How A Broken Tumble Dryer Converted Me Into A Brand Fan

I never would have thought that a tumble dryer would inspire me to write a blog post.  A few weeks ago my tumble dryer broke down.  This quickly became top priority in our household.  You can't rely on a British summer for drying clothes and given that I have two girls under the age of  three, it needed sorting.  Quickly. As I sat catching up on my email in the evening a TV advert popped up promoting appliances for sale.  It caught my eye with three key messages.  Free next day delivery (even on a Sunday), price matching and "we'll take the old appliance away". Everything I needed in that single moment. Instant brand fan.

I visited AO.com straight away, checked around the internet for a few prices, took a look at some reviews about the business and within 30 minutes I converted into a sale.  The next morning two smartly dressed delivery guys turned up, moved the new dryer into place and swiftly removed the old one.

Within two hours I received a phone call from a friendly northern chap asking if everything went okay with the delivery.  Of course, this was also an opportunity to up-sell me an extended warranty scheme (I can't blame them for that - they're running a business).  I politely declined and that was the end of the discussion.  He wished me well and that was that.

Within 24 hours I had become a brand fan.  Brand advocacy inspired by a great customer experience.  I tweeted out the experience and I now recommend them to friends.

Perhaps I notice the stages of this experience because I work in marketing.  It really demonstrated to me how good integration of media moved me quickly through a purchasing journey but ultimately converted me into a brand fan.  The TV advert, the website, the review sites, the price, the delivery guys, the call center...everything joined together to provide a superb brand experience.

What's more, it inspired me to reach out to the Marketing Director and Social Media Director at AO.com to share this experience as a peer working in marketing.

The moral of this story is simple:

• Despite the focus on digital marketing, you still need the basic principles.  Remember the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion & Place (Distribution) )
• Be consistent with your brand...no matter what channel you are using
• Understand the buyer journey.  Know what triggers the desire to purchase and focus on messages that serve to fix those triggers
• Focus your marketing on building brand fans
• Never miss an opportunity to network with new people

Great job AO.com