The Changing of an Image

I’m back on the blog! I just started my senior year at Baylor University with 18 hours worth of classes. It was crazy at first, but I enjoy it because most of my classes involve group projects. It will help me to learn how to work with co-workers in the future! Since everyone is back at school, I noticed that there were a few brand changes.

From all of the books I read during my internship (look at my blog posts with the book titles), I learned that image is very important for business. Businesses want to have a great image to give a reason for customers to come back. They want to have an image that will stay on the customers’ mind.

Baylor University is working on its image. Baylor is known for a beautiful campus with nice red brick buildings with white cement details, green grass, and gorgeous landscapes. When people are driving on I-35, which will take them up on the bridge, they will see the overview of Baylor’s campus. People will notice that Baylor is a beautiful campus, but there are distractions in front of the campus. The drivers will notice that two gas stations, an IHOP, and a little section of shops are blocking their view of the Baylor campus. Baylor has just bought this land, and they will tear down the buildings during the fall/winter of 2008. They will replace those buildings with green grass. It will improve the image of the Baylor campus: better, sharper, cleaner, and with more of an Ivy-League look.

McAllister’s Deli is another great example. I remember McAllister’s because it has Baylor shirts on the ceiling tiles. It was fun to eat there while looking at all of the colorful shirts that represent several Baylor organizations. This is the Waco brand, not the chain. Well, McAllister’s just did a renovation to the building over the summer. I have to say that the building looks great, but I was disappointed when I walked inside. The shirts are not on the ceiling anymore. I was wondering why they would take that brand away. I talked to several people, including my brother, and they were also disappointed about the shirts. It turned out that they did not take them away. They ended up hanging all of the shirts on the walls in the hallway to the bathroom. At least they are still there, but talk about a demotion!

Fixing an image can be a good or bad. It is better to improve it instead of completely changing it for the worse! It is better to keep current customers while gaining new customers.

Rewarding Experience

The time has gone by really fast! I just finished my internship with The Marketing Spot, and it was a rewarding experience. It really opened my eyes to see the marketing perspective of businesses. Ever since my internship began, I see everything as a potential marketing experience (for examples, see my chipotle and flea market blog).

I can see how word-of-mouth advertising is important. I have been working at Pier 1 Imports for a year; it helps to have a job as a college student! My co-workers and I had to go to a meeting one night to talk about the customer experience. It was interesting to hear the fact that the customers are 7 times more likely to talk about a bad experience than a good experience.

That fact is so true. I went to a pharmacy on Valley Mills recently. I could have gone to a closer pharmacy in this chain, but I liked this one because it looks better inside. I went to print digital pictures from my camera, and I needed help with printing. However, a manager was extremely rude to me. I simply asked her if the photo machine was working, but she would not help me or anything. Of course, I got upset and told my friends about it. I did not go back to that store until a few months later. I figured that she would not be there anymore. I was dead wrong. She was there and SO RUDE to me again. Unbelievable! I did not know what I did wrong, but all I did was ask her a question. Of course, I made a comment to her that I am a customer and that she does not need to be rude. I do not plan to patronize that store again.

No one wants to have a bad experience. If they hear a negative report from someone, surely they would not go to that particular business. If you want to read more about it, read Managing the Customer Experience by Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler.

I want to thank Jay Ehret for a great experience in my internship. I look forward to my steps ahead in the business world.

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are new rules for marketing and public relations? Well, there are some! My boss, Jay Ehret, from The Marketing Spot recommended for me to read The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott.

David Meerman Scott explained in his book about the new rules and how things have changed in the marketing and public relations world. The best way to get customers is by building relationships with them without direct-selling our product or business. For example, customers tend to search for answers on the website to solve their problems. To provide an answer is the beginning of what is hopefully a long-lasting and profitable relationship. Scott also talked about the importance of and gave advice for websites, blogs, podcasts, videos and search engines. My favorite part of this book is that Scott listed the web addresses in footnotes as references. It allows the readers to look online for more information fast and easy.

I believe that this book was a great lesson for me. I just started my blog about two months ago, and it has been interesting. It seems to have gone really slowly since I have yet to network with other bloggers. I was not sure where to go or what topics to write about. I was pretty discouraged. Scott gave great advice to use for blogging. After reading his book, I felt more confident with my blog.

Read this book when you can!

Face-to-face Drive-Thru

People may think marketing is all about advertising and surveys. Well, that is not always the case. Marketing is also building a relationship with customers. This is how businesses get loyal customers.

My family and I were about to make an out-of-state trip to my grandparents’ house. We decided to stop by Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru in Arlington, Texas, to order lunch. Of course, a drive-thru is usually where a customer drives his/her car up to the speaker and orders a meal, but this time it was different. We did not order through a speaker, but through a person. I thought that was fantastic. It created a personal relationship between us and an employee. Obviously, Chick-fil-A is focusing on building relationships through a drive-thru. A speaker is such an impersonal device; the customer does not know what the person looks like on the other side of a speaker—it is just an impersonal and sometimes hard-to-understand voice. If an order is complicated, it is hard to explain to the speaker. It creates the bigger chance it will come out wrong. Instead, ordering to a person makes things easier and creates good will. However, not every Chick-fil-A does a face-to-face drive-thru. After we made our order, we drove up to wait in the line for our food. While waiting in line, we drove up to a sauce stand. An employee asked us if we need any sauces such as barbeque or ketchup, and how many do we need.

