Helen Hall of Blender Bombs: “5 Ways To Create a Wow! Customer Experience”
By: Alexandra Spirer
Tags: Plant Based, Engagement, Entrepreneur, Customer Service, Sheroes

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

After going to USC for college (Go cocks!!!) I gained an unwelcomed 30lbs. The quick weight gain really freaked me out, which led me to do what most people’s first reaction is — extreme dieting and exercising. I would start a plan like a military diet, or the grapefruit diet with full steam. After a short amount of time, I was right back where I started. The yo-yo dieting and obsessive exercising lasted for a miserable three years. Sure — I’d lose around ten pounds here or there, but I was miles away from the thirty pounds that was literally weighing me down. Finally, during my last year of college, I learned my “low calorie” diets, and 4 hours a day at the gym were not going to make me happy or healthy. It was time I listened to my body, not what I read in magazines. I started to embrace an 80X20 lifestyle which means 80% of the time I stick to totally plant based, whole foods and 20% of the time I have a little fun. (Shout out to the nachos that were one of my weekly 20% meals!) I instantly started feeling and sleeping better, and the weight came off in time.

Smoothies became a staple part of my life and daily routine which I loved. After making smoothies every day I realized it was SO MUCH work. I would have to open 12+ bags of chia seeds, hemp seeds, dates, cacao powder, almonds, pecans, etc. just to make ONE smoothie. I knew that if I hated doing this then other people would as well. This is how Blender Bombs was born, I began rolling all of these ingredients into little balls and popping them into my smoothies. It was such a game changer. From there I made them for my clients that I was training and they loved them too! Blender Bombs grew very organically and naturally through word of mouth and social media. I am so thankful for our awesome customers and everyone who has helped us get to where we are today!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

Whenever Blender Bombs first began I was not prepared for what was in store, but so thankful for the learning experience. Because Blender Bombs kind of started on accident, I along with one of my good friends were manually making the BBs in my kitchen and shipping them out of my apartment at the time. My mailman and I definitely had a love/hate relationship! He was the absolute best, but he was definitely glad when I stopped manually shipping everything. We learned quickly that this was not the most efficient way to run a business which is what led us to find a commercial kitchen in Charleston to help us out! Shout out to all you hustlers out there who make their own products and do their own shipping because it is not an easy job.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

My dad instilled it in me to always always take action — never just think about something and ponder over doing it — but to do it the very moment it crossed my mind. So for example sometimes when I’m in a meeting, on a phone call, or out with friends I stop what I’m doing and complete a task the moment it crosses my mind. Sometimes it feels as though I’m not present — but I also know that if I just do it right then and there, no matter what situation I’m in or what time of day it is, I can get A LOT more accomplished throughout the day. Rather than if I put things off until the next day during “working hours” which for most people is during 9–5 “work” hours. I have had a couple other great people along the way give me advice here and there.

Thank you for that. Let’s now pivot to the main focus of our interview. This might be intuitive, but I think it’s helpful to specifically articulate it. In your words, can you share a few reasons why great customer service and a great customer experience is essential for success in business?

We learned pretty early on that GREAT customer service is essential to running a successful business. It’s something you can provide that will allow your company to stand out. It’s something that people remember. Humans love connection and want to feel special and important. Not only that, we think our customers really are special and important. Without them, we wouldn’t be a company. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do every day. I have stressed the importance of GREAT (not just good) customer service since the beginning and know that as we grow, this is something me and my team will not lose sight of.

We have all had times either in a store, or online, when we’ve had a very poor experience as a customer or user. If the importance of a good customer experience is so intuitive, and apparent, where is the disconnect? How is it that so many companies do not make this a priority?

I think that it’s easy to write off one customer, when you do this though, you’re not looking at the bigger picture. Writing off one or two customers here and there really adds up. You have to remember that every single customer is important. No matter what. I think it’s also easy to ignore negative feedback and make excuses for it. It’s hard to take criticism but it’s how we grow and learn from our mistakes. I was not a business major, I started this company when I was 23 years old! I had to learn by asking people and it’s something that I will always do. Our customers are AMAZING and continuously help us grow and learn.

