We’re looking for 100 Examples of 3D Thinking – businesses that are ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different‘! We’d love you to let us have your examples – simply email us with the details!

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Here’s what we’ve got so far……(In the order that they’ve been put up here!)….

#24: Hubspot: ‘Use Good Judgement’!

“You’re going to have a culture anyway. You can and should influence it – so why not build the one you love?” Those are the words of Dharmesh Shah, the co-founder of of HubSpot.

Like many businesses, culture wasn’t always something that they focused on: “In the early years of HubSpot we didn’t talk about culture at all,” he explains on Inc.com but then he started working intensely on building and developing the culture of his business, and it clearly seems to be working – the inbound marketing company has grown from a $2 million business in 2008 to over $50 million in 2012!

“A couple of years ago I started a simple document that talked a bit about culture, describing the kinds of people that seemed to do well at HubSpot and that we wanted to recruit. Then I started getting feedback from the team that it wasn’t going far enough: It described the who but didn’t address any of the how or why.”

Part of this iinvolved developing 10 tenets that shape and drive the culture of the business and they are a brilliant example of 3D Thinking. In fact are our latest example in our search for 100 Examples and in particular, Creating An UBER Culture which is Characteristic #5 of The 7 Characteristics of 3D Businesses!

The key ingredients of an UBER culture are:

• Everyone Understands what’s expected of them and behaves accordingly and consistently as a result
• Systems and processes are Built to reinforce and support those values and behaviours
• People are Engaged, Empowered and Encouraged to deliver them
• People are Rewarded and Recognised for doing it!

The Slideshare presentation below highlights just some of the systems and processes that are Built into the way they do business which include…

• Sharing (almost) everything! they protect information only that they are legally required to do and when it’s not completely theirs to share (salary details for example)….
• An inhouse Wiki site that shares financial information, and details of Board and Senior Management meetings…
• A seat shuffle every 3 months (which they say, reflects the fact that change is constant)…
• Unlimited free books for personal development…
• Unlimited free meals to get to know your colleagues…
• A 3 word policy on just about everything such as social media policy, sick day policy, travel policy, working from home policy, ‘buy a round of drinks at an event policy’ and that 3 word policy is..

……………….’USE GOOD JUDGEMENT’!

For more insight into what they do, and how they do it, have a look at this Slideshare presentation they have produced to explain it all…….

 

#23: Sir Richard Branson Demonstrates His ‘Dramatic Difference’!

“Anyone can buy an airplane and we all buy planes from the same manufacturers, Boeing or Airbus, but there the difference stops. If you fly on a Virgin plane…you know you’re going to have a completely different experience.”

That’s a quote from Richard Branson in an interview when he was launching Virgin America’s new route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

It’s a great example that highlights the principles of 3D Thinking(once you’ve got over the bit about ‘anyone can buy a plane’!!!):The ‘core offer’ is the same as their competitors, namely the planes, but it’s the customer experience that is Dramatically and Demonstrably Different!

In fact we’re so impressed, it’s our latest example in our search for 100 Examples of 3D Thinking (I’m sure Sir Richard will be ‘delighted’ he’s on the list!).

The whole ethos of Virgin America is about providing an outstanding customer experience and as the video interview with Carmine Gallo below shows, it starts at the top:

Some of the key ingredients of 3D Businesses that Virgin America demonstrate include….

3D Characteristic #1 Get That Vision Thing! It’s all about leadership and the drive to be Dramatically and Demonstrably Different clearly comes from the top!

3D Characteristic #2 Think in 3D! They clearly recognise that their ‘Dramatic Difference‘ is the experience and their people are encouraged to ‘Demonstrate‘ that at every opportunity

3D Characteristic #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers! They aim to exceed their customers’ expectations and then clearly strive to do it consistently – it’s built in to the way do things

3D Characteristic #5 Build An UBER Culture! It’s all about the people, and this is clearly demonstrated in their recruitment policy that looks for the Virgin Attitude before technical skills and the ethos of encouraging staff to just sort things out “it’s easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission’ highlights this.

So, what does it mean for you if you’re not one of those people who can buy a plane?

Well, you could start with our definition of a ‘Dramatic Difference‘ which is an “unmatchable ‘bundle’ of products, services, skills, methods and practices that differentiate a business from its competitors”. It’s a combination of things that your competitors aren’t doing that your customers want!

So…..

• What’s yours?
• Do your people know it?
• Can your customers (and prospective customers) see it?

(This idea is number #23 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristics #1 Get That Vision Thing!, #2 Think in 3D!, #3 Create Delighted And Devoted Customers and #5 Build An UBER Culture!)

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#22: RAC – Rapidly Accelerating Customer Delight!

A key ingredient of a great customer experience is taking your customer’s ‘pain’ away and ‘being easy to do business with’.

Well, the RAC have now come up with something that definitely makes one ‘painful’ thing easier and that’s sitting by the side of the road in a broken down car!

Their new RAC Advance tool diagnoses what’s wrong with your engine and lets their patrol engineers know before they get to you! The diagnostic tool is similar to the one you would find in a garage – the ‘innovation’ is the linking it to a smartphone to allow it to transmit the problem. It also tells them very accurately where you are – the result, hopefully is Customer Delight - less time spent waiting for help!

