In a column for Fast Company, Paul Worthington describes the impact that consumers can have on the image, reputation, and sales of your company’s products and services. As Worthington explains, “Consider for a moment that the humble Amazon product review can nullify millions of dollars of ad spend, that a search for “best razor” on Google can route around all of Gillette’s best efforts to communicate the “best a man can get,” and that a “hate Comcast” group on Facebook has the power to drive a consumer straight into the arms of DirectTV.”
Now, more than ever, the amplified internet soap box makes it essential that companies go out of their way to create “Raving Fans” – people who are so excited about your products and services that they tell others. At the very least, you want to limit the number of people who become raving foes –same idea, but on the negative side.
Here’s three ways to get started.
- Set a clear vision based on the customer experience. What should the customer expect when he or she uses your product or service?
- Be consistent. Make sure that your product delivers on that promise every time. Nothing creates a raving foe faster than inconsistent experiences.
- Deliver +1%. Give the customer a little more than they expected. This is the secret of creating a raving fan. What’s the extra touch that shows you care and makes people want to share their experience with others.
The internet gives consumers a loud voice in the marketplace. Make sure that it is a positive voice. If you are looking for more ideas, check out Creating Devoted Customers from our Ignite newsletter archives.
This blog sounds like my preaching about social media and how social media has changed business as usual and put power back into customers’ hands.
Yesterday, during a conversation about social media I even mentioned creating Raving Fans as one of the great advantages of social media or suffer dire consequences
Validation is always good to hear.
Hi Philippe,
You are so right that social media has changed business as usual. We used to say that a dissatisfied customer would end up telling 19 others about their bad experience. Today, a dissatisfied customer has the ability to tell 19,000 others with the push of a button. Customers are talking about us–we have to do our best to make sure it is as positive a conversation as possible.
My comment is more of a question.
One of my responsibilities as a Manager is to educate staff what it means to create a Raving Fan. My question is, what is the most effective way of measuring Raving Fans? Is it as simple as sending a survey to our members? How often should an organization discuss Raving Fans?
Thanks.
Hi Marcela,
Thanks for your question. While you can use customer satisfaction surveys as one way to measure overall satisfaction, a better way might be to try and measure every interaction you have with customers by asking two simple questions:
1. Have we exceeded your expectations today?
2. Would you recommend us to a friend?
These two questions get at the heart of the Raving Fans philosophy which is that you have to go beyond just satisfying customer needs. What you are really looking for is an emotional connection–an experience that goes beyond what the customer expected. When you do this, you create a customer that not only comes back, but brags about you to others.
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