The Customer Karma® book is at the final phases of its production.  The cover design is done. Now it is left to the publishers to do their share to make the book look good so that I can get the book in your hands. As I look back and relive every moment I spent writing this book, I have to admit that it was one of the best times in my professional life. I wrote the book as me, without trying to be anyone else.  You will find "no non-sense" business sense, and my signature attempts at being funny.  But the thing I am most proud of is the thread that goes through the entire book, about the similarity of human relationships with our relationships with customers.  Having this thread throughout the book helped me look at actions brands take in the name of “investing in customer relationships”, from a totally different perspective. There were some actions that one would never ever consider in everyday relationship but it is OK for brands to do it in their relationship with customers.  That simply did not make sense. Here is an excerpt from the book on my customer relationships and normal human relationships are so similar. As brands strive to build a strong connection with its customers, it must remember that relationships have phases. A deeper understanding of the phases will shed more light on how business relationships evolve. Understanding why we get into relationships and how relationships evolve is important in order for brands to realize why a customer will choose to build a long-term relationship with them. A journey must start with self-discovery. Before jumping into the dating world and seeking a relationship, it is always important to have a clear idea of who one is and what one is seeking. Here Are the Four Relationship Phases of a Date First Impression: Within seconds of the start of a date, one forms a first impression that sets the tone for the rest of the date. Doesn’t the same thing happen within minutes of entering a new store that one is visiting for the first time? The first impression is important in building a relationship. Making It Easy to Explore: This is the early part of the date. During this phase, both individuals are cautious and simply want to explore. The same thing happens with a first visit to a store, as the customer in this phase wants to walk around and let the surroundings soak in. Seeking Confirmation: As the date progresses, both persons become aware of a reality. The reality is that at the end of the date, each has to decide if there is going to be a second date. Hence, they start becoming a little more proactive in getting information they need for this decision. The Grand Finale: Decision Time: At the end of the date, each person makes a decision about the future of the connection. A customer goes through exactly the same emotions during the first visit to the store. As we go through the phases of customer karma, it is important to know that the focus should not be only on doing good karma always; how and when you do good karma also matter. Good karma should be done in a spontaneous, natural way without the other person feeling stressed or overwhelmed. As you reflect on the similarities between both, let me ask you a question.  Think it is the birthday of one of your best friends or the person you started to date.  You want to do something nice on his/her birthday. Would you ever consider giving him/her a coupon for “½ off dinner” at a restaurant” or “$5 off if you spend $25 or more” at a retail store?  Probably not.  If you are a little tight on cash flow you can still give him/her a $5 gift card with a nice card.  That will be a good reflection of your feelings. The recipient can use the $5 gift card however he/she wants, as there are no conditions to its use.  The “½ off dinner” at a restaurant” or the “$5 off if you spend $25 or more” at a retail store both require the person to spend money to use the offer.  That is simply not a nice gesture.  Instead why doesn’t the brand simply offer a $5 gift card at the restaurant or the retail outlet, where the recipient can use it however he/she wants.  That makes it a true gift instead of it being “how can I trick you, on your birthday, to spend money at my store?”   Subscribe to be notified of new blog postings  ...

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Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. Super Bowl is the #1 night for pizza delivery. But it was not this way all the time.  Let me take you back to 1990s.  Look at this Pizza Hut ad from 1990s.  One thing is missing in the ad is no mention of delivery. Early 1990s Pizza Hut Delivery took the country by storm.  This Pizza Hut ad was one of the early delivery ads, which had the catchy jingle, Change for the Better, Change for the best. One market where Pizza Hut delivery did not catch on immediately was Southern California.  I was invited by Larry Zwain to jump in and look at the reason for this.  The research team did every possible consumer research, and found the following: Customers loved Pizza Hut They were ordering from Pizza Hut They showed very high purchase intent for getting pizza delivered to them They showed very high purchase intent for Pizza Hut delivery But why were they not buying?  What was it that we were missing? As a final attempt, I decided to do a series of one on one interviews with customers.  Within minutes of the first group, I got my answer.  The answer was so simple and obvious. Respondents started telling me, that "Pizza Hut does not deliver to me."  Wow, that was a direct answer. When I asked them what they meant, each went on to say that, a year or two back, "I called Pizza Hut delivery and the person who answered the phone got my street address and checked.  Then I was told that Pizza Hut does not deliver to your address." I showed them the Pizza Hut Delivery ads that were running in the market.  The customers started getting a little frustrated with my 'not getting it'.   One customer finally explained it to me and I got it. "I have seen these ads.  I know Pizza Hut delivery is in the city.  But remember that I told you, I called a few years back, that I called Pizza Hut delivery and the person who answered the phone got my street address and checked.  Then I was told that Pizza Hut does not deliver to your address." At that instance I realized that each of the customers (and thousands like them in the market) in the area had a PERSONAL REJECTION.  All the ads on the air were not REVERSING THAT PERSONAL REJECTION.  In fact, it felt that the customers did not want TO RISK A SECOND PERSONAL REJECTION. So what was the answer?  Very simple.  Pizza Hut put up billboards in the market which said, "If you can see this ad, Pizza Hut Delivers to you." When I look back, I felt the consumers were acting very rationally. They took the input directly from Pizza Hut delivery order takers and held on to it, untill Pizza Hut made the effort to change it. Thank you. Arjun   Subscribe to be notified of new blog postings ...

