Brand Experience - First Contact

There are many ways consumers experience your brand.

Eventually, consumers can become customers by experiencing your brand - that is the goal. But, to get to that stage the consumer will go through many experiences, and they all begin with the first contact.

First Contact
These days, it is likely that a consumer will have their first contact with your brand on the web. This is not from your brand's web site either. The fact is, your brand may be found in some form or another, on a discussion forum or social media site. Total strangers, may be mentioning your brand, ranting or raving about it or consumers may have seen an ad for it on their favourite search engine - there are so many different ways to discover new brands online. However, if you're not on the information superhighway but rather on another road in life, consumers may see your brand on a passing vehicle with decals on it, or perhaps in an advertisement in a magazine or newspaper or overheard in a discussion at one of the thousands of local coffee houses on your street.

No matter how or where the first contact happens, a first impression is made based on your brand immediately. And, consumers are either interested or they're not.

If the first contact is favourable, a consumer may be intrigued enough to go look for more information on your brand at which time many will turn to their favourite source of information and go online. This is where and when they may discover more customer comments, threads, videos, blogs or perhaps an official web site.

Now, as the owner of your brand you have to ensure that your first contact makes a positive impression. In a lot of cases, brand owners have little control over the first impression so they focus on improving the second and third impressions - although this is useful, but it's not the full remedy. You see, often times, the first impression is created and influenced heavily by existing customers and is representative of their experience with your brand. For example, a customer of your brand may start a discussion thread on a web forum (or Facebook group) discussing a specific experience - positive or negative, this is available for all to see. This is why the first reaction of brand owners is on service - good service begats good reviews, non?

Well, as a brand owner, you may think there is little you can do other than be better on service to keep first impressions in the positive light. But, there is actually a lot you can do... but it is a lot. And, most companies just don't dedicate the online time it takes to manage this properly. In large companies, this should be a full time job - brand owners need to be plugged into their brand online, 24/7.

With that in mind, here are a few things you can do to influence your brands' first contact and make it a positive one:

1. Advertise. There is no better way to communicate your brand message than with your very own message. There are many options in placement, with online options growing by the nanosecond, you have to choose your platform carefully and not spread yourself too thin. Online advertising allows you to pinpoint and hit your target customer better than any other form of advertising, hands down.
   
2. Awareness. Be aware of what is being said about you online. Subscribe to Google Alerts and don't just track your company name, track slogans, brand extensions, owner names, and competitors. Each day, you should receive a report that tells you what's being posted around the world about you and your brand. Use these to leverage interest and to respond where needed.
   
3. Participate. OK, so you've gotten your first Alert and there's a discussion about how poorly your retail staff handled something... you can monitor it, but that won't solve anything. The best course of action is to address the issue with the staff then participate in the discussion online and explain who you are and what you did to ensure that type of situation does not happen again. Be honest and clear. When posting online, don't make excuses, just tell the truth about what happened and don't try to be a spin doctor. Transparency is how the web works and news travels fast.
4. Encourage. Ask customers to tell their story online and provide them a platform for this, good or bad these are real stories about your brand that would take you millions in advertising to recreate. Obviously, you can't do #4 without #2 or #3, they are prerequisites. A large fan base that contributes to your brand story can help you in product development and refining your customer service. Your customers become part of the brand - which is really how it should be if you want them to promote it.
5. Service. Treat every customer like your best customer and it will bring out the best in every customer. Consumers love hearing about brands that overachieve and talk about these experiences sometimes not even having experienced the experience first hand.

Here is an excellent example of how service can be talked about... from a posting about Nordstrom on Wikipedia:

"Nordstrom is well-known for its customer service, so much so that several urban legends have appeared regarding the store. One of the best known legends is purported to have taken place at the Anchorage store soon after its 1975 purchase from Northern Commercial Company. A customer, unaware that the store had changed hands, returned a set of tires. Although Nordstrom had never sold tires since opening, it was determined not to be the fault of the customer the store had changed hands, and the return was accepted. Many Nordstrom customers will attest that Nordstrom will refund items at any time purchased from Nordstrom stores."

Here is the instruction that Nordstrom stores gives to their new hires:

Welcome to Nordstrom

We're glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them.

Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.

Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time.

How cool would it be to deliver top notch service so consistently that your spawn urban legends about your service? That is the absolute pinnacle of first impressions. I'm not sure if the story above is true or not, but it has been told over and over by customer service experts and by consumers that love the concept of the story so much that they tell friends about it. What does this do to Nordstrom's reputation?

We don't have Nordstrom's in Canada, but I've even told the story a handful of times, without setting foot in their store, I already think very highly of their brand.

What I find interesting, is how they empower their staff with such a succinct mantra. Provide outstanding service and use good judgment to do so. Wow. I'm sure there has been the odd hiccup, but you can't argue that this hasn't worked in building their brand to be at the top of the service chain. Nordstrom is a brand whos service culture continues to breed good first impressions.

For some of you reading my blog, this may be the first time you've heard of the Nordstrom brand - what are your first impressions?

Bottomline: Do all you can to get your brand out there and encourage your customers to do so as well, keep tabs on it and participate in the discussion. Your brand is a living thing, you can't pull a Ronco and 'set it and forget it' - you need to be involved in the growth and development. And, above all be consistent in your service... we'll get to that though, when we talk about the second and third contact.