Bonding with your client – what bank are you?
Consumers are daily confronted with various commercials; television, radio, boards and on the internet. I cannot help but wonder how a company can set itself apart from its competitors and create the additional value that makes consumers choose your product over another. The idea of personalization that we touched upon in the last class is of high interest to me. How do you make your customer feel included and special – and how do you utilize their special knowledge about your brand to further improve and enhance the product?
After class I could not help but think about the various examples that we are presented with on a daily basis. Just to name a few that I have experienced on my own.
- Starbucks; This particular coffee chain is an expert in making their customer feel special. When ordering a coffee you are asked to specify your name – and your coffee is delivered to you with your name hand-written on the cup. That is a brilliant move where the additional value makes your customer feel at home and appreciated
M&M’s: M&M chocolate brand has shown excellent skills in integrating the customer and adding additional value. They have cleverly acknowledged that customers all need special attention. A few years ago they launched a successfull campaign asking their customers “what M&M are you”… Times Square in New York houses an impressive M&M store where all the different colors and shapes are presented and customers can take a “mood test” to see which M&M color represents them best…
However, trying to bond with your customers also has great risks. Knowing customer preferences can be difficult and changing company image is difficult. I would like to include an example of how it can be done. In 2007 a Danish bank, Jyske Bank launched an extensive marketing campaign portraying a new and more modern take on how a bank could look like. Their bold move was made based on extensive customer analysis showing a preference for more modern and less serious banks. Jyske Bank believed there was a huge marked if they could combine the bank with a more playful and joyful atmosphere. They rebuild the interior of all the banks, creating a “coffee bar” “relaxation area” and so forth. They changed the interior color from white to lime green in the hopes that this would appeal to a broader audience. Jyske Bank succeeded in their attempt to diversify themselves from the crowd and their level of incoming clients raised 67%. However, despite their success it is questionable whether others might not be as lucky… 
Frederikke
Tags: customer satisfaction, product creation, value creation
