Loyal Customers? Spice It Up!

Loyal Customers? Spice It Up!

by | Jun 2, 2014 | Customer Satisfaction

Loyal customers… How do you get them?  “Where there’s spice, there’s a loyal shopper” states Sarah Nassauer in her article called “Why Spicy-Food Lovers Make Great Customers” in The Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2014.

Sarah goes on to say that there’s a “new understanding about how people who love spicy foods eat – and – shop is fueling the latest wave in making package foods hotter.”

“You get endorphins when you eat something really spicy, which feels adventurous to flavor-seeking eaters,” says Krista Lorio, senior manager of consumer insights for General Mills Inc.

“People who crave bold flavors are a growing and varied group, mostly made up of young, Hispanic and older shoppers,” companies say.

One walk down the aisle of any supermarket and its obvious that companies are spicing up their products. Take for example Bumble Bee Tuna. Now flavor cravers can find BUMBLE BEE ALBACORE TUNA with Jalapenos & Olive Oil. Kraft is also getting into the spicy section with its BIG SLICE HOT HABANERO cheese slices.  “Kraft even redesigned the packaging of its spicy cheese to include a ‘heat scale’ from one to five chili peppers,” says Sarah.

“Spice lovers like to ‘push’ the boundaries to see how far they can go,” says Chris Hjorth, senior director of marketing for natural cheese at Kraft Foods Group Inc.

Food companies are not the only ones turning up the heat and spicing up their products and services to win over customers.  Huh, what? How can other companies spice up their brands?  They do it by spicing up their customer’s experience.

Customers appreciate when companies spice up their experience so much that they become loyal customers.

A look at the latest advertising from Old Spice and Burberry, it is clear that customers seek more than the basic brand ‘flavor’.

Old Spice is definitely not your grandfather’s Old Spice anymore.

“Thanks to former NFL player Isaiah Mustafa who told women to “Look at your man, now back at me.” Old Spice is suddenly new Old Spice. Since the first commercial launched a year ago, the 79-year-old brand’s ad campaign generated tens of millions of online views” according to Judith Aquino in a Business Insider article called The 10 Most Successful Re-branding Campaigns Ever. “Old Spice didn’t change its logo, it changed the experience.” said Marc Shillum, principal at Method, Inc. a consulting agency for brand designs.

    Customers aren’t buying a brand – they are buying the adventure.

Burberry Revamped

Burberry is another brand that has spiced up its image and is creating a loyal following of young professionals. Using high-profile celebrities such as Kate Moss and actress Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame, Burberry has transformed its Brand from ‘frumpy’ into one of the hottest fashion labels, say retail experts.

Want loyal customers? Then it’s time to spice up your brand.  Brands that spice it up with an adventurous experience, whether it’s through taste, visual, scent, audio, or tactile, are the ones that allow us to imagine and want to be part of the experience and are the ones that create our loyalty.

Do you have examples of brands you use that have spiced up your life? Are you more loyal to those brands than others? Would love to hear your spicy experiences.

Please share your brand experiences below.

About the Author

Debbie Silverman is a Human Behavior Specialist and President of a consumer research company called Consumer Perspective LLC. She is also a two-time Effie Award winner for Marketing Excellence, NLP Practitioner and creator and co-author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller, “It’s Just a Conversation.”

With 30+ years’ experience, Debbie uses her unique strategic engagement techniques to raise the bar on how businesses communicate with their customers to create RAVING FANS! Debbie gets a thrill when she can reveal ways companies can delight their customers and initiate long-term and PROFITABLE conversations.

Contact Debbie Silverman today for ways to delight your customers; speaking engagements and corporate workshops. Debbie may be reached at Debbie@Consumer-Perspective.com. You can find Debbie on LinkedIn and Facebook. For more information about Consumer Perspective LLC, please go to www.Consumer-Perspective.com

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction

by | Aug 14, 2013 | Customer Satisfaction

Are you concerned about customer satisfaction with your business?

Do you really KNOW your customers and do you KNOW what they want?

Do you know how to THRILL your customers?
If you think you know … the truth may surprise you!

Customer satisfaction has to do with KNOWING what they want.

Dale Carnegie, author of the famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People , opens one chapter of his book by saying, “I often went fishing up in Maine during the Summer. Personally, I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted – I thought about what they wanted!” really know them. When was the last time you asked them about their wants, needs, fears? When was the last time you thrilled your customers?

Guessing could lead to severe consequences like loosing customers to your competition. After all, customers can always go someplace else!

When was the last time you asked them why they use your product or service?

When was the last time you observed your customers using your product or service?
When was the last time you paid attention to your competition?
When was the last time you asked past customers why they stopped using your product?

When was the last time you conducted a customer satisfaction study and asked them how your company could serve them better?
When was the last time you listened to what they had to say?

When was the last time you thrilled your customer?

Can you take off your marketing hat and learn to think like your customer?

Do you have a written and visual reminder of what your thrilled customers look like?
Is it in your face all the time?

If you can’t remember the last conversation you had with your customers and you have a blurry image of your customers then its time to rethink your marketing plan!

Customer satisfaction comes from paying attention to your customers and following these five steps:

  1. Put yourself in their shoes. See and understand your product or service through their eyes.
  2. Embrace and understand the Process your customer goes through when in need of the type of service or product you provide.
  3. Identify your customers’ Problems.
  4. Use Professionals or experts (such as Consumer Perspective and editors of trade publications) to learn more about your customer or client.
  5. Create a brief prospect Profile of your ideal customer.
 

Bonus Step: Persistence Don’t give up!

Imagine knowing your customers so well you can create new products and services. Imagine creating communication efforts that truly speak to your customers and imagine THRILLING them in such a way that they become ‘raving’ fans on social media.

Addressing the above steps to satisfying your customers means spending time getting to know your customers. It means going back to the basics — like why your brand exists and the one problem it solves. It means asking your customers or clients what they want and understanding their needs and problems.

It means getting to know your customers again for the first time.

It means going beyond satisfying your customers to THRILLING them! Customer Satisfaction Illustration

Stop wasting your valuable time and marketing dollars thinking or guessing you know what your customers want — its time to pick up the phone or email us to learn how satisfying your customers will lead to THRILLING them!!