I spoke to you after blogging about your purple goldfish project this summer when I interned for STELLAService. I’m happy to finally say I’ve found a purple goldfish! I checked your list, so if its updated I think this is a new one.
Last week I bought a few fun things online for my dorm room from PerpetualKid.com. It was my first time buying from them, and I’ll certainly be a repeat customer. The site is overall really fun (for example, I got measuring cups that stack like a Russian nesting doll), and it definitely didn’t hurt that my order placed at 10 pm on the 18th shipped the next morning and arrived on the 20th. But the best part of it all was the surprise “finger monster” (for lack of better words) sitting on top when I opened the package. While I don’t quite know what to do with it, I sure got a kick out of it, and I bet many other customers probably did too. I’ve attached a picture of this rubber “finger monster”. Hope it helps on your way to 1,001 and I will let you know if I come across any others!
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – speaking of finger puppets . . . how about a little finger breakdancing with some sweet shelltoes:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
The one near us in Palm Beach Gardens, FL is one of those stores. Our first visit there was on a similar girl’s night about 6 weeks ago – and the waitress picked up on that it was our first visit which generated a visit to our table from the manager, a card for a free appetizer on our next visit AND free dessert that night – a decadent white chocolate bread pudding. We were sold.
So we headed back tonight – raved about the bread pudding causing our return, ordered our wine, free app and entree (to shared) and our bread pudding (to share) for dessert. Our poor waiter, Adam, comes back later in the meal after confirming we were ready for our dessert – sincerely apologetic and genuinely concerned that he was about to ruin our night with his news: they were out of bread pudding. But – he also showed up with another card for a free dessert on our next visit with a note on the back of the card from the manager. It wouldn’t have ruined our night – we still had a lovely meal – and it certainly wasn’t anyone’s fault they had a run on their bread pudding. But they stepped up on both visits, gave us little extras we hadn’t expected and I’m pretty sure that there are going to be a string of girls nights back at Figs – despite a limited menu that if it weren’t for their lagniappe service would probably have us dining at different locations each time.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Speaking of Figs, here is a funny bit from Brian Regan on Fig Newtons:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
“Best Buy created the Twelpforce. They assigned a customer service representative from the sales team for each consumer. A nice added value if you have any questions after your purchase.”
Two weeks after Jim submitted Twelpforce to the Project it won the Titanium Lion in Cannes. Titanium awards the best integrated campaign. Here is a 100 second video that highlights the Twelpforce:
Marketing Takeaway – Customer experience just doesn’t stop once you’ve made the purchase. Best Buy has differentiated themselves by scaling customer service via Twitter @twelpforce. By doing so they’ve created added value and given that little extra something to both customers and prospects.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Twelp is a combination of two words (twitter and help). . . or what is uncommonly called a ‘portmanteau’. More common portmanteaus include brunch (breakfast and lunch) and smog (smoke and fog). In fact what I’m currently doing right this second is a portmanteau . . . I’m writing on my blog(web and log). How about if you made a portmanteau of a portmanteau of a portmanteau? This short video may describe a first:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? Are you giving your customers something to talk, tweet, blog and post to Facebook about?
Free Racquets for Youngsters Attending WTT Matches
The New York Sportimes and USTA Eastern Section swing into the Purple Goldfish Project at #463. They provided free tennis racquets to the first 2,000 children aged 12 and under who attended one of the team’s seven July home matches at Randall’s Island in July.
Bonus Lagniappe: The Sportimes provided free shuttle bus service from several stops on the East Side of Manhattan, starting two hours prior to each match and returning to the same locations following the conclusion of each night’s events.
For the matches on July 5th, 11th and 12th, the team reimbursed Sportimes ticket holders who drive to Randall’s Island for these Sportimes matches for their RFK bridge toll. Ticket holders submitted a paid toll receipt, or who show an EZ-Pass badge, had the cost of the toll subtracted from their ticket price and those who purchase tickets in advance had the cost of the toll reimbursed on site.
POSTCRIPT: The NY Sportimes ended up the season with a march to the Finals.
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
Jack and I continue to look at different industries. If there is one category tailor made for marketing lagniappe its hotels. If you aren’t giving those little unexpected extras in the hotel business . . . you’re in for a heap of trouble.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – We mention the Hotel Vitale at the end of the podcast. Here is a great interview with Chip Conley that talks about a guest who calls the place Hotel Joanna.
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Barry shared a story about the Peninsula Hotel during our interview. Here is the full background from his post on BAMgoodservice.com:
“On my trip last week, we checked into The Peninsula in New York City. When you check into this type of hotel, you have 5 star high expectations for customer service. I was not disappointed!
As soon as we checked in, they told us that we had been “upgraded to a larger room.” I just love that phrase.
Now, I have never stayed at this hotel and I do not know what the rooms look like, but I was delighted anyways. Furthermore,I really have no idea whether we were actually upgraded to a better room or not, but it did not matter. They said we were, so I wanted to believe them. I wanted to be excited about our stay at the hotel. It put me in a good place.
We had the concierge at the Peninsula make reservations at a restaurant down the street for us. When we arrived, they sat us promptly. At the end of the meal, a dessert wine and cake were served to us. When we said that we did not order dessert, the waiter said,“It was sent over by the concierge at the hotel!”
Brilliant. Again, whether it was really sent over by the concierge is not really the issue. The restaurant gave us something extra to ensure a great customer experience and preserve a solid relationship with the concierge at the hotel who probably sends them hundreds of people! What did it cost the restaurant? A slice of cake and a few glasses of wine. What did they gain? At least one blog post and a continued stream of customers from the hotel.
