Word of mouth

One of the things we are learning in the media is that the change that we're going through right now is something that is going to extend itself beyond media companies. One of the key elements we're learning in the media is that we have to pay more attention to the consumer.

The consumer has got much, much more control of the relationship than they used to and that's really going to be true in almost every business from now on. And that's one of the things digital platforms do; they match buyers with sellers — it's the reason eBay works so well, or Amazon.

You can find something you're looking for in a much easier way than you used to be able to. Any company has to worry about the fact that consumers can find information wherever they want and has to understand what that consumer wants and go after the consumer, and build a relationship with the consumer to keep them, to make them understand why they should stay with their product.

So a great example of that is a company called "Nespresso." They built a business where, 15 years ago when they started to build this business, you had to buy the coffee directly from them. They treasured that and they stayed after the consumer, wanted the consumer to have a good experience.So the consumer would call in and order the coffee by phone, even though they could get the machine at any number of stores. This phone call was the first connection the company would have one-on-one with the customer and they encouraged customers to call in and to order. And they would do what they could to get them all their canisters. But they used the opportunity to speak to them.An interesting thing happened: the Web came along and they also opened up some stores — they could have personal contact in stores. They actually built a Web site where you could order the coffee from. And a huge percentage of people moved to the Web to order the coffee. The interesting thing was they didn't stop calling though. They liked the calling experience so much that, even though they weren't buying from the phone bank, they were actually calling and asking questions about the coffee and doing stuff.

And the company, instead of cutting back on the call center and firing people and laying them off or trying to shorten the length of calls, went the other way. Invested more in it, added more people, and created what is an old fashioned social network, but the ultimate social network.You're actually talking to your consumers and customers and learn so much on a continuing basis that they encouraged their people, on the phone, to stay on the phone with customers — to talk to them more, to chat them up about new coffees that are coming and to explain how the company does everything it does.

And the business has grown dramatically. They're extremely happy with it. They have more and more customers every month. They've cut way back on traditional advertising. They believe word of mouth is what matters in that business and that social networking and all of the things that are at the heart of a consumer relationship are the heart of their business.Adapt your service strategy to the unique needs of your consumer. In the case of Nespresso, phone conversations provided the personal touch that their customers craved.