Church of the Customer

Movin' on up

2003-08-30T16:51:00.000-05:00

This blog has moved to a new address: http://customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog/

See you there!

2003-08-29T15:51:00.000-05:00

Fast Company's New Blog

Fast Company magazine's gotten into the blogging business. Fast Company's Social Capitalist Heath Row has spearheaded the move into the blogosphere. (You may remember Heath from our book...he's the one who also spearheaded the magazine's readers network, called the Company of Friends.)

The cool thing about this blog is that it includes posts by a number of Fast Company writers, including new editor-in-chief John Byrne, and contributing editor Seth Godin.

Can a Business 2.0 blog be far behind? No way, if Josh Quittner reads (and believes) the latest article in his own magazine.

2003-08-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

Evangelist as your title

Merrilee Olsen is a passionate advocate of the restaurant business, a lifelong restaurateur, and coach to the men and women who serve in the hospitality industry.

Recently, Merrilee wrote us saying, "I love the work you & Ben are doing...and in fact I cribbed your title for my tagline...I'm a culinary industry coach and my tagline is "Restaurant Evangelist"! I hope you're flattered and not offended!"

Offended? No way!

Just more proof that the "evangelist" ideavirus is spreading : )

2003-08-28T14:47:00.000-05:00

Creating Customer Evangelists, the Harley Way

300,000 Harley-Davidson customer evangelists descend upon Milwaukee this week for the company's 100th birthday bash.

Rhonda Racklisse, a customer from Minot, Maine, rode some 1,800 miles with her husband and son to visit "the best family in the world." "We’re all brothers and sisters," she said.

Another customer riding from Philadelphia to Milwaukee remarks, "it’s just like a fraternity, a massive club, where everyone has one commonality, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle."

Many of these people are members of HOGs, Harley Owner Groups. The company started the HOG club in 1983 as a way to allow people to share the Harley experience. In the first year of the club, 30,000 riders joined, and the group now has about 750,000 in more than 1,300 chapters worldwide. HOG members meet regularly for rides, parties, fund-raisers, motorcycle seminars and other events.

Bottom line: Harley's efforts in creating customer evangelists have helped their bottom line.

2003-08-22T14:09:00.000-05:00

Cassette vs. CD

In our most recent newsletter (newsletter info can be found here), we asked readers which format they prefer for audio books: CD or cassette?

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger's wacky gubernatorial campaign, the votes on whether we should release the audio version of "Creating Customer Evangelists" on CD or cassette format are strongly running in favor of CD.

Want to make your voice known in this sooo-important debate, plus have a chance to win a copy of the audio book when it's released next month? Vote here.

2003-08-22T12:04:00.000-05:00

Rise of the Machines

This MSNBC story says that security experts are right now racing to avert a massive new SoBIG virus attack by shutting down 20 home computers scattered around the world. They fear that if even one of the machines is left on by 2 p.m. CST Friday, the Internet could grind to a halt. When did reality catch up to science fiction?

Should virus writers have a special VIP room in Hell? Or is this just more proof that the Wachowski Brothers were right?

2003-08-19T19:39:00.000-05:00

From the we-love-email-like-this bag

Peter Pihos Jr. of Milestone Cube Company writes:

"Just wanted to let you know how much I liked your book. We have been able to apply what we learned in the book to grow our new business. It also help us better understand our customers, how and why they were spreading the word and what we could do to assist them.

"I have recommended the book to all and I encourage you to follow up with another."

Thanks, Peter! You have a front-row pew in the Church of the Customer!

2003-08-19T01:08:00.000-05:00

See a pattern here?

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Build-A-Bear Workshop
and now, Cold Stone Creamery

Each one of these retail chains features an "assembly line" concept in their stores, and each one is enjoying runaway word of mouth and customer evangelism.

The common threads:

* Krispy Kreme stores are really small manufacturing sites where the doughnuts are raised through a proofer, cook through a river of swift-moving oil, and then parade hot through a waterfall of creamy glaze. All of this happens behind a wall of glass in the store, open for all to watch.