The tool is capable of picking up a wide range of faults including imminent battery failure, alternator problems, brake wear or diesel particulate filters becoming clogged, and things such as low oil or emission levels, or problems with the throttle. – you can also set it to transmit to your own mobile too with a warning!

“RAC Advance will revolutionise how we deal with our members” said David Bizley, the RAC’s Technical Director “With an accurate fault diagnosis and vehicle location, our patrols will be able to reach members more quickly and where possible, prepared with appropriate replacement parts”

It’s number #22 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas and is a great example of ‘Being Easy To Deal With’ (an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3: ‘Create Delighted and Devoted Customers’) and ‘Keep Working ‘ON’ (3D Characteristic #7). It’s about ‘innovatiON’ and successfully exploiting an idea that creates opportunity by solving a customer problem. They’ve identified a problem and taken it away!

So, what are the lessons for you?

Well, quite simply….

• What are your customers’ problems?
• What irritates, frustrates or annoys them?
• What could you do to take their problems away?

More importantly, what ‘processes’ have do you have to find out, and then do something about it?

It’s worth pointing out that a ‘process’ could be something as simple as asking them!

(This idea is number #22 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristics #3 Create Delighted And Devoted Customers and #7 KeeP Working ‘ON’!)
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#21: PJ Taste – Demonstrating Their Dramatic Difference In The Detail!

A ‘Dramatic Difference‘ is an “unmatchable ‘bundle’ of products, services, skills, methods and practices that differentiate a business from its competitors”. It’s a combination of things that competitors aren’t doing – even better it’s things that competitors can’t do!

3D Businesses establish a Dramatic Difference and then work hard at Demonstrating it. However, Demonstrating your Dramatic Difference is not always an easy thing to do – it’s often ‘intangible’. One thing for sure is that it’s certainly not just about ‘shouting’ how good you are in your marketing materials, advertisements, emails and website – everyone does that! It’s about DOING things that Demonstrate it!

A business that does that very well is local caterers PJ Taste. They have established themselves as market leaders here in Sheffield and have built up an impressive list of delighted customers for their nutritious, healthy and high, quality food. Their Dramatic Difference is that they are passionate about high quality locally sourced food and just some of the things that they do to Demonstrate that passion include…

• The PJ Taste Blog:

You’ll often read about MD Peter’s ‘adventures’ scurrying and foraging in the local countryside for fresh produce ingredients. His passion shines through!

• Partnerships With Local Suppliers:

PJ Taste actively support and promote local suppliers and they make this very clear in everything they do! It’s not just links on the website, they use local ingredients and work hard at campaigning for, and promoting their suppliers.

• Innovative Events:

From special breakfasts in National Farmhouse Breakfast Week to a secret supper club there’s always something going on – even A Night Of Wild Fungi And Beer! Again, their passion and enthusiasm is there for all to see (and experience)!

• Educating People:

Whether it’s about the joys (and benefits) of foraging and how to do it, nutritional information and advice as an integral part of their proposals when quoting to cater for an event, to their staff understanding and explaining these things to customers and demonstrating their passion at those events, this is clearly an integral element of their Dramatic Difference and adds to the whole customer experience.

• Innovative Products:

The PJ Taste team are always coming up with new and innovative products and one major success is their wonderful Sheffield Egg! It was developed in conjunction with a young local entrepreneur Michael Dungworth, who did a three week work placement with the team. Together they came up with a twist on the traditional scotch egg and developed a ploughman’s-style covering using pork from Povey Farm in Sheffield’s Moss Valley combined with PJ Taste chutney and Yorkshire cheese. A dash of Henderson’s Relish gives a distinctive Sheffield tang, further emphasising the local heritage. Crucially, the egg is then tossed in toasted breadcrumbs and baked rather than deep fried – making it healthy too! It illustrates everything great about PJ Taste: innovative, healthy, locally sourced and nutricious – it also tastes wonderful too!

PJ Taste’s proactive approach to makes them number #21 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas. They are a great example of ‘Establishing a Dramatic Difference’ (3D Characteristic #2) and critically, Demonstrating that Difference!

So what are the lessons for you? Well, the challenge for any business is to ensure that their Dramatic Difference is Demonstrated in the day to day. So, why not take a ‘proactive approach’ to assess how you measure up?

Here’s how…

- Set some time aside and get your team together

– Clarify what your ‘bundle’ of products, services, skills, methods and practices that differentiate your business from your competitors

- Review ALL your interctations with customers and potential customers whether they be online, offline, correspondence or face to face

- Identify whether they reinforce your ‘Dramatic Difference’ or undermine it (tip: some things might do neither – but be hard on yourself and consider them as negative!)

- Build on the things that reinforce it and stop doing the things that undermine it!

And finally, if you are setting some time aside to do this, why not treat yourself and sample some of PJ Taste’s food – it’s wonderful (and no, I’m not on commission, just one of those delighted customers!)

(This idea is number #21 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!)

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#20: Conrad Hotels – A Personalised Customer Experience By ‘App!

Imagine getting back to your hotel after your early morning jog and your breakfast is there waiting for you just how you like it! Imagine arranging your airport pick up just by tapping on your iPad as you land! Imagine getting the pillows you want via your smartphone!

Well, The Conrad Concierge App will help you do just that! Their ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ approach to creating a personalised customer experience is number #20 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas.

The ‘app’ integrates with the booking and management systems of their 20 hotels worldwide and with a few simple clicks, users can manage a range of services including room service, transportation, local attractions, spa appointments, housekeeping requests, wakeup calls and more – and it can do so in 13 different languages!

