What Dunhill can teach you about customer service

Last week we received a hand written letter at home, posted from China. it was addressed to my husband, but I opened it anyway because I was curious to see what it was. Well I was quite surprised to discover a beautiful letter-pressed card from Dunhill, with a hand-written message on it.

The note said: "Dear Mark, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your recent purchase at Alfred Dunhill. I am so proud to be at your service, and I hope that you have had an unforgettable shopping experience. I look forward to seeing you in the near future. Best regards, Eric C."



And it was sent with the business card of the same sales person. Quite a dedicated staff, don't you think? How many businesses do you know will take the time to write to their customers just to say thank you?

This is Dunhill you will argue. People spend thousands of dollars with them, so yes they can afford this kind of customer service. Well, let me tell you I've seen other luxury brands treat their customers like dirt, so that's not a good argument.

And to validate my point even more, I'll also give the example of a very small company who really impressed me a few months ago with their customer mindset. This company sells nothing glamorous, in fact they retail magnets and other types of magnetic products. But they have a great sense of customer service.

I ordered a magnetic band from them, something to stick on our wall and on which we could add magnets, to use as a decoration. The order was approximately 30$, and I didn't have to prepay it when ordering online. I received the goods after only 3 or 4 days, my first surprise. But then when I opened the box, I got a whole lot of surprises.

On top of the product I ordered, I received a few samples of very strong magnets, and a little bag of teddy bear sweets. Nice one. But then there was this cute card with a photo of the team, holding a sign saying "thank you". They all boast a huge smile, so I figure they're pretty happy to work there. And the last bonus was a voucher to receive 10% on my future order.

All that for a 30$ order which I still hadn't paid (in Switzerland you hardly ever pay anything before hand). Talk about customer dedication! I kept talking about the content of the box, and the company, to whoever came into my office that day.

So the lesson is: if you care for your business, never misjudge the importance of customer service, whether you are in luxury, food, or any type of business.

Question: Do you have a story of great customer service?

5 articles worth reading about videos

If you're interested in adding videos to your marketing mix and make them successful, I've compiled this list of blog posts that will give you some good ideas, from the types of video you can create to how you can make them go viral.

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When is an explainer video right for my business?

Explainer videos, like their name indicate, are designed to explain something. Probably the most popular type of video created by businesses, to explain how their products work for example. The article gives some good examples and explain when these videos can be created.

3 ways Video scribing benefits your business

I love scribing videos - you know when you see a hand drawing a cartoon in front of you, illustrating a story. This is short article, easy to read for a short introduction to scribing.

Consumers Say Product Videos are ‘Perfect’ for Mobile Viewing

It makes sense, with the number of smartphones on the market now and faster connections, watching videos on a small screen is becoming more popular than reading. This article is a short report extracted from a survey on the matter.

The 5 Characteristics of a Successful Business Video

The title says it all, so read on to understand what makes a great business video.

The key to video & viral marketing

Wouldn't it be nice if your video went viral and was sent all over the internet? Read this article to understand the anatomy of a viral video. And if you have a lot of time to kill, read this much longer article from Tim Ferris on how to create viral videos - inspired by his book trailer.

5 reasons to use video marketing for your business

Late last year I was lucky to work on what I think was the best project of my career so far: the creation of a lipdub video. if you don't know what a lipdub video is, it's one of these music videos where you see lots of people appearing in front of the camera, pretending to sing on top of a soundtrack.

The idea came from my CEO as a replacement to our traditional Christmas Card, and although at first I was very sceptical and apprehensive, the video turned out excellent and we received a great feedback.

Of course this type of video is highly entertaining and might not be as educational as you would like to present your company or your products, but for me it got me into video mode and I'm definitely looking forward to creating more.

Going somewhere? Tell the world

Once you have selected which events your company is going to participate to this year, it's time to make sure your customers are going to come and see you. How do you tell the world where you are going?

Here are 7 ways to let your customers know that you are participating at an event:

1. Announce it on your website: The first place where you can make public that you have decided to attend a tradeshow or conference is on your website. If you attend a lot of shows during the year you might have an "event" section on your site, but otherwise you can just use your "news" section, or your blog. Make sure you specify what the show is about, and where you will be located at the event: hall and booth number if it's a trade show, time of the presentation if it's a conference, etc..


2. Customize your email signature: If this is the main event you are going to attend in a while and you really want your clients to know they can find you there, then you can customize your email signature and add the logo of the event, along with the date and details of the event, as before.


3. Advertize strategically: Choose the websites or trade magazines that are most relevant to the particular event you're attending and place an ad in which you will announce your participation. The ad itself won't be about the event, but rather about products or services that you will be showcasing at the event. But be creative and find fun ways to announce the event: for example add a fake post-it or a sticker saying "visit us at XXX, booth XXX".


4. Tell your newsletter subscribers: If you send a regular newsletter to your stakeholders, then definitely include a short section about the events a few months before the event starts. Make sure you include a link to the event so that they can find out more and decide whether or not this event is designed for them.


5. Be listed on the organizer's website: When you are an exhibitor at a trade show, or a speaker at a conference, you are listed on the organizer's website and catalogue. Make sure you send them your logo, a brief description of your company, the right category of products or services, and the link to your website. You can also choose to pay a premium to advertise on their website or in their paper catalogue/show guide, which can be great since visitors will use the guide when browsing the event.


6. Use stickers everywhere: Another creative way to let people know where you are going is to have some small stickers printed "Visit us at XXX show" and add them to all your company's communications for a few months: letters that are sent from sales or admin staff, invoices, etc..


7. Send invites: And finally, the most important one, think about who you really want to see at the event and send a formal invitation, whether by mail or post. We'll be talking more about that this week so stay tuned.

Question: Where else do you publicize for the events you are attending?

Discussion: how would you celebrate your business 10th anniversary?

Later this year the company I work for is celebrating its 10th anniversary. We're in the midst of planning some events for staff, customers and other stakeholders and the exercise is interesting - we get to brainstorm lots of interesting ideas.

What about you, how would you celebrate your company's 10th anniversary? What would you organise for your best clients? Leave a comment after the post and let's start the discussion.

(Note: This post is inspired by a group writing project on ProBlogger)