Maybe Spring is in the air, or I’ve just been lucky, but customer service has been on the uptick in my life.

Take last Friday.  Headed to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway and of course I leave my tickets on my desk.  Of course, it was Friday and a holiday, so no dice on a messenger.  And truth be told, I did not want to give up my pre-even cocktail or be late for the curtain in order to make the trek back.

Enter the manager and staff from Blue Fin restaurant, one of the many delicious restaurants that are part of the BRGuest group.  As a pre-theater hot-spot getting a managers attention at 7pm would seem like a challenge and a big ask.  However, in this case the staff quickly got me help, provided me an email address and the manager (thanks David) went and printed my tickets out.  Seems simple, yes, but not expected.

And I think that is the key here.  A busy restauntant in Times Square is often too busy to stop and consider customer service, and sometimes a part of a larger restaurant group doesn’t think they have the same skin in the game as a sole proprietorship.  By taking the time they not only made my night, but helped BRGuest stand out.

So many restaurant groups and brands do a good – if not overbearing – job on mass marketing once you are signed up.  But a lot fall short on the experience when you walk through the door.  And it is the complete experience, not just one channel that matters.  While leaving tickets for a show may not be common customer issue, taking the time to solve it is a great customer relationship builder.  Brands can learn here it’s not just the draw in, or the sale (let’s face it, I was on my second drink when the tickets showed up), but the cross channel experience that keeps people talking and coming back.

Thanks again Blue Fin & BRGuest… don’t mind if I do.

I admit I am a sucker for every points and gold club out there.  From my United Airlines status to the Starwood Preferred Points to Hertz Gold, I am constantly chasing the perks where I can get them, I mean who wouldn’t.  But this past Friday, an unexpected perk (potentially not even tied to my membership) totally surprised me AND made me a Hertz renter for life.

Here is the story.  Twenty minutes till flight leaves Dallas Fort Worth, just spent 90 minutes on a 20 minute drive due to an accident on the highway, and pull up into a huge line at Hertz Returns.  Sounds pretty bleak, right?  Well not that day (thanks girl at DFW Hertz).  When I pulled up my boss and I told the woman directing cars that we were potentially going to miss our flights.  She sprung into action, telling us to not even take our bags out of the trunk and to get back in the car; she would drive us to our gates. Unexpected and unbelievable. And we both made out flights thanks to Hertz.

When I dug further I found that this practice is a Hertz commitment and something that is not advertised but communicated as needed.  I guess people would take advantage if it was common practice.  But last Friday, when I needed it most, it was truly a brand practice that was all about me.

It was on a seemingly ordinary day in mid-December 2009. In southwest Michigan that means everything had been bathed in slate gray and muddy brown. It was cold and dreary and Dickensian. The cuffs of my pants were soaking wet and cold and I knew later they would dry with those annoying white rings left behind from the salt that line the roads and parking lots. The
chilly, 20-degree air had slipped down my collar and wrapped me in a stubborn, cranky chill.

And then, I stopped at a Starbucks. Now, hear me out. When I stepped inside, the store had been transformed into its  traditional holiday décor. Shades of red were everywhere, bags of Christmas blend coffee lined the shelves, there were snowmen and snowflakes clinging to the windows and I swear, I walked through the door and was filled with joy.

Somewhat obsessed with coffee, I’m a big supporter of smaller, independent roasters. When I travel, I collect 1 lb. bags of local roasts like some people collect shot glasses.

But there’s something about Starbucks…

This year it hit me as I stood in line shortly before midnight on Thanksgiving. Starbucks was my first stop on an evening when
friends frantically shop for deals and I tag along to people watch and pick up a movie or two.  Inside, the line was long but even with the large crowd, the late hour, the barista recognized me from my regular Saturday and Sunday morning stops – kind of like your neighborhood coffeehouse. I stocked up on bags of Christmas blend – gifts for the holidays.

Lately, the baristas have been good at upselling me, getting me to buy just about any bag of coffee they’re pushing at the moment. This year, for the holiday, Starbucks is betting on its new home brewing system. The market for single cup brewers is … well … brewing (oh, come on) and challenging the beliefs of some purists.

The truth is – if I buy a single cup brewer as this Wall Street Journal article predicts I will – it may not be Starbucks’ new Verismo. The brand has beaten tough economic times and a loss in company direction. It’s done a lot of things right. I like their coffee, I really do. But I’ll be curious to see if the Verismo can beat the biggest element of Starbucks’ success:  a very genuine  sense of place.

The catchy music, the studious décor, the newspapers and the easy-to-work-in ambiance. The red and the  nowmen and the joy. You can never underestimate the importance of a sense of place – the experience you get as a customer, when you’re coming in from a cold, dismal day to a place that offers you more than just some caffeine but rather, comfort in a cup.

