One act is worth 1000 ads

My friend Steve just got back from visiting NYC with his family. Driving to the airport for their departure they got stuck in a famous Park City snowstorm and missed their flight so Delta had to book them on a later flight. When they arrived at the gate their Delta gate representative said she had noticed that Steve and his family were no longer sitting together and had already shuffled things around so they could all be together on the flight. Steve was so impressed that he told her "You've got me. I'm now a Delta fan".

How many TV ads would it have taken to get Steve to feel that way? Maybe no amount ever could. Yet it just took one employee who cared enough to notice a problem and fix it on her own. Marketing is less about ad campaigns and more about instilling a sense of pride and empowerment in employees to delight customers.