Turning Customers into Fans.

I don't know if my 15 year old son, Jeff is representative of an "up and coming" consumer or not. But if, he is, watch out!

Jeff recently bought a used Scion tC. He had done all the research at Consumer Reports. He had gone for several test drives. He knew the car's features better than the salesperson. He is thrilled with the car (his first). By all accounts he's a "satisfied customer".



Less than 24 hours after taking possession of the car, he had already visited a Scion tC customer forum on the Web. There he learned how to configure his in dash radio to customize the start up message - changing it from "Scion" to whatever 16 letter message he wanted.


And that's when he began the transition from "satisfied customer" into "fan".

Such a simple, low cost and almost completely unadvertised feature, allowed him to personalize his purchase - turning a Scion into HIS Scion. I can only guess that this photo and others will soon appear on his MySpace page and the message will begin to spread.



I have three takeaways from this story.

1. Young consumers will research and educate themselves about the products they buy, like never before. It's so quick and easy to do on the Internet.
2. Companies need to find ways to allow their customers to personalize their product or service experience - thereby turning satisfied consumers into fans. It doesn't have to cost much.
3. The experiences your customers have will be spread virally like never before. MySpace, IM and Facebook will amplify every customer experience - good OR bad.

Gone are the days of "Buyer Beware". Dawning is the day of "Manufacturers Beware".