I was recently trying to rebook my flight to Portland, which required the irksome task of calling up the airline (to be remained unnamed). I worked through the airline’s maze of automated menu to reach, “your call is very important to us, please hold for the next available representative.” Forty-five minutes pass, and I find myself still listening to the infamous hold music. At this point, I swear I’ve memorized the whole tune in my head. Very unpleasant earworm. I had to get ready so decided to hop in for a quick shower and to no surprise, I was still on hold once I got out. It’s been about an hour now and I had to cut it to run some errands. I called them later at night and after another 30 minute of waiting, I got through to an agent. He seemed very uninterested in talking to me, spoke monotonously, and had a rude tone to his voice.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had a bad experience with hold times with customer service. It happens a lot actually, and I am sure every one of us have experienced it. Insurance companies, cable companies, phone companies, banks, and the list goes on. I’ve had even far worse experiences with other companies where the representatives have been outright jerks, and even have the conversation get disconnected “accidentally.” It got me thinking about the strategies brands use in service.

Marketing Without Service

Most brands come up short on service, and plenty of them out there where it’s nearly non-existent.

Let’s take airlines for example. There are budgets set for marketing. Millions and millions of dollars are spent on producing ads that are clever and funny, and hell, we all love them! Why do they make these? To gain captive attention of consumers. But little do the companies realize that even though the ads may be pleasing to the eye, the amount of money they invested is literally being evaporated by bad service experiences. And it doesn’t take many to have that effect.

Building Brand Through Customer Service

Marketing alone is a poor investment if it’s not being complemented with great customer service. What are the first 3 companies that come to mind when you think of great customer service? For me:

– Apple

– Amazon

– Zappos (acquired by Amazon in 2009, what a coincidence 😉 )

In particular, there is a great anecdote regarding a customer service experience at Zappos. Zappos employees are encouraged to go above and beyond traditional customer service. After a late night of barhopping, Hsieh placed a bet with a rep from Skechers that if he called the Zappos hotline, the employee would be able to locate the nearest late-night pizza delivery. The call center employee, although initially confused, returned two minutes later with a list of the five closest late night pizza restaurants. Inc. Magazine notes another example when a woman called Zappos to return a pair of boots for her husband because he died in a car accident. The next day, she received a flower delivery, which the call center rep had billed to the company without checking with her supervisor. Zappos is also known to give “surprise” free upgrades to overnight shipping for customers. Another fun fact: Zappos spends zero dollars on advertising.

If I had these type of experiences with a brand, why would I ever want to shop elsewhere?

The airline industry exists in an intensely competitive market, so most companies tend to be competitive in their pricing. However, an airline with a strong brand name and incentives can often lure a customer even if its prices are higher.

Customer service matters more than ever before. The airline industry is evolving from a commoditized transportation business into a business focused on hospitality and services. And the carriers most focused on providing a pleasant experience are being rewarded with higher customer satisfaction and loyalty (“branding”). Still, there is a shortage of consistent high-quality customer service. Executives need to turn their focus on branding, not marketing.

Marketing vs Branding

We are starting to explore the notion of marketing and branding. Marketing may help contribute to a brand, but the brand is far bigger than any marketing effort. Take out all marketing from a company. What remains is the brand. It’s what sticks when your mind associates with a product, service, or brand. Branding composes of the customer’s perception of the quality of the product and the full customer service experience. Let’s do a quick test. What’s the first company you can think of when you hear each of these phrases?

– Search engine

– Home improvement store

– Basketball shoes

– Fast food burger

– Ready-to-assemble furniture store

Your answers may vary based on your experiences, but most people will think of Google, Home Depot, Nike, McDonald’s, and IKEA

The brand is ultimately what determines if you will become a loyal customer or not. Apple products are ridiculously expensive in my book, thus why I’ve never bought a new iPhone or Macbook. I’ve always bought PCs and Android phones because I am price-conscious and keep up with technology well enough to know what products to avoid and what to take a risk on. Enough though cheaper options exist, millions of people continue to spend more money on iPhones and Macbooks. They have the most loyal fan base of any company or even sport team. I recently went to see my dentist for a regular check up. She told me how she had just bought the iPhone 6 for $800.

Me: “$800!? Wow, that’s pricey”

Dentist: “Yes I know, it costs more than many computers do now!”

Me: “Have you always been a Apple fan?”

Dentist: “You know, honestly, I don’t know much about any other phones.”

For my dentist, Apple is not just a company, but a brand. When she thinks of a phone, she thinks of iPhone. Apple has build that trust in her and even though the iPhone costs 2-3x more than many Android phones, she didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. (If you are curious, she financed it).

The marketing may convince you to buy a particular company’s product, but it is the brand that will determine if you will only buy that company’s product for the rest of your life. There is a stereotype that indians always buy Toyota’s and asians always buy Honda’s. And if you observe this very closely, it’s very true. It has to do with branding and keeping loyal to that brand.

Takeaway

From the examples, we can see that customer service has the power to create or break a great reputation for a company. It’s an easy, yet very underutilized, way to gain an edge over the competitors and generate a successful, sustainable brand. Whether you own a startup, work for a company, or deal with customer service, ask yourself if the business is using customer service to supercharge growth?