Chewy.com rivals Amazon in being a one-stop shop, at least when it comes to pet food, toys and supplies. The company’s exceptional customer service is part of its brand DNA. Its team of customer service superstars can be reached by any channel imaginable, 24/7 and 365 days per year.
But Chewy Inc.’s strategy is rooted in more than just convenience. There’s a personal touch element at play in everything they do. For example, the e-retailer regularly sends handwritten cards — more than 11 million annually — to new customers, birthday cards to customers’ pets, and sympathy cards when pets die. They have even been known to surprise customers with portraits of their pets. Yes, really! Can you imagine what they spend on cards alone?
So this begs the question: Do their efforts pay off? The answer is an unequivocal yes. According to The Motley Fool, Chewy’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) was 86 out of 100 in 2018. The secret sauce is that the company empowers its associates to do whatever it takes to win over (or back) customers. The company went public last summer and they issued the following statement about their success:
“We empower our [customer service representatives] to go above and beyond for our customers, and they do so with the knowledge that our commitment to our customers is our number one priority. We engage with pet parents thousands of times per day, and we embrace the opportunity to “WOW” our customers each time, from surprising them with a hand-painted pet portrait to sending flowers to a family who has recently lost their pet.”
The lesson here? Relationships matter. How can you make customers feel like their experience is more than a transaction? As customers today have more options than ever, companies that embrace the Chewy model will no doubt survive and thrive while others eat their dust.