Following onto the Marketing Tip I wrote a couple of months ago on how to improve your customer experience http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/june-30th-2015 , I have a little follow up story as an example.
Last week I spent a week in Auckland visiting inbound operators on behalf of my Smartourism Marketing Group (www.smartourism.co.nz ). I stayed in a nice downtown hotel and was kindly upgraded to a lovely refurbished room.
I was impressed with the lovely décor, amenities and features such as this bathroom light switch next to the bed. Now this is clever thinking & design.

I thought: wow, this hotel was really been thinking about the guest experience when they redesigned the rooms (and invested a considerable amount of money!).
Until I wanted to boil the jug for a cuppa. I picked up the jug, walked to the bathroom to fill it up. I put it under the tap and tried to fill it. Unfortunately the tap was too low and when I pulled the jug away, all the water ran out. So I had to fill it up with a glass.

What a shame... They thought through a lot of their features, but not everything.

So, how do your customers experience your business, products, experience, service etc. Put a system in place to check your customer experience regularly. And when you change anything (or refurbish), test it thoroughly to avoid mistakes as mentioned above!

Have a great week :)!
Marijke

Wow, this is quite exciting! Soon we’ll have the opportunity to vote for a new flag! Here in New Zealand, a referendum to decide on our new flag will be held at the end of the year. And in my opinion, we need a new one! One that clearly identifies and defines us.

(Even google just got a new logo after 17 years!)

The other day, I received a flyer in the mail with the top 40 flag designs. Some were nice, some average and others pretty awful!

So, what is the right flag for New Zealand?

Ok, this is what I think, and I think it’s quite simple. When it comes to your identity – your brand - , whether it’s your business' or your country’s, it needs to be consistent. Otherwise, how will people ever remember or recognise you?

Our flag is a great opportunity to consistently promote our beautiful country, whether it be for trade, tourism, sports etc. We need it as a small country. So we need to do this in a smart way.

I must say that from a marketing perspective, I am proud of the way NZ has profiled itself over the years with some great consistent branding. I really can't think of any other country that has done this well, apart from NZ.

Have a look at the slideshow below – this is how NZ sports teams, tourism and government agencies and companies have profiled themselves for years.

Then have a look at the top 4 flag options at the top. Forget about the blue and the red... it’s pretty obvious isn’t it? It's how NZ already has been profiled for years already! Simple really...

I’d love to hear your comments or fill in the survey below!

Till next week, Marijke