When you give the customer something extra they did not pay for, they will be delighted. Trust me on this or ask your customer when you upgrade them!
How do you give that is extra thing to your clients? How do you make them feel like they are getting a bonus (and paying no more?)”
Lagniappe defined:A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Jack and I continue to look at different industries. Would you like fries with that? How do fast food (a.k.a quick serve) restaurants differentiate themselves to ’stand out in the sea of sameness’?
Here is a rundown of the examples we discuss:
- Free Peanuts and Bonus Fries: Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – I had Chick-fil-a for dinner yesterday. Very tasty I must say. Here comedian Tim Hawkins sings a ballad about Chick-fil-a . . . the home of the original chicken sandwich (except on Sunday that is):
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure on meeting up with Rick Cerrone at a networking function for the Big Apple Sports Career Week. I had the pleasure of knowing Rick during my time at adidas when I managed the NY Yankees partnership. Rick was the PR Director for the Pinstripes for 11 seasons.
Here is a superb summary of the “plus” concept by John Torre:
“Normally, the word “plus” is a conjunction, but not in Walt’s vocabulary. To Walt, “plus” was a verb—an action word—signifying the delivery of more than what his customers paid for or expected to receive.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of Walt “plussing” his products. He constantly challenged his artists and Imagineers to see what was possible, and then take it a step further…and then a step beyond that. Why did he go to the trouble of making everything better when “good enough” would have sufficed? Because for Walt, nothing less than the best was acceptable when it bore his name and reputation, and he did whatever it took to give his guests more value than they expected to receive for their dollar.
Perhaps one of the best examples of Walt’s obsession for “plussing” comes from Disney historian Les Perkins’ account of an incident that took place at Disneyland during the early years of the park. Walt had decided to hold a Christmas parade at the new park at a cost of $350,000. Walt’s accountants approached him and besieged him to not spend money on an extravagant Christmas parade because the people would already be there. Nobody would complain, they reasoned, if they dispensed with the parade because nobody would be expecting it.
Walt’s reply to his accountants is classic: “That’s just the point,” he said. “We should do the parade precisely because no one’s expecting it. Our goal at Disneyland is to always give the people more than they expect. As long as we keep surprising them, they’ll keep coming back. But if they ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten times that much to get them to come back.”
Marketing Takeaway: It’s vital to continually be thinking about your own product or service. How can you “plus” it up via G.L.U.E – ‘giving little unexpected extras’ that will deliver above and beyond what your customers expect.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – Pat Williams mentions EPCOT in the video below. 99.9% of folks have no clue what EPCOT stands for. Since I’m an acronym hound I’ll let you in on some trivia. If you’ve visited the park this will make perfect sense . . . Every Person Comes Out Tired*. Enjoy the video.
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Where is the lagniappe in your marketing? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
“Every bicycle purchased from Zane’s Cycles comes with our exclusive ‘Zane’s Cycles Lifetime Free Service and Lifetime Parts Warranty.’ Anytime your bicycle needs service, a full tune-up or just a quick adjustment, we will make those necessary adjustments for free as long as you own your bicycle.”
The guarantee doesn’t just stop there. Zane’s also offers:
90-Day Price Protection. We guarantee you will never overpay at Zane’s Cycles. If you find any item you purchased in stock for less anywhere in Connecticut within 90 days, we’ll gladly refund you the difference plus 10%
30 Day Test Ride. To guarantee you have purchased the correct bicycle, ride it for 30 days. If during that time you are not completely satisfied, please return the bicycle for an exchange. We will gladly give you a full credit toward your new selection.
Serious. Fun. Guaranteed. Twenty Five + years ago we started with the belief, “the only difference between us and our competition is the service that we offer.” If you don’t feel that we are living up to our mission, let us know and we’ll fix it immediately. If you have a concern and would like to discuss it with me directly, please e-mail me. I will personally respond to you.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – American Express Open featured Zane’s in a commercial and did this spotlight feature:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
“As a CXO (Chief Experience Officer), keeping an eye out for “purple goldfish” is an obsession and a passion! One of my favorites is the Hotel Mela in NYC. They offer a “Desires” Club for guests that allows you to select your favorite snacks and soft drinks, which you find awaiting you in your stylish room when you arrive. Each day of your stay, your favorites are left in your room along with a personalized note. The Hotel periodically asks you to update your “favorites” (via email) to ensure they are still meeting your Desires. Now that’s unexpected service!”
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – One of my favorite NY restaurants is a little place in Little Italy called ‘La Mela’. For those of you who don’t speak Italian, it means ‘The Mela’. Actually it means ‘The Apple’. Appropriate for NYC. Here is closer look at Little Italy:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
Last week I bought a few fun things online for my dorm room from PerpetualKid.com. It was my first time buying from them, and I’ll certainly be a repeat customer. The site is overall really fun (for example, I got measuring cups that stack like a Russian nesting doll), and it definitely didn’t hurt that my order placed at 10 pm on the 18th shipped the next morning and arrived on the 20th. But the best part of it all was the surprise “finger monster” (for lack of better words) sitting on top when I opened the package. While I don’t quite know what to do with it, I sure got a kick out of it, and I bet many other customers probably did too. I’ve attached a picture of this rubber “finger monster”. Hope it helps on your way to 1,001 and I will let you know if I come across any others!
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