I have another real-life example of a fantastic marketing program that went terribly wrong! It is not specific to banking, but the lesson can certainly translate well to our industry.
My husband and I married in a small ceremony in October of 2006. With only a few family and friends in attendance, we opted NOT to have a wedding-party but to have a wedding party instead...what I mean is, no bridesmaids/groomsmen but invite everyone to our house for a party in lieu of a rehearsal dinner...hence a wedding party!
The same weekend of the party, a new wine and specialty beer store opened very close to our home...let's call it DJ's for the sake of keeping things coherent! Since we were providing the food and beverage for the wedding party, we thought we would go to DJ's to get some unique "Colorado" beer and a few bottles of wine. We were very excited to learn that they had a "customer rewards" program in which we would earn points for every purchase we make and the points can be redeemed for a percentage off a purchase (in accordance with Colorado state liquor laws, of course!). We purchased everything for the party from DJ's and continued to purchase special gifts, decanters, wine aerators, and all kinds of specialty beer and wine from them over the course of the next year.
At one point, we had earned more points than any other customer enrolled in the program! We were really excited...and each time we entered the store we asked about redeeming the points, and got the same response for a year..."we haven't formalized the program yet, but you will be the fist to know when we do!" UGH!!!
In October of 2007 I discovered a fabulous Sauvignon Blanc called Pomelo. I asked the owner of DJ's (and several other stores) if they carried it and the result was a resounding, "No." However, DJ's and one other store (called DaveCo, and that's not a made up name whereas DJ's is!!) offered to order it for me...I should also mention that while this wine was a bit harder to find, it was scored more than 80 points in Wine Spectator Magazine and was named a "great buy of 2007."
So, the owner of DJ's said they would order it for me, but I would have to pay, in advance, for the entire case of wine (retail would be roughly $120). It would take me MONTHS to drink 12 bottles of wine and I didn't want to spend $120 on wine (at least not all at once!!). The other store, DaveCo, is a bit out of the way and more of a warehouse and less of a specialty shop, offered to not only order the wine for me, but continue to stock it for as long as people would buy it...without requiring me to buy anything!!!
So, what's the lesson to learn? There are a few:
1. If you establish a customer loyalty program, make sure it is well-developed with a clearly articulated reward for loyalty. And don't launch until the plan is complete!
2. If your most loyal customer asks for something, make every effort possible to make it happen. Even if that means it may cost you a $120 (however, I am sure wholesale is less than retail) today, the benefits in the long run will FAR OUTWEIGH the costs.
3. When you lose your best customer they will likely tell everyone they know about the bad experience with you and how great it was from the competition.
My husband and I have not shopped at DJ's since the Pomelo incident as it has come to be known in my house. And it is worth noting that this particular bottle of wine made a great hostess gift for 3 holiday parties, 4 bottles were consumed during our family Christmas Eve and Day celebrations, one for our New Year's Day chili and football party, and four were given as gifts to friends who share our love of wine. That adds up to a full case purchased throughout the months of October, November and December. Not to mention the other wines we have purchased over the same period of time for two birthday celebrations, and three "date nights" with my husband. That is a a significant chunk of lost revenue for DJ's, but I am sure DaveCo LOVES us!!!
Lesson(s) learned!
Jenna
No comments:
Post a Comment