Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

Distinguishing yourself from the competition
The big buzz in e-marketing is viral marketing, promotions that result in good word of mouth publicity for your business. Flying to and from my father-in-law's funeral this week, I got a good example of that at work in the offline world.

My wife Joanne and I flew on a smaller, regional airline because it was the only one we could catch whose times allowed us to get to the funeral on time. But I'd definitely seek it out again on any flight within its routes.

There was no 1st Class section, but the seats were as large and comfortable as any I have seen on previous walks through the 1st Class section on other airlines to get to the ghetto of Economy. On the flight there, I was pleasantly surprised that we received a soft and tasty granola bar instead of the usual five or six stale pretzels I've received on every other flight I've taken recently.

But what blew Joanne and I away on the way home was the chocolate chip cookies. Yep, chocolate chip cookies baked right on board before the flight. The aroma of them had us both eagerly awaiting them from the time we got on the plane.

And the taste! They compared favorably with my wife's baking, which is an extremely high compliment, considering Joanne's skills in the kitchen.

The airline - Midwest Airlines - has made a conscious decision to abandon the profitable 1st Class seating in favor of setting itself apart as the airline that treats all its passengers like 1st Class, but at economy rates. And that makes enough of an impression to get its passengers telling others about their good experience with them.

It's the same in web business. What are you doing to get people talking? Do something better than anyone else. Surprise people pleasantly with exceptional service. Give them something they never expected to find. And you'll, too, have your customers doing your promotional work for you.
Jeff