Ever have a client that’s a little bit different who wanted to get closer to its customers? Being creative with how you help them do that, especially by using newer technology, will win you an expanding, devoted client base. Here’s how it worked with our client located on the Oregon coast.

Tillamook Cheese is a popular tourist destination offering a wide range of its own dairy products as well as factory tours. Tillamook was looking for a fun, value-added experience for their customers that would help the dairy know them better. How could they engage their customers in a deeper way and collect information that would be useful for their marketing program?

This is where thinking differently helps. As we pondered tourist attractions, we recognized that part of the joy in customer visits had to do with their ability to remember the experience later and share their experience with their friends (think postcards).

To give this desire room to thrive, we came up with an entertaining activity for all ages—a video postcard kiosk. At the self-service kiosk, visitors can make online postcards and send them to friends. A kind of a look-what-you’re-missing e-card, it also helps spread the word about Tillamook Cheese. But that’s not the main purpose. Through a series of secure, Web-based programs we customized for the dairy, we enabled them to:

• collect customers’ email addresses
• monitor transactions
• count the number of people using the kiosks
• track Proof-of-Play for advertisement displays
• measure Proof-of-Touch for interactive ads
• develop sales reports
• measure user session counts and navigation details

These are exactly the kinds of metrics that companies need to introduce customers to new products and inspire purchases and repeat visits. The video kiosks have been popular activities at the dairy, enriching visitors’ experiences before and after the factory tour. Customers have run with the idea, creating their own Instagram and Twitter groups centered around #TillamookCheese. At the same time, Tillamook is gathering critical data about its customers that can steer effective sales and marketing communications.

Thinking outside the box for your customers is a skill that thrives in partnerships. If you’re looking for a partner who can help you engage customers and gather data safely and securely, we can help. It’s in coming up with innovative solutions that help your clients meet their true goals that you garner client loyalty. Whether the need is to connect more closely with customers, provide marketing opportunities to partners, or streamline processes to improve the customer experience, an inspired solution will lay the foundation for a long-term relationship—and fruitful referrals.