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The Best Marketing Advice – Ever!

I recently went to one of my favorite restaurants – Craft. The service and the food were excellent as always but there were several little surprises for us throughout the evening. Small and subtle acts of a gracious host, but delightful nonetheless. The evening ended with my retrieving my coat from the coat check and being presented with a lovely baked treat along with my belongings. This was the icing on the service cake – figuratively speaking. While I’ve had numerous fabulous dining experiences, it is mostly about the food and sometimes the service, but rarely is it about the above and beyond or gracious nature of the establishment.

I’m extraordinarily loyal to my local corner bodegas because when I forget my wallet “no problem, you pay next time” and “here, take this one instead, it is fresher” are not uncommon exchanges. And even though I’m a regular at a nearby super market, I remain a stranger and am treated accordingly — other than by their delivery man, who knows I tip well and so usually takes the initiative to move my delivery to the head of the line.

Where I get my nails done, someone always offers to give me a 5 or 10-minute shoulder and neck massage – for free. Trust me when I tell you that I don’t need my nails done that often but that massage really makes my day. With no less than 10 nail salons within a few blocks, many offering discounts and lower prices, I always make a beeline for my favorite place.

My signature scent is a perfume that is hard to find so I order on line from Fragerancenet.Com. Every time my perfume arrives, the box contains coupons for discounts and a handy compact mirror.

My accountant always emails and calls me months in advance (probably because I always wait until the last minute) and reminds me what I need to pull together to prepare for tax season. Not only that, I get a quick briefing on what has changed since last year that might affect my tax outcome. He then sends a checklist and packet to help me pull things together. That early briefing – and review of last year’s taxes helps me to take care of any last minute financial things that will help my tax outcome.

Zappos is notorious for upgrading your delivery service at no charge and you might want to browse through this article for other examples of great service WOW events.

These are examples of WOW moments that surprise and delight customers. These are the kinds of experiences that customers will share with their friends and family, tweet and post, possibly even blog about. So if you want to nurture loyal customers, give them something to talk about, which will be some of the best free advertising you probably could never afford – it is time to sit down with your team and explore opportunities and ways to WOW your customers.

So while you are crafting your next big marketing campaign, try putting some energy and resources into creating a WOW department, or WOW features in your service and watch your ROI soar. And don’t forget to set up your alerts and tracking to follow and join the conversation while they are raving about you!

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Mardy Sitzer is a certified inbound marketing professional and president of Bumblebee Design & Marketing. Since 1993, Mardy has been delivering creative and innovative marketing solutions. An avid reader of all things internet and marketing, she also writes blogs, articles, and web content for industry magazines as well as for Bumblebee’s clients. She is an adjunct professor at Fordham University and instructor at Rutgers University teaching social media for business. Follow her on Twitter or email her at mardy@bumblebeellc.com.

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