When it comes to customer experiences, one brand always saves the day!

Today is an important date in the world of e-commerce because on this date in 1994, Jeff Bezos launched Amazon. Initially created as an online bookseller, it has evolved into an online marketplace where almost anything can be found and purchased, sometimes earning the nickname "the disrupter of industries" according Entrepreneur magazine and, in the process over the years, also earning the nickname "The Everything Store" by The New York Times. This post serves as a birthday greeting to Amazon!

According to Wikipedia, "The company, originally named Cadabra, was founded in the converted garage of Bezos' house and was renamed to Amazon in November 1994. Bezos chose the Seattle area for its abundance of technical talent from Microsoft and the University of Washington, as well as its smaller population for sales tax purposes and the proximity to a major book distribution warehouse in Roseburg, Oregon. The Amazon website launched for public sales on July 16, 1995, and initially sourced its books directly from wholesalers and publishers. Amazon went public in May 1997. It began selling music and videos in 1998, and began international operations by acquiring online sellers of books in the United Kingdom and Germany. In 1999, it initiated the sale of a diverse range of products, including music, video games, consumer electronics, home improvement items, software, games, and toys."

Recently, I received an email from a well-known jewelry brand, a brand that has become even more widely known due to its latest brand spokesperson, Ariana Grande, who has become a mega-star due to the international success of WICKED, THE MOVIE (parts one and two). In the email, there were several nice jewelry items with links to the products on the brand's website. I visited the website to take a look and then decided to visit a local store to try several items on in person. 

Once I arrived at the local store, I saw two salespeople and two other customers - so the store was definitely not busy. Once one customer left, I asked the available salesperson for assistance because she did not approach me - and she did not welcome me to the store either. I showed her the items I was interested in trying on, and she checked inventory on her handheld device. She told me that there were no bracelets or necklaces in stock at her store. Note, I had checked the website prior to my in-store visit and learned that the store had the items in stock. While shaking my head, I asked to see some other items and showed the salesperson the email I had received, and again, she said the items were not in stock at her store. I thanked her and left.

What did I do upon returning home and booting up my computer? If you guessed "logged into Amazon," you'd be correct. I immediately logged into my Amazon account and searched for the desired item, the Gema Bracelet Mixed cuts, Multicolored, Rhodium plated from Swarovski - surprisingly at a lower price than from the store - and purchased it. I also learned that there were other items in the Gema Crystal Collection that had not been advertised by the brand, either in-store on online. 

As a result of this purchase from Amazon and not from Swarovski, I started to think about how completely different the two customer experience journeys were. According to customer experience expert and author Annette Franz, "A journey map is a visual story-capturing/storytelling exercise during which you paint the picture of the customer experience for a specific interaction by walking in the customers' shoes to capture their steps, needs, and perceptions of the interaction. Journey mapping is a creative process that allows you to understand – and then redesign – the customer experience. The output is not just a "pretty picture" once the map is developed, it is meant to be a catalyst for change."

Therefore, if this famous jewelry brand wishes to keep customers so that they purchase directly from them rather than sending customers elsewhere, it would behoove them to improve their customer journey mapping process.

To quote Zen Yinger, who shared her thoughts about Amazon on my blog during my Spring Leadership Series last year: "What sets Amazon apart is not just the convenience it offers, but the unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction...In essence, Amazon isn't just a company; it's a symbol of customer-centric leadership, innovation, inclusivity, adaptability, and responsibility. It represents the evolution of an industry leader that not only meets - but anticipates - the needs of a dynamic and interconnected world."

And lastly, let's return to a quote from Annette Franz that appeared here on my blog in 2016, "You need to ensure that you deliver a great experience at all stages of the customer lifecycle." Seems like there are a lot of take-away lessons for Swarovski from my recent experience, because according to Bill Gates, "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."

SHARE THIS: We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better. ~Jeff Bezos #CustomerExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credits: Swarovski and Amazon.

Check out Annette's newest book, Employee Understanding:

https://cx-journey.com/employee-understanding

Read SPRING LEADERSHIP SERIES – Featuring Zen Yinger (June 2024):

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/06/spring-leadership-series-featuring-zen.html

Read An Amazing Amazon Experience – But It Didn't Start That Way (January 2018):

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2018/01/an-amazing-amazon-experience-but-it.html

Read Customer Service Is Not Something to Drive Around (June 2016):

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2016/06/customer-service-is-not-something-to.html 

How a Positive Customer Experience Erased a Mistake

I don't know about you, but I receive tons of emails from companies. Some I've purchased from, others I have not. The bottom line is that I get too many emails, so when I receive some in error, I get annoyed.

This past week, I received two emails from a company that I purchased items from. Based on the content of the emails, I realized that they were order confirmations from last year. Since I had purchased the items last year, I knew that the emails were not spam, but of course, you can never be too sure.