They are a great example of ‘Establishing a Dramatic Difference’ (3D Characteristic #2) by identifying what customers want and then responding!

Research by Conrad shows nearly 75% of consumers use a smartphone, tablet or computer when booking elements of their travel, and that 77% of travelers value service when selecting a hotel. Additionally, nearly 70% of U.S. travelers prefer hotels that can customize their experience to reflect their personal desires and anticipate their needs.

It’s also clearly targeted at a specific group of customers (Choose ‘Em Or Lose ‘Em! is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #2) “Conrad guests represent a new generation of global travelers for whom life, business and pleasure seamlessly interact,” said John Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton Worldwide. “Conrad Concierge allows for this interaction by putting the control in the hands of our guests. Whether it’s scheduling a wake-up call while you’re at a business dinner or booking a relaxing spa treatment, this new app offering allows for a seamless and intuitive experience”

And finally, it’s a great example of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Delighted And Devoted Customers by being ‘easy to deal with’ and by creating a ‘personalised customer experience.

Lessons for you?

• Are there specific types of customers that you could / should be focusing on?
• What are their needs and preferred buying behaviours?
• How can you make it easy for them to buy from you and deal with you?
• How can you ‘persionalise’ the experience?

And just to clarify…. it doesn’t have to be an ‘app’ that does this for you – it just ‘appens to be the way they chose to do it!

(This idea is number #20 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!)

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#19: Resolve IT Solutions – Publishing Customer Feedback ‘Live And Unedited’!

Lots of businesses boast excellent customer service as a key ingredient of their ‘Dramatic Difference’ - When it works, can be a real diferentiator that creates significant competitive advantage. But how do they ‘Demonstrate‘ that excellent customer service to new and potential customers who have never had the ‘remarkable’ customer experience?

Well, obviously, their sales people will tell you, their marketing materials will reinforce it and their customer testimonials can do it very well too, but let’s be honest, no decent sales person is going to say ‘we’re not very good’, marketing materials are bound to reinforce the positives, and most of us can find one or two customers that will say good things about us (particularly with an undisclosed ‘incentive’!)

Of course, I’m not saying any of these things are wrong, but the vast majority of us as customers have seen it, read it (and ignored it?) all before.

Resolve IT Solutions are great at customer service (I know because I’m a customer – and no, I haven’t been ‘incentivised’ to say this!). They are a forward thinking Sheffield based IT supplier who have come up with a ‘Dramatically Different’ way of ‘Demonstrating’ their excellence in this area. They publicise ALL their customer feedback ‘live’ on their website! It’s a brave move and one that gets them at number #19 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!

Every time the Resolve team fix a customer’s problem, they send them an e-mail to let them know, and ask them to click on one of 3 smileys – “Excellent”, “Satisfactory” and “Not So Good”. They also ask how well they responded to and fixed issues within their agreed timescales (currently at an impressive 98%).

Managing Director, Andrew Seaton explained “When someone calls us, it is usually because they have an issue, be that their e-mail is broken, or their computer is not booting. They are calling for our help to fix a problem that has just happened, and so they may be frustrated or stressed – and it’s our job to turn that frustration into delight!”

Resolve let everyone see the quality of their response by having their running customer feedback score publicised for all to see, live and unedited!

How businesses ‘Deal With The Disappointment’ is a key measure of their attitude to customer service and it is a key ingredient in 3D Characteristic #4 Forget CRM, Think MCR! Maximise Customer Relationships

Resolve’s approach…

• Builds Trust
• Demonstrates they care, and…
• Shows they are human (a real plus in the IT world!)

What are you doing to Demonstrate your excellent customer service? Why not ‘Resolve’ yourself to do something about it?!

(This idea is number #19 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #4 Forget CRM, Think MCR! Maximise Your Customer Relationships!)

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#18: Hans Brinker Budget Hotel – Lowering Customer Expectations Makes It Easy To Exceed them!

3D Businesses delight their customers! They do it by exceeding customer expectations. It’s an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers.

Lowering your customer expectations to such levels to make it easy to do that is the strategy of the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel in Amsterdam.

Its Dramatic Difference is that unlike so many hotels who try and raise the bar, they lower it as far as it will go and it seems to be working!

This is what they say on their website:

“The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel has been proudly disappointing travellers for forty years. Boasting levels of comfort comparable to a minimum-security prison, the Hans Brinker also offers some plumbing and an intermittently open canteen serving a wide range of dishes based on runny eggs.”

They also ‘boast’ that other amenities include:

- A basement bar with limited light and no fresh air.

- A concrete courtyard where you can relax and enjoy whatever sunshine is able to pass the high buildings on either side on the extremely infrequent days when it’s actually sunny.

- An elevator that almost never breaks down between floors.

- A bar serving slightly watered down beer.

- Amusing witticisms and speculations about former guests’ sexual preferences scrawled on most surfaces.

- The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, Amsterdam Luxury Ambassadorial Suite (featuring the Hans Brinker’s one and only bath-tub).

- Doors that lock.

Daft as it sounds – it seems to work! By lowering customer expectations and doing it in a ‘tongue in cheek’ way they consistently meet, and clearly in some cases, exceed their customers expectations. It’s obviously not for everyone – they target a specific group of customers, which again, is a charactersitic of 3D businesses – they ‘Choose ‘Em Or Lose ‘Em’!

