Disappointing Customer Experience Averted

What Gets Your Goat – Instalment #4

I am a big fan of Nespresso. The thought of a great cup of coffee is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I tend to order the same flavours repeatedly and it is a simple, straight-forward process no matter how I order — in store, on my computer or using the mobile app.

A few months ago, Nespresso informed me by mail that my favourite capsule was sadly being discontinued but with this disappointing news, came a package with a set of six different capsules to try, in the hopes that one of the new flavours would become a favourite. I was happy to find three which suited my tastes that I continue to buy.

Today, companies have so much data that often, they ignore it, don’t know what to do with it or focus on the metrics that will improve their bottom-line without much thought to what the customer needs or expects.

In this case, I was pleasantly surprised, that Nespresso used the data about me and the flavours I like to create a custom experience that was entirely unexpected. It took the disappointment of a discontinued flavour and turned it into a positive experience that allowed me to open a beautifully designed, gift-like package, read stories about each flavours origins and taste test in my own home at my own pace.

Pairing the buying data with the customers flavour profiles is a powerful proposition. It allows Nespresso to leverage this knowledge to tailor experiences that will delight versus disappoint and demonstrates a keen understanding of what their customer needs first and foremost that will most certainly build loyalty to the brand.

What could have been a Get Your Goat moment, turned into a customer-first moment that I wish I would see more of from brands in today’s digital age.