How to get a customer for life in 6 easy steps

You know that saying about when someone has a good customer service experience, they may tell a few other people, but if they have a horrible experience, they’ll tell ten people?

I had a phenomenal customer service experience and I want to tell everyone.

Admittedly, have an obscene amount of shoes. It makes packing slightly difficult. However, when I see a fantastic value I can’t help myself.

Enter Rue La La, “a Members-only online shopping destination for all things related to a life of style… giving members with access to a curated selection of the most coveted brands and offerings in fashion, home, beauty, travel, and more within 48-hour, private sale Boutiques.”

Companies that provide excellent service tend to have loyal customers, and I have had nothing but but excellent experiences with Rue La La and their customer service. After my first Rue purchase, their staff reached out to me and asked for my permission to use one of my tweets was in their monthly newsletter. This is a great way to a) gain consent for use of user-generated content and b) engage with the customer base. I received a handwritten thank you note and an unexpected credit on my account. The newsletter bragging rights and thank you note were plenty, but a credit too? That’s going above and beyond. Awesome customer experience #1 and #2.

That first Rue purchase was a pair of Puma tennis shoes. Their CRM tracks customer purchases, and their marketing strategy integrates CRM and email, so Rue alerted me to a new boutique sale for Puma, which happened last Friday. Awesome customer experience #3.

But there was a slight scheduling snafu and that caused a momentary panic attack:

I really enjoy the fact that they encourage purchases while in meetings (ok, so this may not work for all brands, but it fits with the voice of their brand) Awesome customer experience #4.

Luckily, all worked out and I was able to purchase another pair of Pumas [super cheap!] and not miss a beat during my meeting. To make this story even better, @Puma jumped in on my conversation with @RueLaLa. Awesome customer experience #5.

There was just one caveat during this transaction: I’m moving next weekend and feared that my shoes would ship to my old address and I’d have to wait a few extra days to get them [I know, a horrible problem to have!]. @RueLaLa_Help to the rescue! Amy B. was super helpful and extremely friendly; she’s a shoe addict too, so we started chatting about what pair we were currently drooling over. Awesome customer experience #6.

Moral of this story? Make your customer service experience memorable, personal and fun. I can’t wait to make another Rue La La purchase. I’ve already told at least seven people, including my VP, and invited three people to join Rue La La.  All because of a few tweets, making me feel like a valuable customer, and sharing in my delight for a shoe sale.

What are you doing to make your customer experience enjoyable? How do you personalize your interactions and emails to current customers?

 

P.S. Want an invite to this exclusive club? I’ll hook you up here.

 

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