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The 13th Top 10 List from #601-650 in the Project

We’re rallying toward the next milestone of the 2/3rds mark of 667.

A bunch of strong examples in this crop of 50, but here are the ones that were left standing:

10. Lexus (#628) From an e-mail from Carolyn Ray. At Lexus of North Miami people who come in for service are entitled to a complimentary spa service at their in house spa. Services include, manicures, pedicures, haircuts, waxing or chair massage. There is a full service cafe, kids playroom, fitness center and pool room for waiting customers. Makes coming in for service a total pleasure!

9.  Mountain View Tire (#605) Taken from a blogpost by Business Voice called ‘Are You Delivering Cold Drinks?’

“I was heading to Lebec, California and blew out my tire just north of Burbank. I called the Magnolia [Road] location and spoke with Leville Slayton. He dispatched Jacob Pomaville to my location where he retrieved the tire from my vehicle, brought it back to the store, replaced the tire, and repaired the wheel. Amid this stressful situation, Jacob had a cold drink ready for me and, beyond that, actually purchased two jack stands from a nearby auto parts store, as neither one of us had them. I wanted to share this story with you as it is a rarity, especially in the Los Angeles area. They have secured me as a new customer with their exceptional service and care.”

What about your company? How are you delivering “cold drinks” to your customers? Again, it’s not something that has to be “part of the plan,” but, for it to work on a sincere, memorable human level, the question “how can I best serve my customer today” needs to be part of your company’s DNA. When that question permeates your culture and your staff works every day to answer it, you’ll garner the type of loyalty and earn the good word of mouth that Mountain View Tire does.”

8.  Johnny Cupcakes (#636) Submitted in a tweet by David Knies @davidknies of the marketing / design agency Launch Control. David’s tweet “@9INCHmarketing stan check out @johnnycupcakes and what they do in their shipments to customers!”

It turns out that Johnny Cupcakes and a few purple goldfish with a mail order shipment. Here is a comment from a T-shirt forum: “What a great display. So, there was a. the box, b. the tissue paper, c. the bag, d. the shirt, e. the hang tag, f. the oven mit label, g. the home alone card, h. the business card, i. the button, and j. the candy.”

7.   Hallmark (#617) Tweeted by Steve Curtin, “Stan, thought you’d like this…http://twitter.com/enthused/status/9492029818011648 #lagniappe” Steve was the beneficiary of a Hallmark moment. He spent $75 and then received a surprise thank you. A gift bag valued at $25. A picture of his lagniappe can be found in the following tweet:

I spent $70 at Hallmark & received this pleasant surprise on the way out… http://twitpic.com/3bj1iu Wow! #custserv

6.  First Watch Cafe (#643) Submitted by Steve Curtin. Need an umbrella on a rainy day. Feel free to grab one at First Watch Cafe. Return it for an added bonus: a fresh cup of coffee.

5.  White House Custom Colors (#637) Taken from a tweet by Jinxed Studios @jinxedstudios http://jinxeddesigns.com “@9INCHmarketing I got a Tootsie Roll Pop with my prints from White House Custom Colors last week- does that count? It made me smile!”

4.  Essex Steam Train (#627). Taken from a ride on the ‘North Pole Express Train’.

Each year the Essex Steam Train runs the North Pole Express. The hour long train ride is highlighted by visits on the train by Rudolph, Santa and Mrs. Claus. One of the little extras on the ride is provided by the elves. They give all the little boys and girls miniature ornamental bells. “They have a beautiful tone” according to President Rob Bell. The bells are signature to the Essex Steam Train. They are handcrafted by a local Connecticut manufacturer named Bevin Brothers in East Hampton.

3. WizWheelz (#619) Submitted by Jeff Yonker. ”Stan -I thought you might get a kick out of this. We have. We are a small manufacturer of recumbent tricycles called TerraTrikes (http://www.terratrike.com). Our marketing budgets are small, so we utilize a lot of guerilla tactics. One that we’ve done regularly over the last few years is a “Trade with TerraTrike” contest.

The basics are that we invite people to send in offers of something as cool or of equal value as one of our trikes and we then pick one and trade them for it. We’ve even done a trade for the best TerraTrike publicity stunt or commercial filmed and submitted through YouTube.

We’ve received a lot of press with this, the customers have fun withit, and we get something unique for our shop. Here is a link to the contest that also has a list of some of thecrazy stuff that was offered: http://www.terratrike.com/media/Trades/Trade6-08.php

2. UCLA (#635): Taken from a post by Joseph Michelli showcasing Dr. Yeh

“When I started here, I structured things so that we would be accessible—there would be no phone trees; there would be human beings. I answered my own phone for the first year; you always got a person when you called.” Dr. Yeh distinguishes between a surgeon and a technician by the degree to which the surgeon advocates on behalf of the patient. According to Dr. Yeh, “To advocate for patients you have to take the time to know them and put systems in place to help them receive care. Inevitably there will be tests that have to be done, further tests, and coordination. If you have a patient that comes from Abu Dhabi, that patient will likely be provided some help, but if you have an elderly woman from central California, how are we going to help her get around?” To make the process less daunting to patients, Dr. Yeh created a “help desk” resource. A phone line was created to help patients with any problem they encountered. Dr. Yeh notes, “If you are a patient of ours, we will coordinate all your appointments on the same day so you won’t have to travel as often. If you get lost, you can call our number and we’ll guide you around this huge campus. What I realized early on was there were a lot of system problems that were too big for me to tackle as a junior professor. My goal, however, was to create a little bubble around my micro-culture so that things could work within our program the way I thought they ought to work.”

. . . and the #1 on the thirteenth ‘Top 10′ List:

1.  J.Crew (#625) Submitted by Jim Joseph, author of ‘The Experience Effect’

“So here’s another purple goldfish, and I actually feature it in my
book … I experienced it again yesterday.

J.Crew. I’m a huge fan, have been a for awhile. Brand experience is
exceptional, always consistent whether you are at the store, online, or browsing the category. Distinct to each of those venues, but always J.Crew.

The shopping experience in store is particularly good. The sales staff all wear the clothing, so you can actually see how things will look. I’ve had many of them show me how to tie a tie the “just so cool way” they are wearing them, or how to role the cuffs up on a pair of jeans, or how to partner a pair of shoes with new khakis. This is in store, but they also offer a personal shopping service online as well.

I was at one of the Manhattan stores yesterday, and as you can imagine for a Saturday afternoon in December it was packed. Didn’t matter though, the service was impeccable. When I walked in the door, I was greeted by a salesperson. I immediately told her that I was looking for a purple jacket for my daughter …. she immediately took me to the back of the store to see three options. I went upstairs to the mens department where the service was just as good, despite the crowds.

With merchandise in hand, I proceeded to the registers where there was a huge long line. Here’s the kicker …. more sales people were working the line with buckets of small bottles of water for the people who were waiting. And helping select more items while people were in line.

That’s a purple goldfish!”

Click here for the first Top 10 list from the first 50 examples of marketing lagniappe.

Click here for the second Top 10 list from #51 to #100 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the third Top 10 list from #101 to #150 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the fourth Top 10 list from #151 to #200 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the fifth Top 10 list from #201 to #250 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the sixth Top 10 list from #251 to #300 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the seventh Top 10 list from #301 to #350 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the eighth Top 10 list from #351 to #400 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the ninth Top 10 list from #401 to #450 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the tenth Top 10 list from #451 to #500 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the eleventh Top 10 list from #501 to #550 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Click here for the twelfth Top 10 list from #551 to #600 in the Purple Goldfish Project.