Is it a Renaissance or a Ritz?

That's the question I've had to continously ask myself over the last 24 hours.

I remember when I bought a Saturn many moons ago -- the joke was that Saturn was the poor man's Lexus. The quality of the car was surpassed only by the quality of the dealer service. When I returned from my honeymoon to find my car window smashed, my CD player stolen, I was anticipating a terrible experience dealing with dealers and insurance. Instead, the repair manager at my local Saturn dealer asked for my insurance info, and said he'd take care of it. I wrote a deductible check and can only assume the dealership was paid by USAA insurance. God knows I never heard another word.

And that's what it has been like today at the Renaissance here in Tulsa. Bartenders using my name, calling out across the bar (as I diligently worked in a corner) to make sure I was "doing ok" to friendly and welcoming front desk, floor and operator staff.... I'm getting a Ritz service on a budget price. Add to that, some pretty tasty food in the hotel restaurant (and remember, I'm living in New Orleans, so I've become a food snob) and well, you have a complete experience.

Why does a great brand experience matter?

And you know what... it's working. I've never had anything against Renaissance, but after this trip, I'll be looking for Renaissance Hotels in cities I visit.

The rooms are clean, the lobbies spacious and clean, the wi-fi snappy, and the people actully make you think they're happy you're here. And when you think aout a hotel experience, that's all you want.

Yes, sure ther are those high-maintenance folks that want the haughty-taughty stuff, but for most of us, just being treated as a guest is more than enough. Bartenders addressing you by name give you the allusion of "home" and guest services walking you to where you need to be vs just pointing in a direction -- that makes you feel special.

And how much more did that cost Renaissance?

Which goes to show you -- along time ago, the Ritz brand was just another Renaissance. The Ritz became the Ritz by committing to providing awesome service before they were recognized for providing that service. And now, so many years later, after consistently performing to that expectation the Ritz brand has become synonymous with top-tier.

Could the Renassance brand do the same? Could yours? I bet they could... but what say you... could your brand be the next Ritz? What's holding you back? What's standing between you and greatness?

Tell me.

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photo by UggBoy♥UggGirl

Posted by tommartin on October 25, 2011 in Brand Experience, Tourism | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

QR Codes Marketing Success is About Context

Yesterday I was intrigued to read an article promising to tell me how Sucre Bleu was "transcending beyond point of sale with QR codes."

The article started by explaining that Scure Bleu had

"sidestepped traditional marketing channels and uncorked an ambitious social media outreach effort"

and it went on to state...

"add barcodes to the stylish and sophisticated Sacre Bleu label, moving beyond graphic design to deliver vital consumer information when and where it matters most: at the point of sale."

It was the "deliver vital consumer information...at the point of sale" part that caught my eye.

I've long remarked that we live in a dual existance. While we live in a physical word, there is a coresponding digital layer hoving just overhead... a layer that can be bridged.

QR Codes are the bridge between the digital and physical worlds that coexist today.

So I was looking forward to seeing a good example of QR Code usage in the real world.

How Not To Use QR Codes in Your Marketing

Sadly, I was let down because like most other brands Sacre Bleu forgot the that QR Code marketing is all about context. Instead of putting themselves in the consumer's shoes and trying to answer the questions said consumer would have at that exact moment, their QR code simply dumps you to a prefab Paperlinks mobile landing site. Once there you're givin the opportunity to:

read about "A Sublime Cabernet"
Cabernet Food pairings - which takes you to their mobile friendly blog. But just don't try and come back to their mobile site you started at -- can't do it.
Fav Sacre Bleu Pics
Sacre Bleu Facebook
Sacrew Bleu Twitter
Sacre Bleu Video

No Wine Spectator scores, wine reviews (either professional or consumer), no deals or coupons to create an impulse purchase. In short, there was nothing "vital" delivered and from a "point of sale" perspective, so I'm not sure this QR code is "transending" anything.

How to Use QR Codes in Your Marketing

All of this to say, if you're going to use QR Codes in your marketing, and I truly encourage you to do so, you absolutely must consider context before anything else. You have to understand where your customer or prospect is, physically in the world, as well as where they are in the buying cycle at the very moment when they see the QR code. Then after they've scaned the QR code you should deliver the single piece of information they need to move them to the next level of YOUR purchase funnel. Sure you can have other information a thumb-click away.... but first and foremost, you have to deliver that one thing that will push them from consideration to purchase.

But hey, that could just be me... what do you think?

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