* Customers at Build-A-Bear Workshop create their own stuffed animal by picking a "skin," adding a wish and a heart, stuffing the skin using a big, roiling machine similar to a movie popcorn popper, giving the new friend an "air bath" and dressing it in the finest outfit.

* Cold Stone Creamery is opening stores across the country based on the concept of mashing ice cream on a slab of freezing marble, and customers request from several dozen "mix-ins" to be added. Customers watch as employees make up *their* special ice cream and serve it up to order.

The pattern here is that a personalized experience gives customers something to tell others about. These companies have established repeatable customized processes; each store experience can be different based on your customization of it. Each experience is another opportunity to describe the store experience, and evangelize to friends and neighbors on why they should try it.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, a Stone Cold Creamery spokesman says, "We don't plan television commercials or national radio advertising campaigns. We hope for word-of-mouth recommendation from customers."

Welcome to the Church of the Customer, Stone Cold!

2003-08-13T16:42:00.000-05:00

Announcing Customer Evangelism University

How does Bike Friday create a customer evangelist who has referred over $300,000 in business? Why does SolutionPeople have a network hub whose connections have resulted in $2 million in business?

Our Customer Evangelism University explains why! Our "university" workshop has two programs: one day for anyone who wants full immersion into the world of customer evangelism, and a second day for anyone who wants to help others (inside your organization or with clients) create customer evangelists.

So far, attendees are traveling from San Francisco, New Mexico and Michigan to our two-day workshop at the super-cool Catalyst Ranch, one of the most fun and creative meeting places in the country.

You'll find more info here and how to register.

2003-08-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

For IT directors everywhere

Reader Steve Neiderhauser pens a compelling essay on why companies should reconsider offshore software development. He skillfully applies several of the Customer Evangelism tenets to this issue.

2003-08-10T14:36:00.000-05:00

Business is About People

We profiled the "Starwood Lurker" in our book as an example of a customer evangelism strategy. William Sanders is Starwood's "Lurker" whose full time job is to patrol Internet discussion boards on travel and assist Starwood Preferred Guest members with issues about their stays or the points program. The Lurker is a Starwood employee and keeps an eye for discussions about sister properties Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, and W hotels.

One of the forums he monitors is FlyerTalk; since November 2000, Sanders has posted nearly 5,000 times there. He has become a popular and iconic member of the community. The people there say he's consistently helpful, responsive, and sometimes funny. His revered status was more evident with a recent series of posts on the FlyerTalk forum under the topic, "Why I stay with Starwood."

A customer named Christian explains his Starwood loyalty: "The reason [is] William. If he wasn't here, I would move on... I only continue to stay with Starwood because of the great customer service William continues to offer."

Another poster said: "(William) is truly one of the great things about Starwood. So many large corporations either dance around questions you ask, and you never get a good response. William does due diligence and finds the correct answer and responds professionally and without sugar-coating - and if he can remedy the situation, it's done, or forwarded to someone who is empowered to do so. He is one of two reasons I've switched 100% of my business to Starwood."

Yet another post said it all: "As long as Starwood cares about its guests, that shows me that they care (real or imagined). And this, my friends, is what gives them the edge."

Interacting with customers at a personal level is a fundamental customer evangelism principle. People are more loyal to people, than they are inanimate brands. Even large consumers companies, like Starwood and Southwest Airlines, demonstrate that a bit of goodwill towards customers goes a long way.

2003-08-08T18:21:00.000-05:00

Creating software evangelists

How are other companies growing through word of mouth and the help of a volunteer sales force? Perforce Software makes software specifically for software developers. If you've worked with developers, you know they can be a tough, demanding crowd. Since Perforce focuses intently on creating customer evangelists so that they are literally the company's sole sales force, it earns a front-row seat in the Church of the Customer.

Sutter Shcumacher, one of Perforce's marketing mavens, recently sent us this note:

"I've been meaning to write for some time now. Our software company has built nearly our entire business on word-of-mouth marketing. In 8 years of business, we've grown to 100,000 licenses used at 2,400 companies -- all without a sales force.

"We attribute our success to a strong product that sells itself, as well as a very loyal customer following. The latter isn't easy to come by when you're selling products to software developers, most of whom are extremely skeptical of marketing efforts.

