I got a tweet from Steve Rubel about Seamless Web giving away $100 worth of free food to bloggers who mention the company in a blog post. My first reaction was “Hmmm…good word-of-mouth marketing attempt, but is there really something worth writing about?” I decided to find out, and was very pleased with the results.

Seamless Web is doing some very smart things related to its business plan as well as its use of social media and word-of-mouth marketing. There's definitely some takeout (pun intentional) here for any smart marketer.

First things first. If you're not already aware, Seamless Web bills itself as the "fastest, easiest, and smartest way to order food online." The company enables users to order from more than 2,000 restaurants in 14 major US cities (including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco) and other cities in the UK.

Simply visit Seamless’ website and anyone within a participating region can order from a myriad of restaurants in four simple steps:

1. Enter your address – Using a simple form.

2. Browse & select a restaurant – Based on your zip code, a list of restaurants will display. The list is programmed to allow users to order only from restaurants that are currently open. Users can mouse over restaurant names for a brief restaurant descriptions. They can also sort the restaurant list by price (up to five $), estimated delivery time, order minimum and customer rating (up to five stars).

3. Browse & select from a menu – When a menu is selected, the interface displays the menu items in a simple, two-column display. A third column shows the “shopping cart” or order in process, and also showcases the restaurant’s most popular dishes to support user selection. Site users can roll over menu item listings for full descriptions or click to view more information and add the item to an order. Users who click to view more, or add to cart may add optional items (e.g. “add bacon”) or request order customizations (e.g. “hold the mayo” or “no nuts- I have a nut allergy!)

4. Pay with a major credit card. Delivery fees range, based on the delivery service (in-house, third party). For some restaurants, delivery is free. For others, such as ones delivered by Takeout Taxi, delivery fees are $8.95. Tips may also be added to the order.

Participating restaurants utilize the Seamless Web infrastructure to print incoming orders, which arrive within seconds. In turn, the restaurants send customized order confirmations via email, complete with estimated delivery times to site users. Participating restaurants then prepare the food and deliver it to the site user. After ordering, users can save their order for “next time” and also post ratings of participating restaurants for the reference of other site users.

Seamless Web follows the example of other experience leaders by providing the basics of solid customer experience in a number of areas:

Business Focus. Seamless Web is operating within a core competency. Following my (link) “Three Word Rule", we’ll call the company a “food delivery facilitator”. They don’t mess with food preparation or actual food delivery. Instead, they provide a one-stop ordering destination for customers, along with a robust communications infrastructure extensible to restaurants and delivery services (like Takeout Taxi) which effectively facilitate the delivery process. Smart!

Customer Focus. Starting at a basic level, they make the food ordering process easier for the time starved. It’s more consistent than ad-hoc dialing and more customer-centric as a result. All site users get clear information. They can customize orders to accommodate for food allergies or personal taste. They can order a meal for immediate delivery or schedule delivery in advance. They can save their favorite orders to streamline future ordering. They are encouraged to rank the performance of participating restaurants performance for the benefit of the ordering community. The site caters to the needs of both individuals and corporations. Seamless Web also offers corporate accounts with catering services and discounts. The service Seamless offers is basic – but it’s basic done well!

The User Experience. From a high-level usability perspective, Seamless sites are easy to access and they perform well. The main ordering site’s feature-rich interface is simple, streamlined, and not heavily graphics-infused. It successfully displays a lot of complex data in a very clear manner without many hitches. The language is simple and uncomplicated. FAQs provide detailed information on just about every topic you can imagine – clearly and concisely. The navigation functions well. While I’d like to see the 2.0 ability to order directly from a menu listing (rather than clicking on the item), Seamless Web has done a great job taking the ordering process and making it very simple and consistent across a myriad of restaurants and service providers. The blog follows the simple approach and is very up-to-date, engaging and entertaining, as well. The Facebook site is your is a standard cacophony of images, features and links… but overall, the online experience works - very well.

Social and Word-of-Mouth Marketing. Probe into Seamless Web and you won’t just find a site for ordering food. You’ll find solid grassroots marketing, word-of-mouth initiatives and solid use of Social Media. Check out the Seamless Weblog. There you’ll see their streetwise marketing at work, hear updates from the team, find weekly announcements about new restaurant openings and capture the occasional unwitting celebrity endorsement. You’ll also find Seamless Web active on Twitter. There’s also a Facebook site for Seamless Web, where you’ll find several thousand Friends, a viral video serial called “Johnny and Cam Order Food” (one part obnoxious, one part informative), featured restaurants, maps, featured fans, user reviews, contests (more free schwag) and more. They're keeping these sites fun, interesting and up-to-date. Good stuff.

