Have You Created a Brandable Customer Experience?

How does Starbucks get away with charging $3.75 for a cup of coffee when there's plenty of good coffee for a lot less all over town? Everyone thought Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, was crazy to consider pricing his product that way. But Schultz recognized that he wasn't really selling coffee-he was selling a particular customer experience of which coffee was a centerpiece, but not the sum total. He delivered a signature experience that included status, luxury, warmth, connection, and community-a brandable customer experience -that people responded to and were more than willing to pay for, even at $3.75 a shot.

A company's brand is the mental imprint that gets planted in its customers' heads. Like a brain tattoo, it's what the customer thinks of when they see your ad or drive by your location; it's the image they have of you. A brandable customer experience is a powerfully positive and unique experience your customer has when they purchase your product or service-and in today's competitive business world, with many solid companies vying for the same customers, creating that experience can catapult you way ahead of your competition.

The Starbucks brandable customer experience starts with a very cool environment full of comfortable cozy chairs that makes you feel like you're in somebody's living room. The smell of robust coffee wafts through the air, hip music plays (but not too intrusively) on the PA, thought-provoking reading materials are scattered about, the menu is built to be tailored to your personal preferences, and friendly, well-informed staff are on hand, often with free samples of new products. All of these factors create a space where customers naturally connect-either with each other, or perhaps just with their own thoughts. Starbucks doesn't sell coffee; they sell a special experience. Starbucks knows that you must brand how you sell, not just what you sell.

Most businesses totally miss the branding boat. They think a brand starts and stops with what they sell. They forget that how they sell is what often creates the exceptional experience that gets deeply imbedded in the minds of their customers. Creating a brandable customer experience is like taking your customers on such a remarkable journey that they want to keep traveling with you again and again and again.

There are many opportunities to create a signature and sustainable customer experience , recognized by your buyers and embraced by your employees. Most businesses have three stages of contact where they can create a brandable customer experience : before customers buy, while they buy, and after they buy. Start by mapping out all the points of contact that customers have with your brand. At each point, put yourself in the customer's shoes and consider their experience. For example, do your customers call you? Visit you? Are all phone calls answered and forwarded in real time? Is your receptionist welcoming and truly remarkable? Do you meet them at a trade show? Does your presentation there make them say, "wow"? Do you follow up every contact within 24 hours? Do you use retail, Internet, or direct sales? Is your web site easy to navigate? Do you do something special for your best customers at least once a year? Do you have experiences that are about giving value, not just about selling? At all points of contact with customers, do you create experiences that appeal to as many of their senses and psychological needs as possible?

At every point in the buying process, these and similar questions can help you consider what the customer's experience is like, and from there, you can begin to implement the elements that are most likely to land you a sought-after brand. In addition, don't forget that your employees are the true "brand apostles"-have you built a brand mantra that inspires them? The media, too, can be cultivated to become brand cheerleaders.

Starbucks customers don't buy coffee; they buy a special experience of luxury, warmth, connection, and community all served up in a cool and hip environment. In fact, the imprint of that brand is so strong that some Starbucks customers will pay $4 for a cup of coffee from the drive-through, even when they can't participate in the actual experience itself! Make sure that your customers have the same kind of powerful moments in the buying process with your product or service, and soon they won't be able to think about buying anywhere else.




Have You Created a Brandable Customer Experience? - To learn more about this author, visit George Ludwig's Website.

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