It’s a Dramatically Different approach that makes it number #18 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!

The lessons for you and your business? I’m not saying that you should lower your customers’ expectations, but maybe it’s a nice prompt to make sure that you…

a) understand them

b) manage them and crucially….

c) try to exceed them – that’s customer delight!

For more ideas on customer delight (not necessarily like the Hans Brinker Hotel!), you can download this FREE 44 page ebook ‘Customer Delight As Competitive Advantage! 60 Ideas To Help Make It Work For You’

(This idea is number #18 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers)
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#17: Ushuaia Beach Hotel - Customer Delight At The Touch Of A Button!

3D Businesses are easy to buy from! It’s an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers, and the Ushuaia Beach Hotel in Ibiza is leading the way in doing that by using technology to create a Dramatic Difference that certainly raises the bar!

This forward thinking hotel allows payment by finger! Biometrics and fingerprint recognition allows you to pay for your food and drinks just by touching a little pad! That’s just one of it’s Dramatic Differences and makes it number #17 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!

Customers will soon be able to update their Facebook profile in the same way. They’ll be able to take photographs, put them up on Facebook and update their profile via touchscreens – I know that’s not for everyone, but it certainly goes down well with their customers – and that’s the point! It creates customer delight! And guess what, those delighted customers tell others about it (via social media!).

You can find out how they do it in the video below…

(This idea is number #17 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers)

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#16: Forget 3D Thinking – Get 3D Drinking With iPourIt!

Fancy pouring your own beer when you want (how often you want!) next time you’re in the pub?

Well, now you can! iPourIt is a Dramatically and Demonstrably Different way of being served in a bar or pub. Basically, you pour it yourself and your personal wristband tells them it was you who poured it!

The innovative system which has recently been launched in the US and is number #16 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas! The first bar that it has appeared in is the TapHouse in Huntington Beach, California.

iPourIt…

• Makes bars ‘easy to buy from’ by reducing queues. You simply swipe your credit card when you go in, you get a wristband, and off you go!
• Creates a ‘personalised’ experience by allowing customers to pour as little or as much as they like!
• Tells customers what they’ve had! An added bonus is that customers can go online and visit the website to tell them what they’ve had, how much they’ve had, and where they had it (just in case they’ve forgotten!)

There are real benefits to bars too..

• It frees staff up to serve other customers,
• It records every drop that’s poured, so avoids ‘spillage costs’ and
• By collecting customer data, allows bars to get closer to their customers, send tailored offers and promotions and reward loyalty.

It obviously also provides a ‘Dramatically Different’ customer experience that gets people talking!

The inspiration for iPourIt came when the founders Joseph McCarthy and Brett Jones went to a sports bar to have a beer. They waited ages before someone came to take their order, and an even greater period passed before the server came back to tell them the beer they wanted was not available! It’s a great example of 3D Thinking – identify a customer problem and provide a solution!

What ‘problems’ do your customers have that could provide you with opportunities to get you ‘Thinking in 3D‘ – why not get ‘Drinking in 3D‘ to get you started!

(This idea is number #16 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! #4 Forget CRM, Think MCR!)

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#15: Samsung Enter The Dragon For Customer Delight!

When Shane Bennett asked for a free Galaxy S3 Smartphone from Samsung Canada on their Facebook page, he didn’t really expect to get one, but he gave it a go anyway. To ‘incentivise’ them, he also sent a picture of a dragon!

“Hello, I have bought many Samsung products. I currently have a Samsung LCD TV, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung laptop. I was just wondering if I could get a free Galaxy S3, I have attached a picture of a dragon I just drew for you.” he wrote!

They replied, explaining it would be a bit tricky to do so… but responded with a nice drawing of a kangaroo!

Shane was impressed with the ‘personalised’ response (and why wouldn’t you be?) and told lots of people about it, both online and offline, and the news spread widely with lots of people praising Samsung for their response.

A couple of months later, Shane received a package. In it was a brand new ‘personalised’ Galaxy phone tailored specifically for him with his dragon drawing!!!! Even the packaging was in that style! Result? One very ‘Delighted’ Customer!!!

With it was a note from Samsung….

“This is the only customized S III in Canada, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed watching the story of the Dragon and Kangaroo go viral”

It’s a great example of the power of a personalised response – it ‘Delights’ customers, it makes them feel valued and it’s ‘remarkable’ – literally, people ‘remark’ about it!

(For more about this, click for the ingredients of ‘customer delight’)

What’s paricularly impressive is the fact that someone took responsibility for doing something – they didn’t follow a manual, a procedure or a rule book. That’s about ‘empowerment’ and ‘taking initiative’. They were also obviously supported to do so as their initial response was then built on and developed. So…

• How ‘empowered’ are your front line people?
• Are they encouraged to ‘take the initiative’?
• What ‘reward’ do they get if they do?

Thinking in 3D doesn’t just happen – it has to be developed, supported and encouraged (even if you do have a $1 Billion damages claim to pay to Apple!)

(3D idea highlighted to us by Gee Ranasinha who is CEO of Kexino! It’s number #15 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! and #3 Create Delighted And Devoted Customers!)

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#14: The Special K Tweet Shop!

The world’s first high street ‘Tweet’ Shop has opened in London!

