Small Talk

April 22, 2011 »

How To Create An Evangelist

Guy Kawasaki was the Chief Evangelist for Apple Computers in the 1980s.  His job at the company centered around spreading the gospel about the value that Apple provided, and why the small Silicon Valley upstart offered a superior product to the larger, established operating systems.  Fast forward 25 years, and it’s easy to understand the power that can come from passionate believers who get excited about remarkable products.  Books like The Pursuit of Wow! by Tom Peters and Purple Cow by Seth Godin emphasize how important it is for organizations to create breakthrough products and services that stimulate conversation, based on the very principle of how distinguishing they are in the marketplace.

So as a student of this type of marketing, and as one who seeks to help pharmaceutical companies do the same thing with word of mouth, I was really impressed by the experience my wife Tammy and I just had with a local toy store called Magic Beans.  And there is much to be learned from what happened.

Tammy stopped into Magic Beans last week to investigate our options for strollers since we are expecting our second child in just a few weeks.  If you have young children, you know how many choices exist for baby products, and it can all get pretty overwhelming.  Tammy spent some time with a salesperson and learned about some of the products they sell.  We went in together over the weekend, and met with another salesperson in the store.  Neither one of us thought twice about that - we received additional information from that employee - and we left with a slew of options to consider.  

Here’s where it gets interesting….

Less than a week later, we received this hand-written note from the original salesperson:

To me, this was absolutely remarkable.  The very nature of this note makes me feel compelled to talk about it (as I have to several people since then) and to blog about it here.

So if you’re in the market for any sort of baby product, either for your own children or as a gift for someone else’s, you’d be wise to check out Magic Beans.

And for the marketers out there, here is a four-step guide for how to create a fan:

1.  Use the element of surprise to your advantage.  It had been a few days since we were at Magic Beans, and had become re-engaged with other life topics.  This note did a great job of re-engaging the topic of a stroller within us, and  - with a $20 gift card to boot! - made a huge impression on us as well.  In fact, my wife even turned to me and said with a twinge of guilt, “But I didn’t even complain!” Why wait until someone is upset with you and feeling negatively about your brand?  Instead, be proactive, surprise a customer with a random act of kindness, and exceed their expectations.  It will pay dividends beyond your expectations.

2.  Make it personal.  Notice how Tim included both my wife’s name and mine in this note.  It shows a sincere level of interest and sends the message that we matter to him. (Bonus points for the fact that he and I never spoke, yet he remembered my name from conversations with my wife!)  The good news here for boutique operations is that most big box retailers can’t compete like this.  Sure, the cost may be slightly more at Magic Beans, but the personalized attention and first-class service will win us over.  (Pharma companies take note: think of your premium product in the 3rd tier co-pay category - will the patient pay the extra costs for the greater level of service they receive from you?  What can you start doing right now to achieve that level of loyalty?)

3.  Make it timely.  This note was sent to us within a few days of us being in the store.  With a high-consideration product like a stroller, the salesperson knew we’d spend some time reviewing our options - and now we’re certain to buy from Magic Beans, whenever we’re ready to make that purchase.  

4.  Make it easy to spread.  When working towards the remarkable, simple is often better.  A hand-written note with a $20 gift card.  That’s very easy to explain to countless people.  There is no complicated CRM systems involved, just a human approach that will create change. 

I better sign off; I think my wife may be having contractions….

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