Hello FC Now followers - this week is going to be fun.
Interesting story that got us here in the first place. It all started with Alison Overholt's post regarding a poor customer service experience she had with Starbucks. She used this to launch a discussion about loyalty. I hadn't yet seen the post when a friend, Ben McConnell, e-mailed me the link. As he and Jackie Huba discuss in their book, Creating Customer Evangelists, an evangelist is a customer that is so loyal they become a volunteer sales force for the company. Thanks to evangelist Ben's e-mail I was able to put Alison in touch with someone in our customer care center that helped resolve the situation.
Alison thought it'd be worthwhile to continue the conversation her post started. And so, John and I are serving as guest hosts this week. *Phew!*
John and I go back to 1997 when we were both field marketers for Starbucks Coffee. I was in New York City and he was in Dallas. Two years later, we were both recruited to infuse some field marketing perspective into the corporate Starbucks marketing department. At the beginning of this year John left Starbucks to be the national marketing director at Whole Foods Market and I transitioned into a new position at Starbucks, customer care manager - focusing on increasing customer satisfaction.
John has always been a bit of a marketing goad. I figured, what a great partner to help lead an on-line discussion. So expect a few contrarian, yet poignant blogs on the world of marketing from John's perch.
Throughout this week we hope to inspire conversation about marketing, customer and brand loyalty, customer experiences and other topics that grow from YOUR postings.
Finally... our opinions are not necessarily those of Starbucks Coffee Company or Whole Foods Market. Our discussions will represent our own take and what we've learned and experienced through our marketing careers. Void where prohibited. Not valid with other offers. No purchase necessary.
Let's get to blogging!
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, guest hosts: williams + moore, Starbucks Corporation, Religion, Christianity, Evangelicalism, Culture and Lifestyle |
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Recent Comments | 3 Total
December 8, 2003 at 6:14am by Bodie Le Monz
Ok, a couple of points.....
1) Alison, of the poor loyalty card experience, was tempted to drop loyalty to Starbucks as a result of one bad experience. Are there statistics available to say how many bad experiences on average it takes before a customer is lost? It appeared to me that Alison had had many years of great experiences with Starbucks, therefore getting the loyalty card. Will the typical customer truly abandon a company based on one bad experience? I would guess that in a couple of weeks, after the storm settles, Alison will be right back in Starbucks, logging on via Wi-Fi, and swiping that loyalty card to purchase her 3rd latte of the day, because overall Starbucks HAS been a good experience for her. (Plus they are on every corner so where else are you going to go??)
2) Loyalty programs are not customer satisfaction programs. It is merely a "hook" a company uses to make it advantageous to the customer to use its service rather than others. For example, I fly trans-atlantic quite often. I rarely have a great customer satisfaction experience on my airline (not to be named) but will I fly another airline? No! Because I want the frequent flier miles. Customer service is FAR superior on other airlines especially on transatlantic routes, but those airlines will not get my business only because I have too much invested in my airline. Do companies tend to equate loyalty driven by these programs to customer satisfaction or are these two separate issues as the company views them. My guess is that the buying public DOES view loyalty as satisfaction. Maybe it comes down to this....loyalty does not create satisfaction (but can create repeat purchases) but satisfaction creates loyalty.
December 8, 2003 at 8:46am by John A. Byrne
Paul,
Thanks for coming aboard this week. Let me ask an important question: Obviously, quality service is a key part of the Starbucks experience. I would imagine that this has become more difficult given the company's remarkable growth. What is the company doing to make sure the customer receives a great experience as often as possible? Are Starbucks employees paid a lot more than the person behind the counter at a McDonald's? Are they trained differently?
Thanks.
Best,
John
December 8, 2003 at 11:05am by Joseph Price
My loyalty is almost always connected to a GREAT DEAL. Whether it's Trader Joe's, IKEA, Costco, or Ebay, low prices on cool stuff is what keeps me coming - AND evangelizing. I distrust the Microsofts and the Starbucks who have people "cornered" to some degree and couldn't imagine evangelizing for them with the same zeal.
Perhaps, and this is another aspect that keeps me loyal and spreading the word, it's the "my little secret" angle. Has there ever been a marketing strategy that purposely kept a great product on the "download" to build loyalty through grass-roots word of mouth?