Customers who go into the shop don’t spend any money – they simply ‘Tweet’ about it and they get their goods!

OK, it’s a ‘promotion’ by Special K who are launching their new savoury crisps, but it’s certainly ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’! (It’s number #14 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

On entering the shop, the staff check that the customers have ‘tweeted’ about it and they receive their crisps!

The Tweet Shop on Soho’s Meard Street, London is only open this week and is lined with hundreds of packs of Special K crisps. There’s a ‘try before you buy’ snacking area and a ‘community noticeboard’ that captures social media reaction to the unique retail space.

I know it’s a bit ‘gimmicky’, but I do think it’s a great example of a business recognising, and tapping into, the power of ‘word of mouse’ and using social media to get the message out! This only works if you do something ‘Dramatically Different’!

Sarah Case from Special K said “The value of positive endorsements on social media sites is beyond compare so we’re excited to be the first company to literally use social currency instead of financial currency”

What do you do that’s Dramatically Different to maximise your ‘social’ currency?

(This idea is number #14 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!)

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#13: The iPlace is THE Place!

How do you get your restaurant to ‘stand out in the Masaxlokk area of Malta that has more than 40 restaurants all selling locally caught fish?

Well a good start is don’t sell fish!

That’s just one of the ‘Dramatic Differences’ of the iPlace, a restaurant that has clearly set out to be ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ and judging by it’s Facebook page, it’s certainly creating a bit of a buzz!

In fact, the iPlace Restaurant is our latest example of 3D Thinking (Number #13 in our search for 100 Examples Of 3D Thinking). It opened in June 2010 and for menus has over 75 iPads!!! As well as being able to ‘see’ the food you are going to order, the iPad menu automatically recommends the best wines that go with it!

You can use the iPads during your visit, and the kids can play games on them while you eat (suspect that’s a bit of a win-win for parents and children alike!). It clearly works as the place is apparently ‘buzzing’ most evenings!

Larger parties can also now get the ‘celebrity for the evening’ treatment as they have just launched a service that picks you up and brings you to the restauarant in their 11 foot 20 seater Hummer limousine! I suspect that works in two ways: as a very visible advert on the streets of Malta and as a ‘remarkable’ experience that gets people ‘remarking’!

It’s a nice example of a 3D Business  and highlights Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference by ‘standing out’ in a very busy crowd! They clearly do this by creating a ‘remarkable’ customer experience  (which also happens to be 3D Characteristic #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers!)

So, next time you’re in Malta….. you know where to go!

(3D idea highlighted to us by Robert Micalef in Malta! It’s number #13 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! and #3 Create Delighted And Devoted Customers!)

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 #12: Be Square – Be Easy To Buy From!

Being ‘easy to buy from’ has always been a key ingredient of delivering remarkable customer experiences. In fact it’s an integral element of  3D Charactersitic #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers and in today’s ‘want it quick, want it now’ economy, it’s becoming even more critical!

A ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ new device that helps businesses, large and small, do this is our latest example of 3D Thinking (Number #12 in our search for 100 Examples Of 3D Thinking) and it comes from someone who’s changed the game before: Jack Dorsey, the man who created Twitter has come up with a ‘revolutionary’ product called Square!

The very simple stylish device ‘plugs’ into an iphone or ipad and allows anyone to accept payment by credit card easily and speedily!

Launched in the US last year, it’s taking the retail world by storm!  They have signed up more than a million merchants and expect to process more than £3.2 billion in US transactions over the next 12 months!

You can also download an ‘app’ to your iphone to allow you to pay by Square without using a credit card – again, it’s simple, stylish and easy to use. The simplicity seems be a key factor in its success and this clearly has not happened by chance.

“We don’t want to add things –we take things away to make them more simple,” says Jack in a great article in Wired. As they point out, it does remind you of another 3D Thinker, Steve Jobs. “Yes, we’re naïve,” Dorsey says. “But that’s a strength, not a weakness. We have fewer than five people in a company of 250 who have worked in the financial industry. So our approach is to engineer and create and build what we want to see.”

On the third anniversary of Square’s business life he tweeted:

Happy 3rd Birthday @Square! I’m so proud of all we’ve accomplished, & all we decided not to do

It’s more evidence that this focus on ‘simpicity’ is obviously something that Jack Dorsey takes very seriously.

Anything that can improve the speed and ease of making a purchase has got to be a good thing and Square looks like it’s going to be a real ‘game changer’.

They have announced that they intend to be in several other countries by the end of the year, but hasn’t said if we are one of those destinations. It will certainly shake things up if they do!

(This 3D idea is number #12 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristics: #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers!)

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#11: John Burkhill – The Mad Man With The Pram!

John Burkhill is an amazing guy! He runs miles and miles for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, and having been doing this for 20 odd years, his ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’approach has made him a real success and a bit of a celebrity in our parts when it comes to fundraising. He is known as ‘The Mad Man With The Pram’ because, guess what, he does all his charity running with a pram!

The inspirational 73 year old is our latest example of 3D Thinking (Number #11 in our search for 100 Examples Of 3D Thinking). In fact he demonstrates all 7 Charactersitics!

Here’s why:

#1 Get That Vision Thing!

After the death of his wife June from cancer, and the death of his daughter Karen after a routine operation, John has set out on a mission to raise £250,000 for the Macmillan charity and is well on his way to doing that. “I will never stop until I get that magic quarter of a million” is something you hear regularly – It’s a vision that stimulates, excites and inspires lots of others who have joined him on his journey!

