Fashion Law : Fashion Lawyer & Attorney : Fox Rothschild Law Firm : Licensing, Intellectual Property

Guest post by: Cassidy Saitow*

 

Last night I was watching an interview with Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com.  He was talking about Zappos' customer service.  He shared a story:

One night a bunch of Zappos execs wanted to order a late night pizza after a conference ended.  They were with a Sketchers rep, (Sketchers is one of Zappos' brands), and the Sketchers rep jokingly said "why don't you call Zappos Customer Service?"  The Zappos people decided why not, so they called the customer service line in Vegas.  The girl who picked up the call asked where they were, and in about 5 minutes had a list of 5 pizza places that were still open at that hour of the night that were in their delivery zone. 

The story was meant to be, and is, entertaining (and Tony Hsieh requested that you please not call Zappos for non-shoe and apparel related questions) but it illustrates just how amazing your fashion company's customer service policy can be, if you make it that way.

 

 *Cassidy is currently a FIDM student and interning with me here at Fox Rothschild as part of her course work.  She is also the author of FIDM'S Merchandise Product Development Blog

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I have received many emails and DM from you asking how you can give outstanding customer service to your clients.  Since the answer depends on your business, instead, I thought I would share two examples of great customer service I received recently to inspire you.

I was in "my" Starbucks a few weeks ago, totally not paying attention or making any eye contact with the baristas because I was twittering on my blackberry.  By the time I got to the counter, they said: here you go Staci! 

I looked up and was amazed to see they had my drinks and pastry ready.  That grabbed my attention and blew me away.  I was wowed and surprised.  Not only did they remember my name, they remember my order, recognized me in line, and started my order well before I was at the counter.

WOW!

Later that week, I was on the phone with my son's eye doctor.  He is (almost) five and constantly bending, breaking or losing his glasses.  We generally have two pairs, but on this day, both were broken and at the doctor's office for repair. 

The office called and told me the glasses were ready, but I was in court.  They then offered to overnight them to me so my son could have them the next day -- at no charge!  And, they had to go down the street to FedEx them.  Needless to say, I was floored, extremely grateful at their generosity and will be a client forever.

As you can see above, it is small things that mean so much to busy clients.  A simple act of kindness, which only takes you a few minutes, will make all the difference to your brand in the long run.

Have you or your team WOWed anyone lately?  Try it today and I gaurentee you will see results.

photo credit: Starbucks.com

 Ps -- special "thank yous" go to Danny, Angie, Bryan and Judy -- Maggie, you have a great team!!  Also to Shirley and Michelle at Dr. Rishko's office!!!

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How much time does your Fashion Company devote to giving better customer service compared to getting new customers? 

Most companies I see spend most of their time trying to sell, or "get into" the next big retailer, instead of providing their bread and butter customers better service.  Most think, what for?  They already carry my designs.

Here are three reasons why this way of thinking is wrong:

First, happy customers talk, tweet and post about you and your brand.  Think of the goodwill you would build, and the money you could save on PR and marketing, if you "wowed" your customers on a regular basis.  Social media makes sharing experiences with friends and followers easy and commonplace.

Second, never forget the early adapters.  The stores that took a chance on you deserve your loyalty and support.  The best source of more business is from companies you already work with because they know and trust you.

Third, and finally, your customers are the best source of product development and research for future products.  Talk to your stores.  Find out what they like best about your items, what sells first and what you could do better.  This conversation will not only help you hone your future product offering, but it will you allow you to engage with your customers in a non-pushy way that shows you care about them and their business.  It also gives them a vested interested in the new products they "helped" create, similar to crowdsourcing.

How do you "Wow" your customers?  Or have you been "Wow" by a retailer lately?  I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments or via email.

photo credit: TMO News

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Is your Fashion Brand using social media?  And if you are, have you been able to create meaningful online engagement with customers and generate online sales?

If you are not, now is the time to learn.  If you are, we want to help you improve your abilities to use social media as a marketing tool to build brand loyalty and sales.

So, please join me at MAGIC on August 17, 2010 at 1:30 pm, where I will moderate, "Social Marketing: Strategies for Customer Engagement, Product Research & Sales." 

The panel, composed of top fashion marketing professionals, will discuss the overall evolution in social media marketing, how brands and retailers should can use online marketing strategies to build brand awareness, how to create meaningful online engagement with customers, how to use social communities for product development and research and how to effectively generate online sales.

Panelists include:

• Macala Wright Lee, Principal – Fashionably Digital Los Angeles
• Daria Shualy, CEO – Sense of Fashion
• Crosby Noricks, Sr. Social Media Strategist –  Charlotte Russe
• Daniela Zeltzer, Director of Marketing – XCVI Clothing
• Carolyn Coles, Digital Culture and Innovation – Lululemon Athletica

We know your time at MAGIC and Project is limited, so if you can attend only one seminar, this is it.  With the combined knowledge and insight of these speakers, you won't regret it.  Trust me.

Details: August 17, 2010, 1:30 PM I LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER – NORTH HALL 2ND FLOOR, N261

Hope to see you there!

