I admit it. I am a demanding consumer. But, aren't we all? We want everything better, faster, easier, and more personalized than ever before. We want to feel like we're important to the companies we do business with. But why is it that despite every marketing milestone and breakthrough many web experiences often fail to meet our expectations?

Blame company structure or budget or legacy systems or leadership or the weather. But the more you excuse it, the worse it gets.

I've made a career out of studying, advocating for, and creating customer experiences and sharing them with clients, in columns, speeches, a book, and now this blog.

So, forget the excuses. Here you'll find a consumer perspective on what works, what doesn't, who's getting it right, and who's still in the dark.

Straight-forward. Unfiltered. Customer fanaticism.




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May 06, 2005

Williams-Sonoma Gets Personal With Email

Chocolate and peanut butter. (H.B. Reese Candy Company, 1920)

Personalization and email. (Williams-Sonoma, 2005)

Two great things, put together in a way that's downright irresistible.

You see, it's one thing to be addressed by name. It's another to get an email featuring an item I might like that incorporates my name and a color I tend to favor. Talk about using the information you already have about customers in a smart way!

With just a few smart turns of the database, Williams-Sonoma created a Moment of Interaction (I call it MOI...how's that for a new acronym!) with me in that crucial instant where I otherwise might have been inclined to hit delete.

W_s_1

PS. Remember back at Thanksgiving, Williams-Sonoma had a spot on The Early Show giving tips for the big day of cooking? Must have been a success, because they've started 5-Minute Cooking School, which looks like it might be a regular feature on the show. Hooray for leveraging content across channels and letting consumers "act on inspiration" (you might recall this insight generated from our research about What Women Want),

May 6, 2005 in Innovative Experiences, Retail | Permalink | Bookmark

Comments

Wow...to be compared to a Reese's peanut butter cup is no small feat...but we'll take it as a strong compliment and do appreciate the nice write up. The amazing thing about delivering a great customer service experience is that it always pays off. Thanks from Williams-Sonoma.com!

Posted by: paul miller | May 9, 2005 11:37:04 AM

Wow this is COMPLETELY like the experience I've had with Williams Sonoma. Even coming in as a scrubby 20-something they are always nothing but kind, patient and helpful, even chit chatting about possible recipes, tips and tricks, etc etc. I always had them in mind for my registry and I am shocked to hear about the OP's fiancé's experience. Perhaps you should look into Sur La Table? (William's Sonoma owns PB and West Elm which has also been sucking lately)

Posted by: M.Hunter | Aug 11, 2010 7:11:48 AM

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