#2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!

John is known as ‘The Pram Man’! as he does all his runs pushing a pram and wearing a green curly wig! He’s recognised everywhere he goes!

#3 Create ‘Delighted’ and ‘Devoted’ Customers!

He brings a smile to everyone who sees him running his marathons and there’s even a Facebook page campaigning to get him knighted!

#4 Forget CRM, Think MCR!

John creates ‘dialogue’ and actively engages with custionmers and maximises relationshiops – he recently visited our offices at The Quadrant and made quite an impression – and I hope, quite a bit of money for his charity appeal

#5 Create An UBER Culture!

John’s values are evident in EVERYTHING he does – he’s passionate about what he’s doing and this shows!

#6 KeeP In Control!

He has set himself a target of competing in over 1000 races in his aim to raise £250,000, and he knows exactly what he’s done and keeps tabs on it! He has taken part in over 854 races including half marathons, 10K runs, marathons including London 20 times and Sheffield half marathon every year since it began. He’s raised in excess of £130,000!

#7 Keep Working ‘ON’!

John has an innovative approach – he’s always coming up with new ideas to raise money and his profile which subsequently helps him to raise even more money!

It’s brilliant news that John will be one of the Olympic Torch Bearers in Sheffield on Monday - we’ll be there to cheer him on – it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke!

If you can’t make it, you can find out more about John by visiting his Just Giving Page www.justgiving.com/madmanwithpram

(This 3D idea is number #11 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #1 Get That Vision Thing! #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference! #3 Create Delighted and Devoted Customers #4 Forget CRM, Forget MCR! #5 Create An UBER Culture! #6 KeeP In Control! #7 Keep Working ‘ON’!)

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#10: SapientNitro & Unilever – (N)icely Done!

Customers who smile get better service! Well, that’s definitely the case if you go to a brand new vending machine that gives you a free ice cream when you smile at it! This innovative use of facial recognition technology from customer experience company SapientNitro and ice cream makers Unilever is our latest example of 3D Thinking (Number #10 in our search for 100 Examples Of 3D Thinking)

They are currently testing it at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and after it prompts you to smile, the machine measures the wideness of your grin using facial recognition technology! It then snaps a picture of you, and, with your permission, uploads that snap to Facebook. (You can see a gallery of smiling faces here on Cannes Sapient Nitro’s Facebook Page). You then choose your ice cream reward and out it pops. The result? Customers who I suspect walk away with an even bigger smile on their faces (and, no doubt, tell others)!

So, what does this mean for businesses? It’s a great example of being ‘Remarkable’ which is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #2: Establish A Dramatic Difference! It personalises’ the experience and creates a real buzz among customers who then go onto Facebook to see their photographs and I suspect ‘Remark’ to lots and lots of other people!

The whole concept of face recognition technology is an interesting one. I’ve thought of an even better way of using it to enhance the customer experience – There are lots of businesses who could perhaps benefit by turning the camera round and ‘rewarding’ their customer facing staff who actually smile at their customers!

(3D idea spotted by a great couple: Bob and Sara Brown at Inspire To Aspire! It’s number #10 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Dramatic Difference!)

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#9: Red Tomato Pizza - Dramatically Different Delivery!

Here’s a great way to create customer delight for pizza lovers – It’s the latest 3D example in our search for 100 Examples Of 3D Thinking and combines solving a common customer ‘problem’ with the use of technology to become ‘easy to buy from’! The result? It’s the emergency panic fridge magnet that when pressed automatically orders your favourite pizza to be delivered from your local pizza restaurant!!!!

The VIP Pizza Magnet is an innovation from the Red Tomato Pizza company in Dubai! It’s easy to set up – You simply link it to Bluetooth and enter your favourite pizza recipe on the website, along with your address and details, and every time you press the button, a fresh pizza gets delivered to your door!

Watch this short video below to see the story:

It’s a great example of being ‘Easy To Buy From’ which is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers. It also helps you ‘personalise’ the experience by changing your ‘favourite’ if you wish! It certainly seems to have created a ‘buzz’ in Dubai – It’s been so popular that they’ve actually run out of stock!!!! Don’t worry if you live out there – Apparently there are lots more about to be ‘Delivered’!

(3D idea number #9 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers!)

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#8: The Dollar Shave Club – That’s Razor Sharp Thinking!

In a world where innovation in razors is usually yet another blade (Marketing man to MD: ‘Hey, I’ve got a great revolutionary idea – let’s add a 6th blade!’, here’s a Dramatically and Demonstrably Different approach from The Dollar Shave Club!

It’s a very tongue in cheek, but clearly very ‘straight’ approach to shaving – cheap effective razors to your door every month! Here’s their video that exlains their approach – Are their razors any good? ‘No,’ they say ‘they’re f*%%king good!’

This 3D example (One of our 100 Examples!) was highlighted by James Ashford of Rocket Powered (a real 3D Thinker himself!) and he explained that the video cost just $4500 dollars to make and went viral before the company was even launched. They’re now at nearly 3.5 million viewers!

In the first 24 hours after the online ad went live, the company received 5,000 new subscriptions. More than 12,000 people have signed up for the service since the company officially opened for business last week!

The way it works is that The Dollar Shave Club will send customers a monthly supply of disposable razor blades starting at $1 a month. The company estimates its service will save members nearly $300 a year in shaving costs.

