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There’s great customer service, and then there’s making-someone’s-day customer service. These are the moments when you make an extra effort to do something fantastic — even if it’s just for one person — to start conversations about your company.
Here are three ways to do it:
1. Be there for an important day
2. Respond to requests enthusiastically
3. Make a crazy dream come true
1. Be there for an important day
When one high-school kid asked Netflix to prom on Twitter, the company didn’t just shrug him off. Instead, they responded by offering him a suit, a ride, and a driver — all themed from movies and shows on Netflix. That’s a story he’ll be telling for years to come. Plus, it made a huge impression on his entire high school and community, it was covered in Adweek, and now, we’re telling you about it. Maybe you don’t have access to a James Bond tux or the 50’s Buick from Grease, but you do have the opportunity to do something amazing for one of your customers on a day that’s important to him or her.
2. Respond to requests enthusiastically
Companies bring back popular products from retirement all the time. But they rarely do it with as much gusto as J.Crew did when a fashion blogger begged them to bring back a discontinued swimsuit in a passionate open letter. J.Crew ran a magazine ad for the swimsuit’s return with the creative director’s handwritten note to the blogger: “Dear Ms. Avins, Your wish is my command… within reason.” You, too, should strive to be this good at identifying your big talkers and turning them into raving fans.
3. Make a crazy dream come true
When MINI launched their new car model, they asked current owners to get creative and tell them about their dream test drive. They came up with stuff like jousting out of the sunroof, plowing through giant glow sticks, and driving backwards through a parking garage. Then MINI made those dream test drives happen for ten different owners and turned the whole thing into a video series. That’s a crazy way to help their customers feel like a part of the MINI community — and a great way to showcase the quirky personality of MINI owners to everyone else.