Credit cards float in a sea of unremarkable sameness. Today, I received an offer from Best Buy. If I opened up a credit line through them (via MasterCard), I would receive $25 in Reward Zone certificates.
This came in a mailer for 10-12% off in the entire store. Really? 10-12%? On the back of the mailer, Best Buy proclaimed this to be the "Summer of Wow."
No matter what Best Buy decides to call summer, I will call it the "Summer of I'm Not Going to Use Your 12% Off Coupon."
Compare their offer to Amazon's. Amazon completely stopped advertising and addressed the biggest issue nagging online bookstore nay-sayers: shipping. They have been offering free shipping on every order over $25 since 2003.
What are the results? According to the headline from their April 24, 2007 press release: Amazon.com Announces First Quarter Sales Surpass $3 Billion, up 32% Year over Year -- Operating Profit Grows 38%.
What's more, Amazon has continued to build customer loyalty by being remarkable, with Amazon Prime.
From the same press release: "Amazon Prime, Amazon.com's first-ever membership program, was introduced in February 2005. For a flat membership fee of $79 per year, Amazon Prime members get unlimited, express two-day shipping for free, with no minimum purchase requirement on over a million eligible items sold by Amazon.com. Members can order as late as 6:30 p.m. ET and still get their order the next day for only $3.99 per item, and they can share the benefits of Amazon Prime with up to four family members living in their household."
While Best Buy may be a fantastic business, offers like these are boring and routine. Do something remarkable! Offer me something that makes me run, nay, sprint to your store (but not really, because I'm going to drive). Best Buy is raking in dough left, right, and center. They are a great business model. But they are boring me.
Give people something to talk about, and talk they will. And buzz (which, coincidentally, is the hot new buzzword) can help grow a brand by leaps and bounds.
"You can't hit what you can't see," said a No Fear T-shirt that my friend wore fifteen or so years ago. Best Buy obviously didn't see me when they offered a pitiful 10% off. So they missed the target. Be remarkable! Stand behind your products!
If Best Buy offered free service plans, that would be remarkable. Would it be profitable? One would have to weigh out the options of initial revenue lost versus positive word of mouth, customer loyalty, and future sales.
Apple offers a remarkable version of Best Buy's Geek Sqaud called the Genius Bar. Apple's consumers can meet with Genius Bar employees for free. These are specially trained employees who work solely at the Genius Bar.
Now that is a remarkable concept.
Read up.
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