How Cellarmasters blew me away with their purple goldfish.

Have you heard of the Purple Goldfish Project?

Anyone that owns or operates a business, or is in the business of marketing needs to read What's your Purple Goldfish? written by consumer experience guru Stan Phelps.

In it you'll read why traditional marketing is broken and ineffective.  You'll learn about differentiation through added value using a concept called Marketing Lagniappe.

With the above in mind, here is a quick a story about how Cellarmasters used a purple goldfish moment to win me over as a fan of their services.

I'm not a fancy drinker.  I'm mostly a beer drinker.  West End Draught to be exact.  I don't drink much wine - mostly whites.  I rarely drink at home.

Living near the Clare Valley and Barossa Valley we are very spoilt for quality wine choice.  It means that even as an occasional wine drinker, you learn what's good and what's not - with the added influence of believing local is best anyway.

A flyer arrived in the mail from my bank offering great deals with Cellarmaster using my VISA card.

The price-point on this particular offer was low enough for me to consider that stocking the back fridge with a dozen whites, to enjoy more frequently over summer, was good value this time.  It was a mixed dozen which added some fun and discovery.

So I did the deal.

Cellarmaster gave me a courtesy call when I was about two-thirds the way through my mixed dozen whites.

"Are you enjoying the wine?"

          "No.  I don't like them."

"Oh.  Sorry to hear that.  Are you a regular wine drinker?"

          "No.  I've got no idea what I'm doing.  But I'm not used to drinking wine like this.  What's wrong with it?"

"It's from our 'quaffing' range.  Sounds like you prefer something of higher quality.  Here's what we'll do for you to fix things up:

- Refund the entire cost of this current dozen.

- And you can keep any of the remaining wine you haven't drunk.

- We'll also give you a $20 credit voucher towards your next purchase.

- AND we have a premium mixed dozen of whites that we can offer you today at the same discounted price as the previous purchase, which makes it even less when the credit voucher is applied.  How does that sound?"

          "SOLD!"

I'm now a loyal fan and repeat customer of Cellarmasters - and I continue to enjoy my new wine experiences.

Because of one smart move at the start of our relationship, Cellarmaster now has an increasing 'share-of-wallet' with a new customer.

It's that simple to do.

So, when was the last time someone took the time to write about their positive experience with your product or service and send it out to thousands of people??!!

I'll let you ponder the answer over a glass of wine.