These Shoes Are Made For Talkin'

Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes.

That way when you criticize them you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

- Jack Handy

My love of classic Vans slip-ons has taught me one thing: pick a style you like and stick with it regardless of cultural trends. In 20 years when it comes back in style (and it will, my friend, it will) you will appear ahead of the curve.

But now these shoes – specifically these exact shoes in the image at top – have taught me something else: Promising a rose and delivering a bouquet creates a brand advocate.

I'll explain:

I ordered this sweet pair of Vans from the online shoe store Zappos.com just before 1:00 A.M. (Monday night/Tuesday morning). Yesterday I got an email from them telling me that they were upgrading my shipping to Priority at no cost to me just to say thanks for being their customer (and my standard shipping had already been free).

Sure enough, the UPS truck just pulled away about a half hour ago and I'm typing this in my brand spankin' new kicks! This is essentially the equivalent of free overnight shipping. So, aside from feeding my unhealthy addiction to instant gratification, what's the result of their kindness:

Well, I'm chattin' 'em up in my blog for starters. But beyond that, they have created a full-on brand advocate for Zappos. You can bet I'll be talking about this to anyone who makes a comment on my shoes – or anyone else who'll listen. Brand advocates volunteer unsolicited praise for a company – they can really extend your marketing into places you'd otherwise not reach.

Zappos has latched onto this truth, already going above and beyond in the customer service arena. They not only offer free standard shipping, they offer free shipping if you return your shoes too. They include simple return instructions with their packing list that arrives with your purchase – and they give you a whopping 365 days to return the shoes (in original condition). Pretty customer-focused thinking.

I recently re-worked my Client & Project Profile that I use with my clients. One of the new questions I ask is this: "Creating brand advocates is important. How do we think this will get people talking about the brand?"

It's a good question to ask periodically throughout your marketing efforts. Are you delivering the unexpected? What little extra thing could you be doing that would get people talking about your brand?

Promise a rose.

Deliver a bouquet.

And savor the sweet aroma of hyper-satisfied customers extending your reach into the hearts and minds of their family, friends and coworkers.

Comments

[Brian]

I'm a Van man myself (Classic black and white since 84).
Now my kids wear them in all sorts of styles.

Your so right good service is so rare it is like ordering flowers and receiving a bouquet when you are actually treated well.

[Todd Adkins]

Almost embarrassed to say, but I now have 17 pairs – although a couple pair are about needing to be pitched. I have everything from 4 checkerboard varieties, to Hawaiin shirts patterns, hot rod pin striping, tiger stripes and more.

And yes, my kids are in on the action now too. My 5-yr old son has a pair with sharks on them, and my 4-yr old daughter has a white pair with blank & pink butterflies.

Thanks for the blog comments!