When was the last time you heard about customers standing by their brand – even if it  meant abandoning the brand name all together? That’s exactly what happened with the case of Glassman vs. Glassman and it proved to be a valuable lesson in loyalty. Greg Glassman is the founder and creator of CrossFit – I could try to explain it or you could just watch this video here.

When Glassman and his wife decided to end their marriage, Lauren Jenai Glassman’s share of CrossFit came into play. CrossFitters found out she was interested in selling it to Anthos Capital. Almost immediately, the subject filled discussion boards, Facebook pages and tweets. Affiliates were against selling to Anthos for fear of being forced to operate like a franchise,
selling supplements or other merchandise they didn’t support.

While Anthos Capital tried to quell fears, swearing they wouldn’t change a thing – affiliates rallied around their founder and threatened to pull their affiliations if the deal went through. Meanwhile, the Glassmans headed to court.

The fight caught the attention of a number of media outlets. T-shirts were designed slamming Anthos and touting Glassman’s
promise his concept was “unbuyable.” For months, members of the CrossFit community could only wait while millions of dollars were pumped into litigation. Then, on Nov. 15, he announced he officially owned 100% of CrossFit Inc. Without support from a large, worldwide and defiant community, it’s a wonder whether the deal still seemed lucrative to Anthos or Lauren Glassman – or even possible for that matter.

For now, the future seems pretty bright. CrossFit boxes continue to pop up across the country and around the world and a multimillion dollar partnership with Reebok continues to catapult the brand and the sport into the mainstream.

The lesson learned from the drama? Loyalty matters. Uh, and maybe think twice before going into business with a spouse or instead of books and trinkets you’ll find yourself fighting over the future of your company.

Seems like the term “story telling” has been the buzz word of 2012, getting tossed around like the word innovation was in 2000.  Today too many brands are looking for any way to connect with their consumer in an over-saturated and very brand-skeptical
market.  Brands can’t just push product – well maybe Apple – and assume their legions will follow.  There is a need to provide content that motivates their consumer and applies to their needs in life, their goals.  A tall order for a brand?  Well Coke thinks not.

Today, one of the most beloved brands – though plagued recently with Bloomberg’s and others bans on soda – is launching a new website transformed into a consumer publication called Coca-Cola Journey. According to Stuart Elliott’s column in today’s New York Times, the article points out that “the use of the word ‘story’ is significant because the Web site changes are indicative of the growing interest among marketers in recasting their communications with consumers as storytelling rather than advertising. Just as attention is being paid to developing content to use for brand storytelling, an appetite also exists for  corporate storytelling.”

The question remains for Coke and all brands as to whether the consumer will engage with the story and take the journey.  I think if they can create a journey with their target, rather than forcing them down the road strewn with ads and product promotions, the iconic brand has hope with its new offering.  So read on soda lovers.

Ok, I admit it made me laugh.  And I do have a friend who loses at least one Chapstick a day, but outside of the two of us it appears the Where do Chapstick’s Go campaign has Pfizer hoping it would just go away.  Why?  They didn’t stand behind their offer to listen and they went into what AdWeek called a “social media death spiral.”

It wasn’t the semi-offensive creative that sunk the campaign (though it got folks talking), and it really wasn’t the fact that consumers don’t wonder where their Chapstick went (not a good problem solution approach).  It was the fact that they asked for our opinion and then didn’t listen.  In a world where marketing and communications has to be about a dialogue with the
consumer, this campaign opened up the dialogue and tossed it back in the consumers’ face.

As we have seen by other social guffaws this year (I won’t name them to open up old wounds), there is a right way and a wrong way to respond and listen.  Those that have done it right – and you know who you are – got through the 1.5 days of backlash hell
and have moved on to building the brand alongside their consumers.  Chapstick’s response while accurate was late.  And their removing of campaign commentary simply said they didn’t want to hear from the people they invited to the conversation in the first place.

What would Suzy Chapstick think?

Fifty years ago, Marketing to Moms was perceivably simple. Based on historic icons and a few episodes of Mad Men, reaching moms was one dimensional and focused purely on making June Cleaver’s life easier. Now, the women of that time may disagree about the singular dimension approach, but it worked. And it worked well for large ad agencies relying on piles of research to identify the singular mom audience. Not anymore.

According to a recent blog from EmpowHER, 91% of women feel that advertisers do not understand her. The problem here is that “her” is more multi-dimensional than ever, and old research methods and blanket ad campaigns are just not getting it. Marketers today need to be more nimble and have honest dialogues with their female consumers. The secret sauce that worked to sell home appliances to the perfect housewife now involves 25+ recipes to reach the moms of today. Let’s start with the basics – there are single moms, divorced moms, married moms, moms by mistake, grandmoms being moms, moms to pets, etc. Then we get into situation analysis like the miserable moms, the perfect moms (or they think they are), the active moms and more. So how can one brand or agency claim to be able to reach this moving target?

