Coining Customer Engagement
The “Give First” principle is used in business all the time. For example, time-share salespeople offer a full-course buffet breakfast and holiday discounts, or even money, in exchange for three hours of face time in the hopes of upselling time-share owners.
While in the United States last month, I discovered an entirely different and clever strategy of giving first. I stumbled across a company that gives money to charity while engaging their customers to choose a charity and physically making a donation.
The Buffalo Exchange is a good example of how this feel-good act of giving works. This retail clothing store sells hip and retro new and second-hand clothing, handbags and footwear. When a customer makes a purchase and opts not to have a plastic bag, the cashier gives them a five-cent token. This cardboard coin can be inserted into one of three boxes. Each box represents a specific charity with a brief description of the charity displayed.
Giving the customer the opportunity to both viscerally and emotionally participate in this giving process is a perfect example of customer engagement. Buffalo Exchange has taken a creative approach to getting their customers to participate in their socially responsible and sustainably profitable culture. The three charities vary based on the local demographics at each Buffalo Exchange retail location. The “token for bags”® program is just one example of how the Buffalo Exchange brand engages their customers and converts them into fans.
What company does you think does the best job of customer engagement and why?