"Users also seem to love us for our technical support (officially, our turnaround time for customer calls averages 2 hours; in reality, it usually takes closer to 20 minutes for customers to get a response to their calls -- and that response is from a human, not an auto-responder). Other things that have worked well include rewarding customers who recommend us
to new companies with Perforce Apostle rugby shirts and fleece vests. The Apostle gear is just our small way of thanking folks for spreading the good news about Perforce Software.

"I'm sure these concepts are hardly news to you. Just wanted to share how we're making some of your principles work for us."

Kudos to the Perforce team for making the experience with a software company remarkable.

2003-08-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

Creating Customer Evangelists for restaurants

We're hosting a special seminar for restarateurs in northern California at the end of August. If you're an owner, GM, manager or someone who has a special interest in the food industry, join us Aug. 26, 2003, at Ponzu in downtown San Francisco.

It's a half-day session on creating evangelists for restaurants. The $85 admission price even includes a copy of the book. Go here to register or get more info.

2003-08-06T12:44:00.000-05:00

Marketing to enthusiasts

Which framework do you use to outline your target customers?

A) Men, 24-44, married, 2 children, income of $75,000+
B) People with an undying love and passion for high-performance cars

Old-school marketers typically select category A. They see customers as a spreadsheet-driven data profile devoid of emotion or passion.

Customer evangelism marketers typically select category B. They see customers as anyone who has a passion for your type of product or service.

The world is filled with marketers who wrongly predicted their target customers. When it released the Honda Element SUV, Honda said the car's target customers was a young surfer dude. Wrong. In reality, the average age of the Element owner is a 38-year-old city dweller who loves the car's retro-funky style.

Speaking of motor-based products, many marketers probably still believe that Harley-Davidson's primary customers are burly blue-collar types who love the roar of the engine and the smell of of the oil pan. Wrong. Demographically, Harley owners are all over the map: men, women, tattooed bikers, senior business professionals, politicians, etc. who connect with Harley's emotional connection to freedom and the open road.

If you only target a demographic, you'll probably miss it. In our world of media ubiquity and fast-moving word-of-mouth, your target should be people with a passion for your product type or its value. If your mission is to attract enthusiasts, they'll spread the word to their enthusiast friends.

A few of the big-ticket companies understand this; in the hot, factory-tuned performance segment in which BMW's Mini Cooper S and Ford's 170-hp SVT Focus compete, marketing requires a non-traditional approach, says Tom Scarpello, marketing and sales manager at Ford Motor Co.

"We never set out to hit a demographic," he says. "It's really about appealing to enthusiast customers. If they love high-performance vehicles, they're in our target."

2003-08-04T00:28:00.000-05:00

Now here's a product to evangelize.....

Band-Aid brand Liquid Bandage. This new product puts a liquid "Band-Aid" on those cuts and scrapes in hard-to-deal-with places. Like your finger.

I gouged my finger on a sharp edge of the stove Saturday. Gouged it good. I went through 10 regular Band-aids in one day because of washing my hands, cleaning, etc.

I'd heard somewhere about the new Liquid Bandage and bought it Saturday night. Add 4 drops of purple liquid onto an applicator, apply it over the cut, and presto: it creates a clear waterproof bond. The invisible Band-Aid doesn't come off when washing your hands, or while in the shower. When the new skin is created and the old skin cells slough off, so does the Liquid Bandage.

Now that's a "Purple Cow" kind of product.

2003-07-29T10:21:00.000-05:00

Customer activism surges

Some people are volunteering to save soon-to-be extinct varieties of their favorite product.

In a recent Beverage Magazine story, die-hard fans of Coca-Cola's Surge soft drink have organized a grassroots campaign to save the drink.

The campaign website, SaveSurge.org, is better than most community political campaigns. The group has an email newsletter, lists of Surge sitings, template letters for local bottlers, and phone numbers and email addresses of Coca-Cola corporate managers -- all to plead for saving the drink. As chronicled on the site, Coca-Cola corporate has sent form letters back to the fans saying basically "It's out of our hands....the independent bottlers control what is sold locally." Right.

