Our Fresh team met with a potential client a few months ago. This firm tried several marketing plans in the past that have cost them thousands of dollars, but produced minimal results.
This time we were pitching them on a Social Media marketing plan specific to their online storefront.
Their virtual storefront is their only presence – all online and they serve clients throughout the entire US market from their small physical location here in the Northwest. Their client list reads like an A-List of firms – you would recognize all of them.
The conversation locked up when they struggled with the idea that a web-based buying experience could really make that much of a difference to their bottom-line. (This conversation happened before Amazon.com’s most profitable quarter ever!)
An idea hit me to take a risk with this thought – I asked everyone in the room, including the Fresh team, what Seattle restaurant was their favorite place for a fine dinner. Daniel’s Broiler for their nightlife and view, The Edgewater Hotel for it’s view of the sunset and fireplaces, the Salish Lodge for it’s ambiance, location near a waterfall, character, Third Floor Fish Cafe for its location on the water and so on.
Not ONE PERSON said anything about the food. !?
When we go out to eat isn’t the food the most important thing??
That’s not the case. Casa Bonita in Denver is legendary because inside transforms into another world. You’re inside a structure so heavy that when it was built it began sinking into the ground from the weight of the concrete. Inside looks like you’re dining outdoors in Acapulco, Mexico complete with a starlit sky, divers plunging off of high cliffs into water below, volcanic rocks, caves, mud pits and a city center of stores.
But the food at Casa Bonita is cafeteria quality at best. You don’t go for the food. You go for the experience. And we see other models of this around the country including the Rain Forest Cafe (a step up from Casa Bonita fare) and at the Jordan Commons in Salt Lake City.
It’s the customer experience, the buying experience, how people feel about your brand that’s most important.
All of the Seattle restaurants mentioned above have fantastic food, but … our favorite place for exquisite dining in Seattle? It’s called Tropea and it’s in a little strip mall in Redmond. But the FOOD is simply fantastic.
Let me rattle off a few other brands you may have a gut feeling about – Starbucks, Nordstroms, T-Mobile, Marriott, Zappos. These brands are not the lowest price, but they have award-winning customer service and experience.
The potential client I spoke of above is a Fresh client today as this illustration was a turning point for them.
Brands who can tell their stories win. Are you ready for us to help you tell your story?
Contact me at mike@freshconsulting.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mikewhitmore
All the best,
Mike
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