This is a great example of a business that’s attacking a ‘traditional’ marketplace with a Dramatically Different low cost approach to the production and distribution of a simple product! They’re ‘Demonstrating’ it in their ‘tongue in cheek’ marketing approach!

That’s razor sharp thinking!

(3D idea spotted by James Ashford at Rocket Powered and it’s number #8 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A ‘Dramatic Difference’!)

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#7: Metro Bank – No ‘Woof’ Customer Service Here!

Does your bank welcome your dog with a treat when you take it in your local branch? Do your kids get a warm welcome and a lollipop when they go in? What do you mean, you never take them in (the kids or the dog!)?

Well, you probably do if you’re a Metro Bank customer because they are totally dog and child friendly and build this into their whole approach to ‘remarkable’ customer service!

Metro Bank is the UK’s first new high street bank for over 100 years and it certainly seems to be making an impact with its Dramatically and Demonstrably Different approach!

Their open plan branches don’t have bullet proof security glass, stay open outsie of working hours in the evenings and on Sundays! There are free pens, lollipops for kids, biscuits for dogs and a magic money machine that counts and sorts all your saved change for you!

They actively welcome your dogs (and kids!). Here’s a quote from their website:

“We understand how important man’s best friend is to our dog-loving customers so we actively welcome dogs into our bank. We even have a selection of dog goodies when you visit, including fresh water bowls and dog treats.

We are all about convenience and being a dog-friendly bank is part of this. Bring your dog in when you next visit – we’d love to meet them!”

It’s a great 3D example (One of our 100 Examples!) and certainly seems to be ‘hitting the spot’! The business set up in London in 2011 and already has 10 branches and 60,000 customers! The 11th opens next week and they are on target for 200 by the year 2020!

It’s not just about ‘gimmicks’ – they are ‘easy to buy from’ – it only takes 15 minutes to open a full account with debit and credit cards!

“Britons are dying for revolution in the banking business, focused on service, and we are here to provide it.” says co-founder Vernon Hill who has opened 500 plus similar banks in the United States.

Metro Bank believes that success involves creating and UBER culture through ‘fanatical execution’ which means huge ‘over – investment’ in facilities and people. This includes:

• Establishing very clear expectations of their people (Buy In or Opt Out’!) (We call that FIFO!)
• Empowering people (One Person To Say ‘Yes’, Two People To Say ‘No’!)
• Encouraging staff to challenge things that don’t work (No ‘Stupid Rules’!)
• Effective monitoring of performance (Over 100,000 ‘mystery shops’!)

And finally, they ‘reward’ the behaviours and performance they want – staff rewards are linked to customer service levels, not sales!

So, if a bank can do it, what’s stopping you?

(This is 3D idea number #7 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Establish A ‘Dramatic Difference’ and #5 Create An UBER Culture!)

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#6: Tesco – Customer Delight In South Korea!

Being ‘easy to buy from’ is a key ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers and Tesco have made a bold and innovative approach to addressing this in South Korea!

Instead of getting busy customers to come to them, they’ve set up virtual stores and taken them to the customers – in Tube stations! They have set up ‘virtual stores’ that allow people to buy goods through QR codes!

While waiting for their train, customers scan the codes with their phones to fill their virtual basket, they pay and their groceries get delivered when they get home! This innovative approach has made our 100 Examples of 3D Thinking!

Here’s a short video that explains the process and the success they’ve had:

It’s a great example of:

• Understanding your customers
• Identifying a problem / need and providing a solution
• Being ‘easy to buy from’
• Delighting customers!

Can’t wait until they come to Sheffield!

(3D idea spotted by Chris Black at Sound Leisure! It’s number #6 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers!)
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#5: British Gas Customer Service – Lovely To SEE You!

Are you one of those customers who prefers face to face contact when getting your enquiries and problems sorted? Are you one of the many who rank the ‘annonymity’ of call centres as one of your biggest frustrations? Do you like to see the ‘whites of their eyes’ when you’re making a complaint?

Well, you’re not alone! Apparently 66% of us believe that being able to see a customer service agent will help resolve our queries more quickly. Well, British Gas have come up with a solution! It’s face-to-face customer service calls via video chat!

They have introduced an innovative approach where you can now see the customer service representative on your laptop or computer when you call them! It’s an initial trial that will last for three months and video chat will be offered to some customers who have questions about their bill, need tariff information or would like to resolve complaints. The pilot will involve 20 customer service agents, based in their contact centres, who have volunteered for specialist training to take part in the cutting-edge trial.

It’s a good example of being ‘easy to deal with’ which is an ingredient of 3D Characteristic #3: It’s All About The Experience!

With over half of the UK population having now adopted video calling through things like Skype and Apple Facetime into their everyday lives, it will be interesting to see whether seeing the expressions, gestures and body language will help build rapport, understanding and trust.

If it does, it will certainly set a new benchmark on which we’ll judge other ‘call centres’ by…. which can only be a good thing!

(3D Characteristic #3 Create Devoted Customers!)

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#4: WANdisco Say Have As Many Holidays As You Like!

Fancy having as many days holiday as you’d like with no one keeping tabs on you? Yes, that’s right – How would you like an unlimited number of days holiday from work – all paid? Does that sound a bit far fetched? Well, that’s the reality if you work for forward thinking software business, WANdisco!