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In the last blog, I talked about the power of customer observation. This time, let me switch gears and talk about the power of conversation with customers. The power of conversation is based on the following three key learning: CUSTOMERS CAN REACT TO A PRODUCT OFFERING, BUT THEY CANNOT DESIGN NEW PRODUCTS FOR A BRAND. Example: A customer in a shoe store can tell the sales staff where a shoe hurts, but the same customer cannot design a solution to remove the discomfort. IF YOU ASK A CUSTOMER A QUESTION, HE WILL SURELY GIVE YOU AN ANSWER. It is important that the customer shares their reactions and feelings, and not act like an “expert giving an opinion.” Hence, you have to be very careful as “how” you ask the customer a question, as you do not want to make the customer feel like an expert. When a customer gets into the “expert mode” he will give answers that sound good and are rational. Here is an example: In a focus group when I asked a respondent how he felt about a new product, he stated that his single friends would surely like this product. When I asked him if he was planning to buy the product with his own money, he was not at all ready to commit to a purchase. I wanted to learn how he, himself, would react to the product. Instead when he was talking about his friends, he was speaking as an expert and most probably he did not have firsthand knowledge about his friends’ reaction to the new product.  That answer could be very misleading as he did not have any desire to purchase the product himself. A BRAND CAN LEARN A LOT BY WATCHING A CUSTOMER BE A CUSTOMER AND ENGAGING IN A CONVERSATION (NOT JUST ASKING QUESTIONS). When a customer is truly in the customer mode, it is truly enriching to see how he processes information and makes decisions. If you can engage in a conversation with the customer when he is in that mindset, you will be amazed to learn how a customer reacts to your product. In this video blog, I talk about Blockbuster video and how I was trying to discover the brand’s connections to families.  If I started with a traditional quantitative research, I would have learned that 8 out of 10 respondents feel that their families connect to the brand. That insight would be very powerful but would not have given me any idea of the magnitude of the connection.  I truly wanted to know, “What was the true intensity of the connection the brand enjoyed with respondents and their families?” I got that answer when I created a mini lounge in the store, and invited loyal guests to come in and have a one-on-one conversation with me. The interaction with the guest was very informal while putting them at the center of attention.  I would greet the guest when they walked in, give him a tour of the store and then we sat down to have a conversation.  Instead of structuring the conversation in the form of a series of questions, I wanted to create the environment that facilitated sharing “brand connection moments.”  As I prepared for the conversation with the customer, I wanted to create a personal environment as if I was talking to a buddy of mine, asking him about when and where he met his wife for the first time, and what he felt after the first date, etc.  The same way I wanted to learn about my friend’s excitement, his passion, and his memories; and everything in his words; the same way I wanted to learn the customer’s connection to Blockbuster. As you watch the video blog, I am sure that you will be amazed at the learning that came out of the conversation.  The conversation made me feel the heartbeat of the customer. Now I knew how the customer and his family actually connected with the brand. It truly was simple yet insightful, as the customer was not feeling like an expert.  He was in a moment where he felt that I was genuinely interested in what he was saying and was helping me out by sharing his emotions. I did a quantitative study as a follow-up to quantify the emotions and understand which age groups felt the connection the most. However, without the deep-dive “one-on-one conversation”, I would have never had a true appreciation of “how families felt connected to the brand.” Enjoy the blog!   Subscribe to be notified of new blog postings ...

