Customer service isn’t all about smiling and being nice. It’s more than that. It’s about going that extra step. Put simply, it’s about being genuine and thoughtful.

When I was on the bus this morning I witnessed the bus driver waiting for an old man to sit down before he drove away. By just waiting an extra few seconds he showed care and respect for his customers. Compare this to what I have experienced many times before where the driver rushes off seemingly more concerned about his schedule than the safety of his passengers.

HOW YOUR STAFF BEHAVE IS A DIRECT REPRESENTATION OF YOUR BRAND.
This morning I was walking to daycare with my daughter in her stroller. As I was about to walk across the pedestrian crossing a  van came down the hill and stopped (like any decent driver should). I waved as I always do to say thank you to the driver for stopping. How he then reacted on the grand scale of things was nothing much, he just nodded his head and waved his hand in acknowledgment; but it made a personal connection between him and me. It wasn’t until the truck pulled away that I saw the BC Hydro logo on the back of the vehicle. Instantly that warm fuzzy feeling I was having was transferred over to their company. This then led me to think that they must do a great job in hiring and training decent people with manners and respect. Again, this transfers more positively to their brand. All of this brand value from a simple head nod and wave of a hand.

The opposite of this example can also leave a brand message but in a negative way. Ever been cut off while driving by a branded corporate car or truck? Or has a driver of such a vehicle ever given you a hand gesture that utilizes just one finger? It boils your blood, and has you relate to that company in a way that is less than positive. You then tell all your friends and colleges about your experience creating even more negative brand association.

Another example was the two cashiers in my local supermarket who talked about how strange and peculiar their previous customer was. They were right, he was a little bizarre, but never talk bad about anyone while you are in front of customers. It left me wondering what they were going to say about me behind my back once I had left the shop. It left me distrusting them, being cautious about what I said and did in front of them.This is not a great way for your customers to relate to your staff and your brand. If you are an employee be conscious that all your actions do leave an impression. Make that extra effort to make it a positive one. If you’re an employer, expect the best from your staff; train them in how to be amazing brand ambassadors and treat them well so they care to make that extra effort.

FROM NEGATIVITY TO DELIGHT
If someone has a negative experience of your brand you have a lot of extra work to do to reverse that experience. If it’s an ongoing complaint from a wider user group you may have to take a look at the bigger picture and make some fundamental changes to your business.

A good example of this is my recent experience with Apple. I downloaded two rental movies from Apple for the first time and when I transferred them over to my iPhone to watch at a later date only one worked.
I wanted to email Apple but remembered how difficult it had been in the past to find an email address on their site. They (like many companies) would rather drive you to A FAQ to see if you can solve it by yourself. This time though it was relatively easy to find their email address which was very refreshing.

I explained my situation and sent off my email not really expecting to hear back from them for several days, if at all. In retrospect this is quite sad that I have experienced such poor service from them in the past that I would be resigned and not expect them to reply. Is this something you would want associated with your brand?

What followed was a refreshing surprise and it really impressed me (and believe me, it takes a lot to impress me). Apple has obviously as a company-wide initiative addressed their customer service problems and have made the interactions personable and easy.

I got the automated response from Apple saying someone will look into this straight away. Within nine hours I had a reply in my inbox from a real person with a real name, one that wasn’t called ‘customer service’. That in itself impressed me. I continued to be delighted as I read the rest of the email. Here is that email with my comments (in Italics) about why their email is so successful:

Dear Matt,

Greetings from iTunes Store Support. My name is Lalchand. (By using first names it set a personal tone and creates a personal connection)

I understand that the movie “Town” that you rented is missing. I can certainly imagine how a situation like this could be disappointing. I can imagine you must be eager to get this taken care of. I am happy to assist. (The best way to defuse any angry person is to ‘recreate’ the situation, letting the person know that you fully understand what happened and that you can relate to how they are feeling).

Matt, I have posted a fresh copy of the movie to your account, please follow these steps to download the items: (Without further ado, they resolved the problem by reposting the movie).

Please reply to this email if you have not received the fresh copy and I will be glad to assist you. (Setting the expectation that they will continue to support me if I still need it is comforting. Also having his personal email address and not a generic customer service contact where you have to explain the same situation all over again to a stranger not familiar with the situation – is great).

Matt, I hope this helps to resolve this for you.  If you have any questions or require further assistance, just reply to the email and let me know. (This extends the hand of support again if I need it and by using my name it suggests that this isn’t a ‘cut and paste’ email).