This fast growing business which is based in Silicon Valley and Sheffield (honest) has announced that its employees can have unlimited amounts of paid leave!!!

WANdisco’s Managing Director David Richards, said its employees will be able to take as much paid vacation as they need “to stay the same productive, enthusiastic employees who made this company what it is today”.

Wandisco believes that to keep its products on the cutting edge, they feel that their company culture should be as forwards-looking as their products.

It’s a forward thinking move – even a Dramatically and Demonstrably Different one! Our research suggests that winning businesses work hard to create a culture as competitive advantage (We call it UBER Culture) and WANdisco is clearly a great example of this. The ‘B’ in UBER stands for Building systems and processes to reinforce the culture you want, and this certainly does that!

David explained in his blog “This is not some sort of fad or publicity stunt. It’s real. Actions speak louder than words: we value actual productivity more than biding time at the office, we trust each other to do the right thing, we recognize that work is not actually at the center of everyone’s universe, we have unlimited paid vacation days!

It obviously sends a message to employees that they are trusted and valued, and a lot of other businesses could certainly learn from that! David goes on to say “Here’s the logic. If we really trust and value our employees then this shouldn’t be a problem. We are not running some sort of Dickensian sweatshop where everyone clocks in at nine and is playing solitaire to bide time until the clock strikes five”

It’s worth pointing out that this isn’t the only thing that WANdisco does to create and reinforce it’s UBER culture – They don’t believe in stuffy, company enforced fun but do believe that employees who socialize, and have a laugh together, work better together. They create time to have fun, and that includes nights out, office darts competitions, rounds of table tennis, and even a trip down the office slide! Every quarter the team nominates a ‘Social Captain’, whose job it is to organize fun nights out and day-trip adventures!

They are all somple things that reinforce the culture that the WANdisco leaders have clearly established to engage their people- How does your culture reinforce your ‘Dramatic Difference’? What do you need to do to make it do that?

(3D Characteristic #5 Create An UBER Culture!)

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#3: Smelly Adverts From McCain!

Forget simply looking at advertisements – you can now smell them!

Potato makers McCains have come up with some 3D advertisements that you can smell! Apparently, when you press the button on them in bus shelters in various cities around the country, you get the lovely aroma of freshly baked potatoes to help you on your way!

The smelly adverts are part of McCain’s new campaign celebrating the launch of their new frozen jacket potato! The potato aroma took three months to develop as they teamed up with a specialist scent lab to ensure they got the smell just right!

It’s a nice way of being ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different, and ‘engaging’ customers – Button pushers also get a discount voucher for baked potatoes!

(3D idea spotted by Jill! It’s number #3 in our 3D Challenge search for 100 ideas!)

(3D Characteristic #2 Be Dramatically Different and #7 Keep Working ON!)

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#2: Our Cow Molly: Fresh Milk By Text – That’s ‘Easy’!

Eddie Andrew is Sheffield’s ‘Remarkable’ businessmen! As well as providing some of the loveliest ice cream you will ever have (The Our Cow Molly lemon and ginger ice cream is absolutely amazing!), he has built a fantastic reputation for his innovative approach in a very ‘traditional’ industry.

This ‘innovative thinking’ extends to the most traditional side to the family business – the milk round! His family have delivered milk to folks’ door steps directly from their farm for over 60 years and it’s currently run by Eddie’s brother Dan!

Although it doesn’t always run smoothly on those early mornings!. As Eddie explains “The way it works is we load the truck up with what we think the customers want / usually have, you walk up their drive and you find there’s a note saying they want an extra pint or no milk at all!”

He also knows that customers sometimes go on holiday and forget to let him know!

This got Eddie thinking… the customer has had to find a pen and paper to leave him a note out and he thought ‘How old fashioned is that?’ So they introduced a texting service that meant that customers could simply let Dan know what they wanted via their mobile phones!

So now his milk customers text him for extra milk. They don’t have to put in their whole address and personal details as Dan has their address stored in his phone. They simply text the amount!

“We only load the truck up with the right amount of milk and we don’t have to walk up a drive to find a note saying no milk !!! Win Win!” explains Eddie.

It’s a great 3D example (one of our 100!) of being easy to buy from and deal with! What could you do to make yourself easier to deal with and help your customers?

Why not get some Our Cow Molly ice cream, chill out, and get thinking (in 3D)!

(3D Characteristic #3 Create ‘Devoted’ Customers!)

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 #1: DNB Bank: A 3D Automated Customer Service Phone System!

One of the biggest customer service frustrations is automated phone systems. Let’s be honest, very few of us enjoy dealing with them… press 1 for this… press 2 for that….la la la….. your call is important to us (honest!)….. In fact, it is often highlighted (by me and others!) as the most frustrating thing!

Well, here’s a great story of overcoming that from Norway, and it’s from a bank! Norwegian bank DNB sponsors the Norwegian Broadcasting Boy’s Choir and got them to sing the call options, and balances!

The impact was amazing and the result was over 2 million calls to the phone line in December – the population of Norway is only 4.9 million!

No, I’m not expecting my bank manager to sing to me next time I call (although it would certainly make me smile!), but it does show the impact of doing something ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Differently’, even if it is just ‘answering the phone’!

You can listen to them here…..

 (3D Characteristic #2 Establish A Difference  and #3 Create ‘Devoted’ Customers!)

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