If Coke were to devise a plan to bring the citrus-flavored, green-hued, caffeine-infused carbonated beverage back to life for its best customers, the buzz would be enormous. Even a plan for ordering the product from a web site could create tremendous word-of-mouse among Surge's thirsty masses. Listen to your best customers and give them what they want? Now that's a marketing idea.

Thanks to my cousin, Mark Huba of Suntory Water Group (maker of many brands of bottled water) for being an alert reader!

2003-07-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

Nike backlash

No posts last week... it was vacation time with the family.

During my break, I noticed that my dad was sporting brand new white sneakers. When I had asked what brand, he wasn't sure but was absolute in this belief: "They sure as hell aren't Nike. I can't support a company who gives $90 million to LeBron James. Why don't they support school athletic programs with that kind of money? Even if they just gave half of that to schools imagine how that could help."

Even my non-marketing-savvy father who spent his career working in a Pennsylvania steel mill can see through the marketing hype. What's Nike's cause? If we extrapolate my father's viewpoint across others like him in the free world, it's apparent that the company's cause is to pay an obscene amount of money to a high school kid so he may buy as many Hummers, mansions and trouble as he can possibly afford; all in the name of exploiting LeBron's name. Perhaps Nike would earn more customer evangelists if it were to support a cause that benefited thousands of high school kids instead of just one.

2003-07-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

When companies declare war on their customers

Filene's Basement department store recently banned two sisters for life from their stores. It seems the customers' excessive returns and complaining was just too much.

Managing unprofitable customers is one thing. But I'm sure the incredible amount of negative PR generated by this story isn't what Filene's was expecting. In fact, I was interviewed on KDKA Radio (Pittsburgh) this morning about this very news story.

2003-07-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

The eBay Cause

From the "Create a Cause" files: eBay's annual customer conference is not about boring presentations and exhibition-floor tchotkes, and the 2003 confab held true to form. "For many of those who attended the meeting, which featured its own array of special-edition pins and trading cards, eBay, they said, is more than a company, it is a culture and a cause."

CEO Meg Whitman sees the conference as ripe opportunity for valuable customer feedback and ideas. From the continual conversation that eBay has had with customers since its creation in 1995, the company realizes that so many of them are living on what they make from eBay. To cross that emotional chasm with customers, eBay has signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Small Business Administration to help eBay sellers "develop business plans, learn how to manage their finances and, in some cases, get loans and other financial support."

Another example of how eBay helps customers live their dreams.

2003-07-10T18:43:00.000-05:00

Tobacco marketing marks impossible new low

From the June/July issue of Event Marketer Magazine:

"New cigarette company Freedom Tobacco last month began undercover 'leaner' programs in New York City and Miami. Eight-woman crews infiltrate nightlife venues Thursdays through Saturday (125 total venues per market, per month). Working in pairs, the ladies hang by the bar with a full, open pack of Legal. Inevitably someone asks to bum a smoke, and the field staffers hand one over, casually mentioning the new brand, how great it tastes, and where to buy it (online). Once the unknowing consumer lights up, the 'woman seems to be unavailable and moves on to someone else,' says Freedom co-founder Patrick Carroll. The goal is for each crewmember to talk to 10 consumers per hour."

So watch out guys, that hottie hitting on you at the bar ain't interested in anything but gettin' paid. It calls to mind the debacle with the Ericcson/Sony camera phone that featured paid actors pretending to be foreign tourists in New York, who would rope in unsuspecting victims and pitch them on the phone. Consumer activists groups didn't think that was too cool and ut generated lots of negative buzz.

Paid evangelism is always bad. Always.

2003-07-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

Blogs are anti-marketing

There's growing anecdotal evidence about the grassroots impact blogs can have on sales for companies, especially small businesses.

Internet guru Dave Weinberger says blogs are a growing force in commerce because they provide a more powerful voice to individuals. "If companies allow their employees to blog, [they] have the opportunity of engaging their customer in the sort of genuine conversations that build real customer loyalty."

