It’s ironic how the rush of the holiday season can sometimes bring profound, yet simple, ideas to light. This past weekend, I happened upon something that blended both business and the seemingly lost sense of holiday spirit.
In the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s department store in New York City offers children the traditional in-store visit with Santa Claus – which also helps to drive more foot traffic right at decision time.
Unbeknownst to the management, their new employee, Kris Kringle, is the real deal.
And since everyone knows that Santa needs a little help from parents each year, he provides helpful information as to where they can find the particular toy little Johnny or Sally wants for Christmas – even if Macy’s is sold out or doesn’t carry it.
Imagine… sending customers to your competitors during the holiday buying season! Well, in the film, Macy’s customers saw such tremendous value in knowing which nearby competitors carried the exact item their kid would be looking for under the tree, that it transformed the reputation of the store. In no time, the Macy’s brand became synonymous with friendly, helpful customer service – as opposed to a profit-driven corporation focused solely on exploiting the holiday season.
While some customers did buy a gift or two elsewhere, the value of the authentic, customer-first service turned many into life-long shoppers, and began to build a deeper, more meaningful community around the Macy’s brand. So wildly successful was this “campaign of caring” that Macy’s implemented it in every department of every store across the country.
Fast forward nearly 60 years to 2010, and it seems that many companies are just now realizing the positive impact of meeting needs over selling.
Probably most profound about Kris Kringle is that he wasn’t running a marketing campaign or thinking about impact on annual revenue, he was simply being helpful by providing busy people with time-saving value.
Turns out that being “real” is all that’s needed for long-term success.