Listening is the first step and recognizing that no amount of expensive research can uncover what honest conversations can. Second is having these conversations where your consumer is and not forcing them to come to your sandbox. For example, last year Frito-Lay made great strides communicating their healthy brand promise by partnering with Farmville to let social gamers learn about the ingredients in their products. And it worked. And finally, it has to be authentic. Let’s be honest, Kelly Ripa doing laundry and cooking with her Electrolux appliances is about as un-authentic as you can get (at least in this blogger’s mind). Why not show real women – and all types– struggling with daily chores, re-heating the takeout and running to Home Depot to fix things herself.

Agencies that continue to target just June Cleaver are not only getting left behind, but ignored by moms and trampled on by other, more authentic brands. They can’t see themselves in June’s shoes and they are letting brands know this loud and clear. Remember, hell hath no fury…

If Jury Duty was a brand, they would be screaming for help. Check out my guest blog for Steve “RepMan” Cody while he is off trekking mountains in Nevada. Las week, after the privilege of two days of jury duty, it became clear that Jury Duty was in need for some PR.

Read on…If only Jury Duty could hire a PR firm?

Nothing beats a place where you walk in and everyone yells NORM, or in this case Maggie. But as corner bars have proliferated into chain bars every ½ mile, and half of retail therapy is done online, is it possible for any bar or brand to keep up with that kind of consumer focus?

It all boils down to the person behind the bar – both literally and figuratively. Just last week I was passing through Vino Vento (a nice stop near Gate 72 at Newark Airport). The place was its usual packed annoyance and I muscled into a bar seat just before a [pack of six showed up. Security had been a disaster and I was at the end of my rope when the bartender handed me a menu and said, “Hi. Haven’t seen you in a bit. Sauvignon Blanc? And did you get your hair cut since you went to Dublin?” I almost passed out. In a place that has very few “Norms,” this bartender remembered critical aspects of me as a customer that quickly alleviated all my frustrations and reminded me why I liked this place over the other choices in the terminal.

Now I know this is not always possible, and it may have been the wine talking, but there was something special about it. Customer relevance when promoting big brands or small still has to strive for the corner bar “Norm” feeling. If every CEO, marketing director, etc. could take a cue from Amy at Vino Vento, making consumers feel special may be easier than they think. Amy (1) listened to me last time I was in, and I mean really listened. Some brands use metrics to measure their customers rather than actually putting themselves in their customers’ shoes and experience the brand first hand. (2) She paid attention because I was a repeat customer. Brands need to look at the folks who keep coming back to their branded and identify why. Engage these people as brand ambassadors and they will spread the word. And (3) she knew my drink. Not always applicable outside of a bar, but hey it always helps.

I’ll be back to Vino Vento for sure, and will spread the word to everyone. Can you say that about your brand?

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer…” So they say – and by ‘they’ I mean a Chinese general in 400 B.C. Well, the first part used to be easy when my friends were generally restricted to the cul-de-sac I lived on. But today some of us have a hard time maintaining friendships as we’re separated by more than white picket fences and curfews. Businesses are no different and, in fact, risk generating enemies by not paying enough attention to its friends and loyalists. But there is hope. While 2012 will continue to be a world defined by the “me” generation where consumer is king, I would recommend marketers keep these five things in mind.

(1) Venture outside

I don’t mean just out into the elements themselves, but outside of your marketing discipline. Consumers today are looking for the complete experience with brands, not just an ad or a product review. By connecting these disciplines better, brands can have a more streamlined dialogue with their customers. Oh, and taking your brand literally outside to the streets …consumers love that too.

(2) Make friends

Seriously, we should have learned this already, but it’s worth mentioning. Identify the folks who like your brand already, those that will influence and inspire others to be friends too. And remember an influencer can be anyone and everyone, so keep your eyes open.

(3) Be adventurous

With new platforms like Pinterest catching everyone’s attention, don’t be afraid to test the waters. Many brands were so hesitant to jump into consumer dialogue that they almost missed the boat. Try a test program, talk to people, and meet your customer where they live.

(4) Be specific

The average consumer is no longer content with generic marketing to the masses. Think about niche groups and create campaigns that can be catered to them. It’s not about diluting your brand message (see point one above), it’s about taking that message and listening to your audience to know how it applies to each person. Again, it’s all about them.

(5) Work with your enemies

I have honestly not focused so much on customer service as I did in 2011. Customers know they can take their issues to the masses – and often get their way. Now I am not saying these are all your enemies, but they could be. So how to stop it? Listen carefully to their problem, help where you can, make life easy for them on the other side. Customers mostly want to know that with big brands there is a person behind the curtain. It may not win them all over, but you could add a few back on your friends list.