Question

Not just shoes and handbags

Zentos is an $800 million a year online retailer of shoes and handbags. Zentos prides itself on its superior customer service and views this as a way of becoming an online store selling just about anything. Most online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores say they focus on their customers. What makes Zentos so special is that they really do.

New shoes for mom

Cecelia bought several pairs of shoes from Zentos for her ailing mother. She was unsure about the size as her mother had lost a lot of weight and her shoe size had changed. Zentos has free return shipping with UPS, so Cecelia was not worried about the cost to return those shoes that did not fit her mother. Only two pairs of shoes fit. Cecelia had intended to return the others, but her mother died, and returning the shoes slipped her mind. She got an email from Zentos asking her about the shoes. Cecelia replied that her mother had just died and that she would send the shoes back soon.

That little something extra

Zentos emailed Cecelia back saying UPS would pick up the shoes for return so she would not have to make the trip to UPS. This was not Zentos’ general policy. The next day, Zentos sent Cecelia a big, beautiful flower arrangement. This was definitely not Zentos’ policy! This was something one compassionate person (who happened to work at Zentos) did for another person. The amazing part was that Zentos was flexible enough to allow this extraordinary gesture to happen.

Spreading the news

Cecelia was so moved by Zentos’ show of compassion that she posted on the Great Customer Service blog telling the world about what Zentos had done for her. Her post was viewed by millions of people, many of whom responded with blogs postings of their own saying how they would be making their next shoe purchase at Zentos. The company delivered on its superior customer service promise - look where it got them.

Answer the following-:

Q. Cecelia’s positive experience with Zentos and her subsequent posting on the Great Customer Service blog was obviously good press for Zentos. Despite the good press of positive blog postings, what might Zentos have to fear from this method of e-marketing? Minimum 450 words.

Answer 1

With the increase in internet accessibility, e-marketing has become very popular in the businesses.

Blog marketing is thus a very reliable tool of e-marksting and many consumers read and consult customer service blogs before making their next purchase.

People rely on these blogs because, they believe it has genuine reviews of customers who have already tried and tested the products. So, if a consumer is satisfied and he posts a good review on the blog, then the blog is most likely to enhance the brand image. Same was the case with Zentos. Cecelia was super happy with the service she received and a positive blog from her side was similar to word of mouth publicity. The blog had a marvelous reach to millions of people ( and that too for free) and it convinced a lot of consumers to make their next shoe purchase from Zentos.

However, as there is a positive side to blog marketing, there is definitely a downfall too. When the word of mouth spreads in an offline manner, its reach is low. It may reach a maximum of 10-15 people. But, if the same is done with the help of internet, the reach becomes in millions.

So, if a positive blog helped in boosting sales of Zentos, then a negative review can tarnish the image and drop the sales in no time. People rely on blogs, they consider them as genuine reviews. It may sometime happen, that a customer isn't satisfied with the product or the sales support, and he may resort to customer service blogs to express his dissatisfaction. In that case, the review also reaches to millions of people and in no time, the brand image is hurt.

Thus, a negative review can damage the quality, trustworthiness of the brand. A business can lose upto 70% of their future customers if negative reviews are posted on customer service blogs. Thus, it is rightly said that 'Consumer is the King'

A consumer has the power to create the image for your company and can also tarnish it via all the possible ways. Thus, this is how negative posts on the customer service blogs could have proven otherwise for Zentos.