The blogosphere is contributing to the resurgence of Internet gurus as the "new" marketers. It's 1996 all over again. Old school marketing and PR types cling to traditional spam tactics of ads, direct mail, and for a bit longer, telemarketing, while the Internet continues to breed new-school marketers.

Or perhaps it's deeper than that. The ever-shifting cultural and commercial tides cause continual adjustments in our approaches. What was once trusted (government, big corporations) are now suspect. What was taken for granted (truth in advertising) is now subject to lawsuits and fines, even reviews by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The continual erosion of trust and truth are giving rise not to the marketing machines but to authenticity. Authenticity spreads virally, especially through the Internet. Authenticity for old school marketers is hard because it's their job to stage, craft, and simulate. Today, it's not selling so well.

Consider these examples:

OLD SCHOOL: Ad agency pays teen bloggers to sample soda products and faces a backlash. Doh!

NEW SCHOOL: An Australian beer company for the customer, by the customer.

NEW, NEW SCHOOL: The online marketing of a politician and how Howard Dean's campaign is super-charged through authentic means. He even has fan sites.

[Thanks to friend and Microsoft'er John Porcaro for the initial inspiration.]

2003-07-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

Coming soon to your movie theater: more ads.

Business Week says that in 2002, the cinema-ad market topped $200 million, up 30 percent from 2001. We're not talking about ads for the latest Ben Affleck snooze-fest here; it's the market for junk that already inundates television and radio, pitches for cars, Coke and McDonald's. It's the reason why people love Tivo.

To grow the cinema-ad market, theater owners formed the Cinema Advertising Council in February 2003 to standardize ad-selling practices. Their pitch: recent Arbitron research shows two-thirds of survey participants say commercials in theaters don't bother them. Plus, they claim, 8 in 10 moviegoers remember the ads after the film. So movie ads typically command a 50 percent premium over those on TV. Bottom line: It's a growing market, so expect more ads in movie theaters.

Chuck Battey is the president of the National Cinema Network, the company most directly responsible for the proliferation of ads in movie theaters. This linchpin of marketing pollution violates yet another sanctum that most of us assumed would remain free from the smog. Their efforts may even have legal ramifications. Why? The $9 admission fee into a movie theater is a tacit contract similar to the promise HBO makes: We pay to see the movie program, not commercials. We pay for access into a climate-controlled auditorium, to a super-sized home theater stereo system and the chance to pay $9.50 for a combo meal of popcorn and soda. If movie theaters show ads before the program begins, then theater admission should be free.

Moviegoing is an experience. Anything that detracts from that experience, whether its running commentary from the geegaws behind you or the ubiquitious cellphones to the 8 minutes of ads in front of the interminable movie previews lessens the value of the experience. It's unclear who Arbitron surveyed for their questionable study. Advertising executives, perhaps. Yet again, the entertainment-industrial complex exhibits its continued contempt and disregard for customers.

Combine this with a season of sequels and me-too movies and is it any wonder that industry revenues are running about 5 percent behind last year’s?

“I really don’t know why (for the downturn)," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
"That’s the million-dollar question, or hundred-million-dollar question."

Burn, Hollywood, burn.

Tell Chuck Battey and the National Cinema Network what you think of the proliferation of ads in movie theaters! Call or write:

Chuck Battey
President and CEO
National Cinema Network
1300 E. 104th St.
Kansas City, MO 64131-4504
816-942-8411

Or send feedback via their website.

2003-07-03T03:00:00.000-05:00

To our friends at Blogger.com: PLEASE take our money!

Our apologies for the big-ass BlogSpot ad at the top of this page. We're not so cheap that we won't pay the several bucks per year Blogger charges to make the skybox disappear, but the company's ecommerce system has been broken for several weeks with a recurring "check back next week" sign hung on the door. C'mon, Blogger, time to deliver us from Customer Hell! :)

2003-07-03T02:49:00.000-05:00

TiVo Evangelists

TiVo chairman Michael Ramsay tells Newsweek that his company has an "evangelical" following. NOW he says it. He's being a bit disingenuous, though, when he says the company realized early in its history that word of mouth was driving sales. C'mon, Michael: then why did you waste $30 million on a bunch of dumb, stupid TV ads those first several years?