It was great to see how convenient and easy it was in the drive-thru. Bush’s Chicken in Waco, Texas is another great example of personal relationships. They do face-to-face drive-thru all the time. It was wonderful to get a personal connection from Chick-fil-A!

Facebook Addiction

Facebook is one of the biggest sensations these days. It is social network that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People have their own profile page where their Facebook friends can learn about them and communicate with them.

I have been a member of Facebook for almost 4 years. I am addicted to Facebook, and I love it. Why? I have found so many of my long-lost friends through this addictive network, and it allows me to keep in touch with my friends across the nation and world-wide. It is mind boggling to see how much Facebook has changed and grown so quickly. It was originally for college students only, but now it is for all ages.

During one of my semesters at Baylor University, someone created a survey about the Facebook addiction for the class. Two of the questions were:

• How many times a day do you check your Facebook account?
• How long during each session?

Most people answered at least 10 times and 5-10 hours total per day. That is some 70 times and 35-70 hours per week! I had to admit that I am one of those people.

Why is it so addicting? My guess would be the usefulness of it. You can do so many things on it. People can download their pictures, videos, music, and notes. They can market their business and sell things that they want to sell. If there is a special event or a party, members can create and send invitations online. If they need to talk to someone, they can type in the wall posts, private messages, and online.

The point is: Facebook is becoming more useful for everyone in a personal life and a business life. The sky is the limit for good marketing applications using Facebook.

However, if you are not a member yet, BE AWARE OF THE ADDICTION!

Customer Experience: Medieval Times

Positive customer experience is a simple way to create a good word-of-mouth campaign. I hate to admit that I am a picky eater, and choosing a restaurant is one of my hardest decisions. I like to eat at a restaurant that has tasty food, friendly employees, and speedy service. Who wants disgusting or even mediocre food and bad service anyway? This is one of my favorite dining experiences: Medieval Times. Why?

Medieval Times is a family-friendly dinner attraction that takes place in an arena. It is located in Dallas, Texas. There are 9 different locations across the nation. Everyone sits in stadium seating, eats their four-course dinner in an 11th-century style feast, and watches the exciting tournament. At Medieval Times, the food is messy; there are no eating utensils. All of the meals are one choice, unless you are a vegetarian. The food is delicious! Despite all of the messiness, it is a wonderful experience.

The audience will be split into six teams once they arrive at the restaurant. They sit in the arena section matching the country their knight represents. During the dinnertime, the audience gets to cheer for their knight in the drama of jousting and skill tests. They even get to wear a hat that presents their team’s colors.

This unique restaurant is ironic because when you think of a four-course meal, you probably envision a fancy eating establishment with white table cloths, quiet atmosphere, and sedate waiters in tuxedos. Instead, Medieval Times has finger licking, loud music, rowdy cheering, courageous knights, fun waitresses, and handsome horses. The intense, live drama on the arena floor is exhilarating. I think the medieval times experience is wonderful because it is so different from any other restaurant. I have never met anyone that does not like Medieval Times.

If there is one nearby, I dare you to give it a try. Who cares about messy food? The fun-filled experience is worth it!

-Jessica

Customer Experience

Customer experience is one of the keys to success in business. Loyal customers will help keep the business running and create word-of-mouth advertising. It takes a lot of effort to bring your customers back. First, you have to create an experience that will stay on the customers’ minds. As I said in my first blog post, you have to be first on their minds; otherwise, they might not remember your business. We tend to dwell on the first thought, not the second. Every customer wants to have an experience that is wonderful and unique. If the experience was special, then the more likely the customer will come back.

For example, Build-a-Bear is an amazing store that allows customers to build their own stuffed animal. It does not have to be a bear—there are many animals from which to choose. This is a unique store that creates memorable experiences for customers. I have been there twice for my own brown bear and my brother’s girlfriend’s panda bear. Fun, I know. Once you walk in, you pick out what kind of animal you want, and then the employees will help you with step-by-step instructions to build it. You start by kissing a heart before putting it inside an animal and then stuffing it (how cute!). The store allows you to pick out any sound recording and different outfits. After building an animal, you will make a certificate that allows you to make a name official for your stuffed animal. It is a really cool experience.

How can we create a unique customer experience? Jay Ehret, from The Marketing Spot, recommends the book, Managing the Customer Experience by Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler. It talks about how important the customer experience is, and how to create it. It also mentions how to use it as a brand. It is pretty much how to turn the customers into loyal advocates. I recommend that you read it. Customer experience: it will make or break your business.

-Jessica