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How can an idea so good not work in increasing loyalty? During my days with one of the top three pizza companies, my team came up with a brilliant loyalty building idea. “You buy 10 pizzas and after that, you can buy pizzas for the rest of the year, at a special price of $7.”  Now, to put things into perspective, those days, a large pizza was valued at $10 and this was a 30% off offer, without any coupons. Also, I had followed the cardinal rule of loyalty programs, as this offer was the best deal the customer can get from the pizza company. Before rolling it out, I was in a focus group where the idea was presented to loyal customers. During the focus group, I was my usual self.  I was romancing the customers, making them feel excited by being there and getting their feedback.  It was evident that this idea was working, as nearly every customer was buying more pizzas from my company and was not even thinking of going anywhere else.  Isn’t that the ideal goal of a loyalty program? But there was something missing.  Is there something more a brand should seek other than customers buying more? I got the answer when, towards the end of one of the focus groups, I asked the respondents, “What else can we do to make sure that you never ever buy pizzas from anyone else?  Do not hesitate.  Do not hold back!” An older woman in the group said “Son, looks like you are not that smart.  In fact, you may be a little slow to get things.”  I had no clue where she was going. She went on, “Look son, not once, not twice, not just five times, but ten times (she showed her ten fingers as she said this), I have shown you that I can afford to buy your large pizzas for $10.  I had no problems with the price.  But do not get me wrong; I like the fact you reduced the price to $7.  But you know what it made me realize?  It made me realize that earlier, you were really really ‘hosing me’ at $10.  Even now, you are making a lot of money at $7.  So the deal made me question everything about your restaurant.” Wow, that was some insight.  By reducing the price and offering a ‘sweet deal’ only to people like her made her doubt my brand and in fact, weakened the connection between her and my restaurant.  That means, I gave up profits for my brand to fail in her eyes. After the price drop, she was visiting more often as she was handcuffed by the $7 price point. But the connection was not strong enough to survive if I could not offer that $7 price point in the future. I paused and then looked at her and asked, “What one thing can I do for you that will make you come to me every time you order a pizza?”  She was ready with her response. “Treat me special.  Find out about me.  Give me things that I want. Give me things that you do not give everyone else.” “And what might that be?”  I asked. She gave me a look and the only way to describe that was, “wait and be patient, I am telling you.” She went to say, “If I am truly so special, why not put my pizza at the front of the line every time I order. Put me and the rest of the people in the group first.” Another wow.  How could I miss it?  I have experienced every time I have flown. Even on a flight which is delayed, the super fliers get to board first, effectively saying ‘na na boo boo, you cannot have this’ to the rest of the customers.  Yes, special means getting things that the person feels are special and that are not what everyone gets. MY REFLECTIONS ON THIS LEARNING, LOOKING BACK: I am sure that the results (measured by increase in sales) achieved by my marketing team using the ‘after 10 pizzas, get a large at $7’ idea is one of the best loyalty ideas to ever hit the pizza industry.  But did the team put this idea to sell more pizzas or reward the customer? Marketing had identified an idea that was easy to track and implement.  And in some ways, since it was topped with a deal that was so “incredible” that result, measured by sales increase, was bound to happen. But in the process, the brand’s connection with the customer was not getting any stronger.  It was just transactional where the barrier to leave was high.  But we were also eroding the brand equity as the loyal customer was now looking at us as a $7 pizza company.  Is that what was the intended positioning of the brand? Looking back, I would like to ask myself the following questions, if I had to do it all over again: Was it a true gift or a bribe? Did we give the customer what was easy or convenient for us to give? Did the customer feel special getting the gift? Were we excited all the way from our heart to give the gift? What kind of future expectation did we set? May be after 20 pizzas, get a large at $6? Was the whole idea driven by driving short term transactions without understanding the consequences of us becoming a $7 pizza company to our loyal guests? Based on all these reflections, I see this “loyalty idea” similar to me telling my date, “Now that we have gone out on 10 dates, I want to buy you free dessert on all future dates.”  I am sure the response to the free dessert offer will not be favorable, nor will it increase her loyalty (connection) with me.  The dating example truly puts in perspective the grandma in the group saying “Son, looks like you are not that smart.  In fact, you may be a little slow to get things.” Subscribe to be notified of new blog postings Email Address // ...

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