2003-07-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

Customer evangelists support you in good times and in bad

If your business was in trouble, would your customer evangelists come to your rescue?

A San Francisco neighborhood filled with book lovers has banded together to save the bookstore they love.

2003-07-01T12:26:00.000-05:00

TiVo love is hard to fake

We need protection from product placement in "Sex in the City."

On Sunday's show, Miranda tries to forget about Steve, the father of her baby, by becoming "romantically" involved with her TiVo. Miranda dutifully explains to her galpals that TiVo is better than a boyfriend while ticking off product features with more clarity than a Circuit City saleswoman. Miranda loves her TiVo because it always knows what she wants (solving the infinite Freud question of "What do women want?") Product shots consume the screen. Cynthia Nixon was nearly poised to turn to the camera, smile, and exclaim, "Go out and buy YOUR TiVo today!" Contrived, darling.

TiVo executives are probably thrilled with the placement. Celebrity endorsements have been a strategic thrust of the company for several years. The company is brought to the free PR dance at levels similar to Krispy Kreme's, yet one company is the current cover darling of Fortune and mints money while the other struggles to stay afloat.

Granted, a digital video recorder is a harder sell than a doughnut, but most TiVo owners (myself included) are as rabid any calorie-loving doughnut maven. Sadly, TiVo ignores its thousands of Cinderella evangelists like an evil stepmother.

The lessons of customer evangelism are rooted in authenticity. This "Sex and the City" product tie-in just seemed so... fake. Cynthia Nixon just can't seem to get it up for the lovable DVR.

2003-06-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

Speaking of Pittsburgh....

Some of its officials responsible for convincing residents to move downtown think advertising is the solution. An article by Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neill explains how $1.3 million is being spent on an advertising campaign to convince suburbanites to want to live downtown.

What a waste of money.

What's going to really convince people to move? Seeing the community in action on a daily basis. That's what gets people talking. Then the trusted word of residents in the downtown area will cause others to move downtown.

The apartments, the stores, the neighborhood -- the experience of living downtown -- is how it all adds up. Whether it's cool, retro design, free wireless Internet for all residents, or special parking options, affordable rents or unique services businesses is what will attract and sell people, not a branding campaign. If Krispy Kreme can build a billion-dollar company without any advertising, then certainly Pittsburgh can convince hundreds of people to move downtown without spending $1.3 million to add to the smog.

To create success requires action and a can-do spirit. Is Pittsburgh really serious about this or just talking a good game?

2003-06-24T18:36:00.000-05:00

Creating Customer Evangelists in Hot'Lanta

I am in Atlanta this week for a "Creating Customer Evangelists" presentation, which is being organized and sponsored by Corp-Net, the company behind the Seth Godin's and Jackie Huba's Purple Cow Roundup tour. This week's presentation also includes a copy of the book for each attendee. Here's the event details.

Jackie is in Pittsburgh this week to be interviewed by KDKA-TV and to attend her high school class reunion. I won't say what year she graduated. :)

2003-06-24T14:05:00.000-05:00

The Bank One Chicago Bears. Huh??

Whenever a company buys naming rights to a stadium -- or in this case, a team -- it's time to sell the stock.
Here's the awful truth.

2003-06-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Our blog: Church of the Customer

So, we have the New York Times to thank (or ultimately, to blame) for compelling us to get off our asses and finally launch a blog. We've only discussed, debated and endlessly defined the role of a customer evangelism blog for the past six months. As such, it's fitting that our blog become a shrine dedicated toward quick-hit examples of customer evangelism as well as a stoning grounds for organizations that Just Don't Get It.

So, we pledge (for now, until we change it) that our blogified mission is thus: provide short bursts of relevance.

About that Times story: It's an interesting look at how business is catching on to blogging as a communications strategy, allowing some higher-ups (including one of our own case-study companies, O'Reilly & Associates) to bypass internal PR departments and speak directly to customers.

While 1/5 of the world's total population has probably already created a link to this story, here's the link, just in case: Read the Times story (registration required)