Do you think that more competition helps force companies to improve the customer experience they offer? Are there other external pressures that can force a company to improve the customer experience?

I do think that having great customer service can help you stand out from the competition. It gives you an advantage. As far as other external pressures go, the biggest one today is definitely social media. If someone has a bad experience with your company, they can and probably will share it. This can be really detrimental to your reputation and is something to always keep in mind.

Can you share with us a story from your experience about a customer who was “Wowed” by the experience you provided?

Our customers are amazing and share testimonials with us all the time. Here’s one that we got recently via Instagram DM: “..just wanted to drop a note about your customer service… anytime there’s remotely an issue, especially by more than one customer, you guys are soooo proactive about remedying it and it’s so awesome. There’s no hassle to it and you can tell you all just want things 100%, 100% of the time and it does not go unnoticed. I continue to be such a fan and am anxiously waiting for the Bomb Bars…”

When we get messages like this, it means so much. It’s why we keep doing what we do and are always striving to be better for our customers!

Did that Wow! experience have any long term ripple effects? Can you share the story?

There have been several occasions, where we have dealt with a customer service issue and the customer has been so happy and thankful that they offer to work with us and partner in different ways. You never know who is on the other end of an email address!

Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a founder or CEO should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience. Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Every customer (and person) matters- be nice to anyone and everyone.

For example, we get flooded with Direct Messages on both @BlenderBombs and @HushupandHustle Instagrams daily. I’m talking hundreds of messages a day. My team and I make sure to answer every single message that we get. We want to know that there is a person on the other side of that message that is receiving it and responding to it. If we ever miss a message, it’s by accident. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that all questions are answered and all posts and tags are seen and appreciated.

2. Everyone is a potential customer or a potential connection (which is just as important!)

Blender Bombs just got picked up nationwide in Whole Foods and it’s all thanks to our amazing customer base. After tirelessly reaching out to Whole Foods and hitting nothing but dead ends, we decided to ask our customers. I asked if anyone had a connection to Whole Foods and we got an email address. The next thing you know, the ball was rolling on this account and months and months later, we landed the deal of our dreams. This was all because of a Blender Bombs customer.

3. Be grateful for your customers! Without your customers, you wouldn’t be in business. Let them know you’re grateful, and perform random acts of kindness to give back to them. This could be in the form of a gift, a discount, a heartfelt note, etc.

Every Holiday season, we reward our top Blender Bomb customers with gift cards. Their support throughout the year means so much to us and we want to thank them for it. Another example is our Bombassador Program. This is a group of individuals who represent Blender Bombs and share the word through social media. I want to know each and every one of them and have phone calls with some of our longest running participants so I can create a personal connection with them and thank them for their help and support.

4. Ask your customers what they want! Involve them in the decision making process. We do this for packaging designs, new product development, event locations, etc.

We do this by using our Instagram! We take polls on all kinds of things. From where should I eat in LA, where should we wholesale in Seattle, where should we do a pop up next and more. This makes sense for us and them. We can be sure we’re giving our customers what they want because we are asking them directly. This is such a good way to get feedback.

5. Share customer experiences with other customers. We do this in the form of smoothie challenges and our Facebook group!

We also love to share testimonials and transformation stories with our customers through Instagram. They love seeing a success story and hearing what tips and tricks work for other people. We have built an amazing and supportive community through Blender Bombs and I truly love each and every single one of them.

Are there a few things that can be done so that when a customer or client has a Wow! experience, they inspire others to reach out to you as well?

Yes, absolutely! We have found that by posting our customers personal testimonials on our social media it encourages others who have also had a positive experience to share it with us as well! We feel as if we have created a very welcoming environment for our customers to talk to us like they are talking to a friend.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

One Blender Bomb smoothie a day, every day! People truly don’t know how good it will make them feel until they try it. I would love to help as many people as possible feel their absolute best.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Check us out on Instagram: @hushupandhustle & @blenderbombs feel free to DM us any questions that you may have!