Pleasing our customers, working on gaining their trust is a practice that began long before Inbound Marketing, although its methodology integrates it as if it were a mantra. In other words, the Inbound Methodology allows you to gain the trust of your contacts in each of its phases: Attract, Convert, Close, and obviously Delight.
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However, most companies prefer to invest resources in trying to attract rather than offer a service that satisfies their contacts at all stages. As a result, end customers tend to feel ignored or unappreciated. To give you a better understanding, according to HubSpot only 8% of companies offer an integrated customer experience. But there are exceptions.
Business has never had improving the quality of life of the general public as one of its priorities. We decided to redefine the bottom line at Ben & Jerry’s.
“Retail has never had improving the public’s quality of life as one of its priorities. At Ben & Jerry’s, we’ve decided to redefine what’s top of mind.”
– Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
The American Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded this ice cream company 40 years ago and today it is one of the best known and most valued brands in the sector by its customers. From the beginning, both founders decided to focus not only on winning customers, but also on nurturing their relationship with them. It is this strategy that has made them so successful in the long term. Not only is the quality of their ice cream good, but their social and environmental commitment, their brand values and the experiences they offer make clear the importance of customer service.
There is a spiritual aspect to our lives … when we give we receive, when a business does something good for somebody, that somebody feels good about them.
“There is a spiritual aspect to our lives … when we give, we receive; when a business does something good for someone, that someone feels good about them.”
– Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
While, as we have said, many companies do not invest as much effort in pleasing their customers, there are more and more businesses focusing on delivering an integrated experience. Already in the United States, 58% of companies are emphasizing this best practice. Because customer experience is the new marketing and it has to be your company’s #1 priority.
Ben y Jerry sirviendo helado en uno de sus comercios. How can you please your contacts?
To offer an integrated experience, customers must be able to trust your brand’s products and/or services. Therefore, the first step is to build trust through every interaction you have with your contacts, to captivate them, to foster loyalty and to build lasting relationships. And this is achieved in all stages of Inbound Marketing through three fundamental aspects:
1. Innovation.
If you have never contemplated the importance of delighting your customers, change is definitely better than staying in your current situation. You have to innovate to offer products and/or services that can satisfy the buyer personas (potential customers) of your company. And any member of your company must improve and innovate. Innovate to offer better experiences that will make your customers have a better perception of your brand.
If you open up the mind, the opportunity to address both profits and social conditions are limitless. It’s a process of innovation.
If you open your mind, the opportunity to address the benefits and social conditions are unlimited. This is an innovation process.
– Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben & Jerry’s “flavor gurus” regularly look for flavors in all kinds of popular American desserts. They have been able to integrate consumer preferences into their products, innovating their recipes to adapt to them and using creativity to name their ice creams. A continuous process of searching for trends and adaptation.
2. Communication.
Communication in a company must always be personal, bidirectional. It is the only way to learn, which also allows you to innovate. To foster communication, in order to build trust, think of the person interacting with the contact or customer as an educator, an advisor (and brand ambassador). For this reason, it is important that your employees also believe in the values of your brand and feel identified.
If we were going to have a business we were going to have one that was consistent with our values.
“If we were going to have a business, we were going to have one that was consistent with our values.”
– Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben & Jerry’s has always used collaboration with customers to get ideas for new flavors. Their followers inspired the best-selling flavors of ‘Cherry Garcia’, ‘Chunky Monkey’ and ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough’. Their philosophy is to allow conversation and engagement to occur as naturally as possible. They listen carefully, observe and apply new ideas from what they learn.
3. Education.
Thus, the best way to communicate with customers and potential customers is to educate them by providing value. Promote the knowledge they have about the brand’s products and/or services. Because ultimately they are the ones who have the power over the purchasing decision.
Ben and I built Ben & Jerry’s on the idea that business has a responsibility to the community and environment.
“Ben and I built Ben & Jerry’s on the idea that business has a responsibility to the community and the environment.”
– Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Customer interaction can take many forms. It can be a call, an email, a tweet, a form, etc. And since it is easier to lose trust than to gain it, every member of your team must take care of the contact in every interaction. For example, Ben & Jerry’s provides its unique experience through programs such as customized ice cream flavors and unique experiences in localized stores. Its social networks, mainly Pinterest and Instagram, encourage users to share their Ben & Jerry’s moments, etc. There are endless possibilities.
