I am delighted with cartridgesave.co.uk. Why? The short answer is that my experience with cartridgesave shows up as experience that could only have been crafted by an organisation operating from a context of service. How best to convey this to you? Let’s start from the beginning.
Cartridgesave makes it easy for me to buy: information, messages, process
On Friday morning, breakfast, my wife told me that her Brother printer had run out of toner. Shortly after breakfast I typed in “Brother MFC-7820N” in Google and various vendors came up. I tried the first one and I found that the page displayed toners for the Brother 94…. I didn’t notice this at first and then I did. My feeling? Anger – “How dare you show up in my search if you don’t have what I am looking for?”. Then I looked at the next vendor – a whole bunch of Brother consumables for all kinds of printers (on the first page) except the one that I was looking for! Then I clicked on the cartridgesave.co.uk listing. Viola, the very first item displayed was exactly what I was looking for.
Two messages stood out for me. First delivery – next day provided order were placed before a certain time. Second, free shipping. These messages were displayed prominently – obviously cartridgesave have figured out the kind of questions buyers are asking when they are considering buying something. Everything stacked up so I made the decision to buy. Within a couple of minutes I had chosen the toner, entered my credit card details, set up an account and made the purchase – easy! In the process I was told to expect delivery on Monday. My thinking? “It would be great if it arrived tomorrow and I can live with Monday.”
Delight: the order arrives two days early!
Saturday morning the toner arrived. I was delighted: how that showed up in my world “Wow, this is great, what a great company.” I have noticed that the turnaround time between placing an order and receiving the order matters – it matters a whole lot. Clearly the folks at Zappos have recognised and act on a human truth: when we buy we want the item immediately and in the online domain that is the next day!
Delight: the importance of the personal, of the human touch that says “I care about you, I am here for you”
As I opened the package I noted that the toner had been carefully packaged – the quality of the packaging said it all. Then I noticed and read this letter:
This letter grabbed my attention. Here is what showed up for me: the letter is not personalised (it is not addressed to me, it does not mention what item I have purchased etc) and yet it is personal! There is big difference and personal matters more than personalisation. What am I pointing at? Just be with the whole letter: logo, fonts, language, what is in bold, what is ‘handwritten’, the clearly displayed phone number and email address for customer service. Here are the four aspects I noticed:
“Thanks for your order – we really appreciate it”
How many companies write that? How many write it such that it shows up in my, the customer’s, world as words with power as opposed to empty words not worth the paper they are written on?
“If you have any problems whatsoever….please get in touch…”
Notice the word “whatsoever” and “please get in touch”. The first conveys an absolute commitment to service and the second lands as a personal invitation. How?/Why? The “whatsoever” refers not only to the order itself but also to technical support! Clearly cartridgesave does not see itself as being in the business of selling toner. It sees itself in the business helping customers deal with their printer issues. Did you notice that the email address is “help@cartridgesav.co.uk”? It occurs to me that the folks at cartridgesave get that when customers ring in they are looking for help with something. Finally, do you notice the difference in how “please get in touch” differs from “contact us”? Do you notice the difference in the tone and how this impacts you?
“Thank again, Laura”
What a great way to end a letter – with thanks and from a human being. Yes, it matters to me that it is “Thanks again” as opposed to “Yours….” and it matters to me that it is signed by Laura.
“PS put this sticker on you printer and you will never have to search for us again!”
Simply fantastic – that is marketing/selling done right. Why? How? Because it does not land in my world as marketing/selling – the company simply looking after its own interest. This invitation occurs as an act of caring. And given what has gone before (my experience to date) it is a perfect ending. It is an invitation that is likely to be taken up.
What did I do with that sticker?
I peeled it off and put it right on the front of the printer where it is obvious. Why did I do that? Because cartridgesave did everything right (process wise) and spoke with/to me in a way that shows up as caring. So why would I want to buy from anyone else? Why would I want to take the risk of buying from another company that does not care?
Final thoughts
It is not enough to be competent. It is not enough that you care. If you want to connect with the customer – to get his attention at an emotional level (and that is the only kind of attention that matters) then you absolutely have to aim for creating that “Wow!” in the customer. That is how the customer gets that you care – it is getting like a getting a punch in the stomach as opposed to getting as in reading a book and understanding some concept. When do you need to do that? The first time that the customer interacts with your company and places and order with you. Create a “Wow!” and you have created, in the words of NLP, an ‘anchor’. Result, you are ‘anchored’ in your customer’s heart and that buys you both ‘attention’ and ‘forgiveness’.
You cannot fake caring. Why? Caring requires that you notice and take care of all the details; caring is in the details! Finally caring has a certain quality to it: it is like body language it leaks through subconsciously irrespective what words you are speaking and what impression you are seeking to cultivate.
