's outstanding finale is an amazing read. Music junkies and obsessed BSG fans alike will enjoy this thorough write up. And by the way--who do YOU think is the 5th Cylon? My bets are on Roslin, but some folks over at the Newsvine BSG group have a few great other theories for other sci-fi geeks out there.
3/28/07 | Permalink
WTF CNN
Add two laughs with your morning coffee over at wtfcnn. Via.
3/27/07 | Permalink
Seth Godin on how the Purple Cow got Its moo
Seth Godin recounts the promotional strategy behind The Purple Cow, an inspiring book and one that I think should be in everyone's library. What's amazing about Seth's breakdown (I didn't know this) is that Purple Cow was originally self-published and self-promoted. The lesson here? If you're a writer or author, you don't need a big publishing house to do something remarkable. If you're any other type of business person, you can make great things happen without needing the leverage of the big guys (publishers, big media, venture capitalists, etc).
3/23/07 | Permalink
Websites we’ve completed of late
We recently completed several client projects for Cobalt Solutions, SEO Class, Tracy Mayor and the Pacific Islands Center for Educational Development.
3/22/07 | Permalink
the power of kindness
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