Page 159 - Marketing Management

136 PART 3 CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS

new approaches that are a throwback to marketing practices from a century ago, when merchants
literally knew their customers by name. Personalizing marketing is about making sure the brand and
its marketing are as relevant as possible to as many customers as possible—a challenge, given that
no two customers are identical.

Jones Soda Jones Soda Peter van Stolk founded Jones Soda on the premise that Gen Y
consumers would be more accepting of a new soft drink brand if they felt they discovered it
themselves. Jones Soda initially was sold only in shops that sell surfboards, snowboards,
and skateboards. The Jones Soda Web site would encourage fans to send in personal pho-
tos for possible use on Jones Soda labels. Although only a small number were picked from
tens of thousands of entries, the approach helped create relevance and an emotional connection.
Customers could also purchase bottles with customized labels. Famous for unusual flavors such as
Turkey and Gravy, Pineapple Upside Down, Berry White (a pun on singer Barry White), Purple Carrot, and
Lemon Drop Dead, the company also adds pithy words of wisdom from customers under the bottle cap
to create additional relevance and distinctiveness. The approach worked for a number of years—
revenue grew at 15 percent to 30 percent annually—until an ill-fated foray into canned soda and selling
through mass market retailers Target and Walmart resulted in some devastating financial losses and a
vow to return to the company’s personal-touch roots. 53

An increasingly essential ingredient for the best relationship marketing today is the right technol-
ogy. GE Plastics could not target its e-mail effectively to different customers if it were not for
advances in database software. Dell could not customize computer ordering for its global corporate
customers without advances in Web technology. Companies are using e-mail, Web sites, call centers,
databases, and database software to foster continuous contact between company and customer.
E-commerce companies looking to attract and retain customers are discovering that personal-
ization goes beyond creating customized information. 54 For example, the Lands’ End Live Web
site offers visitors the opportunity to talk with a customer service representative. Nordstrom takes
a similar approach to ensure online buyers are as satisfied with the company’s customer service as
in-store visitors. Domino’s has put the customer in charge of ordering a pizza delivery every step
of the way.

Domino’s Domino’s has introduced a new “build-your-own-pizza” feature on its
Domino’s Web site that allows customers to watch a simulated photographic version of their pizza as they
select a size, choose a sauce, and add toppings.The Web site also shows exactly what the com-
pleted pizza would cost in the process. It lets customers track orders from when the pizza enters
the oven to when it leaves the store. Domino’s also introduced a new point-of-sale system that
streamlined the logistics of online and phone orders.This system improved accuracy, increased repeat visits,
and boosted revenues and processes. 55

Companies are also recognizing the importance of the personal component to CRM and what
happens once customers make actual contact with the company. Employees can create strong
bonds with customers by individualizing and personalizing relationships. In essence, thoughtful
companies turn their customers into clients. Here is the distinction:
Customers may be nameless to the institution; clients cannot be nameless. Customers are
served as part of the mass or as part of larger segments; clients are served on an individual
basis. Customers are served by anyone who happens to be available; clients are served by
the professional assigned to them. 56
To adapt to customers’ increased desire for personalization, marketers have embraced concepts
such as permission marketing and one-to-one marketing.
Permission marketing, the practice of marketing to consumers only after gaining their expressed
permission, is based on the premise that marketers can no longer use “interruption marketing”
via mass media campaigns. According to Seth Godin, a pioneer in the technique, marketers can