Since there were two emails, I decided to call the company. As I was preparing myself for what might be an upsetting situation - what if the company was in a state of flux and had charged me again for the same items I purchased last year? - I heard this message:

"Thank you for calling. If you are calling because of some odd emails you received, please accept our sincere apologies. We have upgraded our systems, and some customers received email confirmations of previous orders in error. Again, this was done in error as we upgrade, and we are very sorry. Please ignore the emails. If you are calling for another matter, please hold for a customer service rep."

All I can say is WOW. While this company was unable to stop the emails from being sent in error, someone had the good sense to record a voice message that would IMMEDIATELY address the situation when a customer called to inquire about the emails.

Crisis averted, and averted in the best way possible.

Of course, to add a little extra goodwill to this situation would be to send all customers a coupon for a 10 percent off a future purchase. That might result is some unexpected sales.

How would you have handled this situation?


Image Credit: YourDictionary.com.

Distraction Can Be an Opportunity in the World of E-Commerce

This post is live today to celebrate Amazon Prime Day, Amazon's deal event exclusively for Prime members, featuring personalized deals and top brands. The event was created on July 15, 2015, to celebrate Prime members on Amazon's 20th birthday. According to Amazon, “An Amazon Prime membership includes various perks, including free delivery options and streaming, shopping, and reading benefits.”

Does your brand know how to engage with customers and prospects through your digital presence? I’m, not referring to social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and now Threads. I’m referring to the platform YOU own and operate, your website. And if you sell products or services, how often does someone attempt to make a purchase and then stop? Do you have a way to monitor your site traffic and follow up with the customer or prospect?

Recently, I received an email promotion (NOT from Amazon) with several products as well as a notice about an upcoming sale. After reading the email, I visited the website to check out the new products as well as some sale items. But upon further thought, I decided NOT to make a purchase.

Within a few short minutes of leaving the website, I received an email including the image that accompanies this post, with the message, “Whoops, did you get distracted? Please come back and have another look.” A button was also included with a link that read, “CONTINUE SHOPPING.”

Was this a smart strategy? Did it show how much the brand valued me as a customer?

Or was this a bad strategy? Would it annoy me since I chose to not purchase anything?

The brand’s marketing team definitely wanted me to keep the brand front and center in my mind so that if or when I decided to make those specific purchases that I had looked at, it would be my go-to brand.

Does your brand view distraction as an opportunity? If not, perhaps, you should.


Image Credit: Natural Life.

A Reminder for All E-Commerce Sites During the Holiday Shopping Season

With the online holiday shopping season upon us, here's an important reminder for all E-Commerce sites.

While online surfing recently, I wanted to make a purchase for a family member and was using a site I had not previously used. I entered the product details and conducted a search, found the desired item, and then continued to maneuver around the site to enter my name, address, and credit card details.

As I was just about to click “place order,” something surprising happened. The entire site went down and a message popped up on my screen, “This site has gone down for maintenance. Try again later.”

I understand that unexpected situations happen, so I was happy (truth be told, happy is not the correct description) to give the benefit of the doubt to this site’s company. But if regularly-scheduled maintenance had been planned, don’t you think there should have been a message on the homepage indicating the times that the site would be down and inoperable? If such a message had been visible on the homepage or, even better, along the top of all pages, I would have been in a position to either chose to enter my data with lightning speed or chose to return the next day.

I shook my head once the site went down, because I wasn’t sure if my data had, in fact, been entered and the order had been processed. So, the next morning, I called the company – and after going through a series of numerous prompts, I spoke with a live person and provided the order number on my print out (I had printed out the web page where I was when the site went down the previous evening).

The lady could not locate the order number, and she went on to explain that due to the fact that the site had gone down the previous evening, my order had not been completed. I asked her if the site was back up, and she said yes. I waited a few seconds before saying anything, because I was curious what she might do to leave me with a positive impression of her company. When it was obvious that she was ready to end the call, I told her that I would visit the site to complete my transaction.

What do you think she said in response? I expected her to say something along the lines of “We’re sorry that the site went down during your transaction. This happens rarely, but we appreciate you business and if there’s anything I can do to facilitate your transaction, please let me know.” Or what about this, “Can I take your order over the phone to make your day go smoother?” But she said NOTHING. In fact, she disconnected the call.
 
It’s a shame that the customer service rep I spoke with had never been trained by Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, whose classic advice can lead to memorable, positive, and repeat customer experiences: “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every aspect of the customer experience better.”
 
If your business depends on successful online transactions this holiday season, don't ever lose sight of the importance of creating positive customer experiences.


Image Credit: Renjith Krishnan via FreeDigitalPhotos.net.