If You Could Turn Back Time

Creating Customer Evangelists has case studies of companies you’d expect – Southwest Airlines and Krispy Kreme. And companies you wouldn’t expect – Dallas Mavericks and IBM. As well as companies you didn’t know to expect – Build-A-Bear Workshop, SolutionPeople, and O’Reilly & Associates.

It has been well over a year since the book was first published and I am sure that Ben and Jackie have run across companies that had they known existed, they would have included in the book.

When asked about this, Ben and Jackie replied…

New examples pop up all the time, and that's a key benefit of a blog: it becomes a real-time companion to the hardcover book. Here's a B2B example that is worthy being told.

PaeTec is a Rochester, NY-based company that sells telecommunications services to universities, hotels, and other institutions. Launched in 1996, they're probably close to being a $500 million company now. PaeTec's marketing strategy is very grassroots.

PeaTec’s primary strategies to create customer evangelists are:

Customer appreciation dinners
Once a quarter, in select cities around the country, PaeTec invites customers and prospects to dine at a local restaurant. Other than a quick hello from the CEO or other company executive, there's no structured program. Just dinner, drinks and networking.

But here's what happens: With no prompting, current customers evangelize PaeTec to prospects. There's a real and authentic exchange of information. Because PaeTec is already so focused on outstanding customer service, there's little, if any, grousing. Even so, a little grousing probably adds to the authenticity. No company is perfect.

Customer advisory boards
PaeTec organizes local and regional customer boards to meet several times per year. The company hires an outside facilitator (PeerHQ) to ask 20+ customers for feedback, raise issues, issue challenges and brainstorm ideas. PaeTec says the feedback leads to changes in marketing, sales and operational strategies. Customers say the company listens and values their feedback, and that leads to word of mouth.