Want to escape competing on price and other commodity pressures? Build customer relationships customers find meaningful and valued. However, be prepared to see this as an ongoing effort.
The people at St. Supéry winery are, once again, demonstrating they understand that nurturing customer relationships is an ongoing journey. An event or interaction might attract customers because it signals the potential of a meaningful relationship but if it stops there, the full relationship value will not blossom. Sure, the customer might buy your widget and may continue to do so for a period of time. However, the value derive from the relationship will not grow and customer equity will not accrue.
Once a company attracts customers to the customer experience they enable, relationship value has the potential to accrue because the following things happen:
- Emotional or psychological gratification ensues or is an outcome of the experience. This gratification happens when a person becomes mentally or emotionally involved and extends their knowledge and know-how. Gratification is intrinsically rewarding and leads to greater desire.
- The relationship with the company strengthen because the person gains an increased sense of belonging, respect as an individual, gets to know the company and its people and through the experience validates a win-win agenda which increases trust. The experiencing of win-win is facilitated if the company facilitates the emotional gratification mentioned above, without the immediate expectation of financial gain.
In my book, Addicted Customers, I describe how St. Supéry’s Harvest Festival put these principles into action. Now they are Calling All Shutterbugs. Greater meaning to the customer and therefore, increased perceived value increases when a customer broadens all three forms of knowing mentioned about. Now customers are invited to spend time in St. Supéry’s highly acclaimed Dollarhide vineyard and to photograph its splendor. Wineries don’t just let anyone wander through their vineyards and risk damage to the crop. St. Supéry does if you have a growing desire to become more involve.
Everyone who participated will have at least one of their photographs displayed in the winery gallery. To add a little incentive, the person who takes their favorite photograph will walk away with a case of wine from the Dollarhide vineyard.
Customers who elect to join in get a rare opportunity to engage in what to them is a meaningful experience. They get to further their relationship with the people at St. Supéry. And, there it is very likely that some will introduce a friend or two to the St. Supéry experience. Sure, it would be nice to win the case of wine but getting a photograph display in the gallery will be reward in itself.
Hey! Maybe we will see each other out there. I’ll be the guy with the Canon camera and the big smile on my face. Check out St. Supéry at www. stsupery.com.