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Last month, after sharing some of the concepts from Daniel Pink's book, Drive, you were challenged to think outside the box and come up with ways to support and encourage intrinsic motivation in your team.

Have you taken steps to change the way you motivate your team? What can you do to convert working for you from a job into a passion?

Not started yet or still trying to figure out how -- or even why you should try?

Check out this animated video from Daniel Pink:

In sum, you are the leader of your organization.  What motivates you?  Does your leadership style need adjustment so that you inspire and motivate your team?

And don't forget, your leadership style directly effects how your team treats your customers, which will (hopefully) lead to sales and to customer retention (and fans and followers!)

I would love to hear what has worked for you.....and what hasn't, in the comments.

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Driving to work, I heard a great Trader Joe's commercial.  It asked, where are the people? 

Not shoppers, but the store employees that are suppose to assist you and help make your shopping (i.e. a necessary errand) easier and more pleasant.  The commercial even noted that most supermarkets ask you to ring up and bag your groceries yourself.  But not at Trader Joe's. 

As most of you probably know, Trader Joe's has tons of happy, helpful and passionate employees that are always willing to go the extra mile.  That is why I love shopping there.  (I also love the "Fearless Flyer."  It also has such good tips and suggestions.)

Trader Joe's has managed to transform grocery shopping into an experience.  They engaged all your senses.  By tapping into their own passion, Trader Joe's has made a mundane chore fun. 

So why are you reading this on the Fashion Law Blog?

Because, to succeed in today's market place, your Fashion Company needs to find a way to connect with its customers like Trader Joe's has.  It needs to employ passionate, enthusiastic people to share your company's message (compared to sell), and it needs consistent branding so you carve out your niche and visibly stand out from the masses. 

How can you make fashion into an experience that your target customer can interact with?

photo credit: Highwire Creative Services Blog

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Whether you work for a big fashion company, run your own label or even consult for others in the design business, you must not overlook the importance of internal networking otherwise known as internal marketing.

So what is Internal Marketing?

Internal Marketing is part of the trifecta of brand building, which includes social networking, marketing and networking. Internal Marketing is very similar to its better known cousin, external marketing, except that you are promoting, distributing or "selling" a product, service or an educational opportunity to your colleagues, staff and supervisors.

Now if this is a new concept to you, don't worry. I had no idea it existed until a mentor of mine recently pointed out that I was doing a good job at it.Internal Marketing falls into two distinct buckets:

1. Cross-promoting your SERVICES inside your organization (direct internal marketing); and
2. Building awareness of YOU by building team / consensus inside your organization which positions you as a point of contact (indirect internal marketing) which leads to Direct Internal Marketing opportunities.

Direct internal marketing looks like:

• cross-selling services between departments to promote sales and efficiency;
• it can be raising your colleagues awareness of the special skills and talents you bring to the organization; and
• it can be seizing opportunities to teach and share what you do with others in your organization.

Indirect internal marketing looks like:

• raising awareness of your personal brand by sharing information with your colleagues about your day job;
• showing thanks for a job well done to your staff and associates; and
• treating each other with dignity and respect.

Doing good work is not enough. Being good at work is imperative as is integrating what you do with the rest of your company. You also must become visible and credible with your organization.

Are you an Internal Marketer and not know it? Send me an email or a comment with your story or thoughts.

photo credit: Silver Court

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You may recall the pop song Puttin' On the Ritz.  What you may not know is that the phrase is also a slang expression meaning "to dress very fashionably" and was inspired by the Ritz Hotel in London, now part of the Ritz-Carlton family.

Why are you reading about the Ritz Carlton on the fashion law blog?  Because they have such amazing customer service I just about cried.  Here's what happened during my last stay:

As some of you know, I was in in Philadelphia last week.  You also may know I have a thing for shoes, but what you may not know that I am slightly crazy about my hair.  When I travel, I sleep on a special pillow so my hair stays nice longer, and too my dismay, I forgot it.

So, I decide to ask the nice gentleman who was helping me with my bags (and remembered my name from my last visit), if housekeeping happened to have one I could borrow.  He said he would check and see.

About 10 minutes later, he called and said they didn't.  BUT, he would be happy to go to Macy's and buy me one!  Did I mention it was snowing?

I travel a great deal for work, and I shop often due to the nature of my job.  I have never had such incredible service as I received last week.  And guess what, I am not special (despite what my mom says).   

Turns out that the Ritz-Carlton has "Gold Standards" that include empowering their employees to commit up to $2,000 of the hotel’s funds to bring instant resolution to a guest’s problem.  WOW!

How would your business change if you did as Seth Godin writes, "the most you could do instead of the least?"

And quality customer service pays off.  Every time the Ritz's customer engagement score rises four points in the Gallup study, the company sees a $40 million increase in revenue.  Double WOW!

In sum, run your fashion company like the Ritz: radically over deliver extraordinary service and watch your profits skyrocket.  

So, as the song goes, I would highly recommend:

If you're blue and you don't know
where to go to why don't you go
where fashion sits
Puttin' on the Ritz (Carlton)
 

They will make your day.   Guaranteed.

photo credit: soundtrackcollector.com, art.com and impactiviti blog

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