Thank you for being a valued iTunes Store customer. Have a great day ahead! (An acknowledgment that I am valued makes me feel fuzzy and warm, and after all the content above in this email this type of statement comes across as genuine and not marketing rhetoric).

Sincerely,
Lalchand. iTunes Store Customer Support

Please note: I work from Sunday, Monday, Wednesday- Friday, 11 AM-8 PM CST (This is brilliant, by informing me when he works it is preventing me sending him an email on say Monday night and being frustrated because I didn’t hear back from him on Tuesday).

WHAT YOU CAN DO
The best customer service isn’t complicated, it just takes a little extra thinking and effort from a committed team of staff. Every person (including yourself) that works for your company is an ambassador for your brand. Where can you improve your companies customer service and take it to the next level? What can you do to go beyond your client’s expectations to leave them delighted and eager to share with their community how great a company you are?

If you are a business owner working on the development and growth of your own company it can be a challenge no matter what industry you are in. This can range from generating more sales, creating or finessing your marketing plan, sourcing manufacturing or creating a new brand for your business. It is your business, your baby, you want to make the right decision and you often question what the right decision or direction is. And, at the end of the day, it’s your bottom line that is affected so you’ll want to make a good decision.

So when Industrial Brand Creative choose to re-brand we knew it was going to be an interesting journey.

There have been challenges–some which we could have predicted and others that came as a surprise. There were also insights into the world of our clients.

Still, we needed to service our clients and run the business and we knew that our re-branding would from time to time be pushed down the priority list. Two years later, it had come to the point where it could not wait any longer. We were still getting great feedback about our website and other promotional materials, but for ourselves the identity we created in 1997 no longer reflected our capabilities and the calibre of work we provide to our clients. It was time to re-brand.

A major advantage was that we knew what we were doing–it’s what we do for our clients with very successful results. We knew all we had to do was to put ourselves through the same branding and design process and we would arrive at the outcome we were looking for.

The first stage was one of Discovery, Analysis, Research, Collaboration and Strategy.

This involved the business owners asking questions that included: Why change? What are we hoping to achieve? How will we know the branding process has been a success? We interviewed clients, staff, vendors and others to discover if what we think about ourselves is the same as what others think of us. Thankfully the results confirmed we were heading in the right direction.

Your brand is aspirational and goal-driven, but as a company you have to bridge the gap between where you are today and your aspirations. Your company has to walk the talk today and everyday. It must look and behave like the kind of company a high calibre client would hire.

The Brand Discovery Session was essential in creating our re-branding process. We dug into every aspect of the company, often facing difficult questions – some which took several months to resolve. We questioned the name of the company, who our target audiences are today and will be in the future, how we will reach them, what our message is and how will it resonate with them. We also looked at how we differentiate ourselves from other design companies and what our core service offering is.

The next phase involved consolidating the knowledge that we’d gleaned from the research and applying it. It involved brainstorming ideas, conceptualizing initial logo concepts, being strategic and making sure everything we did was relevant and aligned with our discoveries during the first phase. It was also during this phase we explored a new tag line. Parting from the old, ‘we’re not wired right’ we wanted something that was honest, concise and gave a better sense of what we are all about. WHERE IDEAS WORK is a statement of not only what goes on within the studio and the people that compose it, but it also says something about the outcomes we deliver.

Business owners can often be too attached to their company to be objective and decisive. The third and final phase saw us starting to whittle down iterations and make final decisions based on the research and strategy from the earlier phases. This foundation made it easier for making clear final decisions.
With the new identity and tagline complete, the next step was to produce all the marketing materials, website and internal documents. At the end of August we rearranged our production schedule for two weeks so the entire Industrial Brand team could focus on doing just this.

We knew from the outset that two weeks was a somewhat optimistic timeframe to complete the myriad of tasks at hand, and in the end it was. But without dedicating that time to the development of our own brand it would probably have continued to get pushed to the bottom of the priority list (below servicing clients). Now we had the momentum we needed to make the final push to completion.

Branding is all-encompassing and there’s a clear distinction between the creation of a new logo versus the formation or re-formation of a brand. Even though we’ve been re-branding for our clients for many years, undertaking our own project has provided us with further insight into client concerns about the process, and the confidence, financial commitment, trust and hard work that is required to create and implement a new brand.

That being said, branding or re-branding is worth it if done well and assuming there’s a sound rationale for it. It will reinvigorate and energize the company, its clients, prospects, staff, vendors and all others associated with it. It’s important to remember that a brand is organic, and grows and changes over time so must be managed. With the successful re-launch of Industrial Brand, we’re excited to watch as people take new notice of our new look and the platform from which we continue to build and grow our business.