Case Study: How goodwill is built and why a happy customer is the best type of marketing.
Crisis is the best time to build your brand’s reputation.
This case study is based on my real experience with Vistara airlines.
You’ll learn how goodwill is built, what it means for your brand, and why it’s the best form of marketing.
Shout out to J Teng’s article on investing in a PR Team — that inspired me to write this one.
Case Study
In 2016, I was flying with Vistara Airlines and missed my flight back home.
It was the first time that had happened. As a 17-year-old, missing my flight made me feel a little nervous.
So I went to Vistara’s customer support office where I told them about my problem. Turns out, the flight had been preponed and because I didn’t receive an official message, I couldn’t catch the flight in time.
It was neither my fault nor the airline’s fault. It turns out that the real culprit was the restricted mobile network.
At their main office in the airport, the customer support team listened to my problem patiently after which they offered two solutions.
- Fly me back to Pune through another airline for which I’d have to pay the extra. I considered this option briefly since I had to complete an important task the next day. But later, I decided to postpone the task and cancel this option.
- Fly me back home on the following day with the same 2 flights(I had a connecting flight as well with the same airline). The airline would cover my accommodation, meals, and flight expenses.
For a broke 17-year-old, the second option was much better!
Now during the whole time, I was interacting with the customer support staff, I felt like I was talking to my friends who wanted to help me out.
One of them even advised me on how I can spend a day in the city.
And you know what? I followed their advice and went to the place he suggested (it was the India-Pak border, fun yeah?).
Now that’s a powerful impact to have as a brand when your customer listens and takes action on your suggestions.
Through them solving my problem, a solid foundation of goodwill was built for Vistara.
What happened after Vistara’s support team solved my problem?
I wrote them an email thanking them for their service. The tone is friendly and less professional.
A good relationship is formed… but how to make it great?
Simple, by sending a timely and personalized email.
Within 3 days, I received a prompt email from Vistara’s Customer support team.
An email about how thankful they were. It doesn’t end here. They also forwarded this mail to the main person who solved my problem.
I’ve blackened out his name for the sake of privacy. He expressed thanks as well.
This follow-up email was also very important. It assured that my words were reaching the right person.
What did Vistara, as a brand, achieve?
Now I went on to tell my Jammu story to all of my friends.
One of my friends described me as a Vistara publicist. It became an inside joke in our circle. And I’m sure he spread this story in his circle as well, not only about Vistara’s services but also about me being their publicist.
Can you imagine how many words of mouth the company received from just one person?
But it doesn’t stop here.
Even today whenever someone asks me about my trip to Jammu, I tell them about the Vistara story.
Imagine the word of mouth the company receives and will continue to receive whenever I share this story — in the present or in the future.
This is the true power of a happy customer and word-of-mouth marketing.
How did Vistara achieve it?
By providing a solution to an uncomfortable problem. Very simple.
But it involved connecting with me, the customer, on a human level and giving a fair solution!
Lessons from the case study
Courtesy goes a long way!
The Vistara staff gave me a warm chair to sit in, a small tour of their airport office, opened their ears, and listened to my concern.
Imagine if they just made me stand at the desk while I blabbered my complaint to them.
Which do you think would have been a good experience?
Later they even offered me to choose a solution. They didn’t tell me a solution.
Do you see the difference?
Their small efforts made a big difference.
Generosity
They also suggested me a nice place to enjoy my day (the India — Pakistan border, yeah! Believe me, I had a great time there!)
It’s like your friends telling you what places you must visit when you go to their city.
Difficult situations are the best time to build your goodwill
Imagine if I hadn’t missed my flight.
It would’ve just been a normal day in the office for them. Most likely, I would’ve gone home without leaving a review. Forget being a publicist about the airline.
But because of the problem, the company’s staff had to respond. Or rather, they got an opportunity to respond.
They did well and had a happy customer at the end of it.
That happy customer told and continues to tell a story of their brand to his network of people — free of cost and filled with lots of enthusiasm!
Good work done by one department positively impacts all other departments.
Notice in the email how I appreciate whatever good I could find, right from food to the staff to one of their parent company, Tata.
Once I had arrived at my home city, I waited till all the passengers left the flight, then marched towards the air hostesses and thanked them in-person.
I also took the effort to write a long and detailed review. In this case, thanks to the good work of the customer support team, all their other services were viewed under a positive light. I didn’t leave a stone unturned to sing praises.
Positive bias :)
Goodwill helps you get honest feedback and suggestions for improvement
Don’t all the brands love honest feedback from their customers?
That’s exactly what Vistara got. Even though the suggestions were very obvious, coming directly from a customer’s point of view makes a positive impact.
It’s like your ideal customer is telling you his problems and also suggesting a possible solution.
This was my real experience, as a customer, on how goodwill is built and the power of an happy customer.
Focus on improving the customer experience. If your customers are happy, they will become your brand voice and build your reputation.