Also, with regard to customers and word-of-mouth marketing Seamless does two things right:

1. The encourage customer dialog on a number of levels, across channels.This is a recipe for success.

2. They reward customer evangelism. Tell your friends about Seamless Web, and they’ll send you a 25% off coupon the first time your friend orders (they even provide a contact widget to help). Become a fan on Facebook and enter to win an iPhone 3G. Write a blog post and get coupons for $100 in free food - in addition to cross links and recognition on their own blog. All great ways to encourage word-of-mouth.

If I were to offer any criticism, it would center on the brand name and design. It seems Seamless Web would be more suited as a name for a web development firm -- rather than a destination for ordering takeout. From a branding perspective, I’m just not sure why the company went with this name. It seems like a missed opportunity to me. Perhaps there was an executive desire to be a bit vague (ala "Amazon" - allowing for future business expansion into a non-food market) or some another reason, which defies my own pea-brain logic? From a design perspective, I don’t mind the color red, if it’s done well – but I’m not a real fan of the logo, or the tag line that fails to “pop” on the page. So, there’s definitely room for improvement here -- but in truth, this can be easily remedied for the company.

In conclusion, while Seamless Web is offering people free schwag for posts … I am not posting for the free food.

In my line of work, I am paid to be somewhat critical. It's easy to find reasons to be critical with regard to customer experience and sometimes it's easier to be more negative than positive. That’s why it is positively refreshing to find smart companies that offer solid and well-rounded customer experiences. Therefore, it's my pleasure to offer hearty approbation and best wishes to the folks at Seamless Web. It is my sincere hope that we all take away something tasty from the company’s example.

The sagging U.S. economy is creating additional dimensions of customer need that may well force many companies to re-think their value propositions. Here’s a good case in point:

My husband decided to take a road trip with our 17 year old this summer. With gas at a national average of $4.10 a gallon, our SUV with a V8 engine would prove to be far from economical to drive. Our pickup truck would be equally fuel efficient and even less comfortable. Our ’67 Camaro Pro Street Racecar with 750 horsepower wasn’t a practical option (although they would have gotten there fast!). Finally, our daughter’s car, while very fuel efficient, was probably not reliable enough for a hot, 14 hour journey.

So! We decided to rent a car with better fuel economy. Based on our calculations, even with the cost of the rental we’d save $150 in gas - a respectable amount. Since my hubby loves a road trip…he reserved a mid-sized sedan with 35-40 MPG and cruise control from Enterprise Rental Car several weeks in advance.

When my husband went to pick it up Thursday morning, the smiling attendant apologetically told him they were out of the car he'd reserved and handed him the keys to another car in the same “rental class.” Evidently, this was one tiny car… complete with 13 inch tires, no CD player and no cruise control. While it was fuel efficient, my husband stands over six feet and more than 250 lbs… so he was not happy with the tiny, gutless, box on wheels...especially for a 14 hour journey. He handed them back the keys and asked them what they could do for him.

The Enterprise people were very kind, offering him a complimentary “upgrade”… to a lovely SUV. He explained that he already owned an SUV -- and had rented the sedan for the fuel economy. The representatives were perplexed. Evidently no one had turned down an “upgrade” before. After looking around a bit, they found a suitable sedan at another location – only without cruise control - and offered to drive him out to pick it up.

It wasn't a big deal. He and our daughter were on the road within a few short hours… However, as they left in the dark blue sedan, this incident got me thinking...

As a road warrior, in the past, I always wanted the upgrade…to the convertible, the SUV… anything but the car I’d reserved, usually! Today, however, I might think a bit more practically when offered the “upgrade”… especially if the expenditure isn't a tax writeoff...

As for tomorrow? It is likely that we'll be looking at an entirely different ballgame. Pundits predict the price of gas will escalate to $6 - $7 per gallon as early as this fall… a number that makes even me queasy and I don't have a work commute...

This isn't just about rental cars... it's about everything. Fuel prices and food shortages are going to impact the price of everything else… and as this hits our wallets, we’re going to see more changes in every day consumer spending.... and in our perceptions of "value."

Just last night, we went to get ice cream and saw an apologetic, hand-written note about price increases on the drive-through sign. This is happening everywhere -- in nickels, dimes, and dollars -- but it all adds up. While it may take longer to hit the thicker wallet, signs say it will impact most of us at some point.

As a result of these economic changes, the everyday consumer’s perceptions of value are likely to shift and change. What we have justified as "need" at yesterday's price, just may become a luxury tomorrow.

An $6 per day Starbucks habit may dissolve against costs like $500 per month for gas, $400 per month for heating and $4 per pound for chicken breast. Unfortunately, as far as Starbucks goes, developing an active customer listening website or an extensive program to retrain baristas my not help the company with this reality, as evidenced by the recent closure of 600 stores.

And Starbucks, which I love, is just an example of one company getting hit by a changing economy.

The point is this: As business owners and marketers we can stick our heads in the sand… or we can think practically about how we’re going to address consumers in this new economy. We need to consider new dimensions of "value" that will shape customer behavior. We need to develop plans that address:

How we’re going to create value, foster goodwill and preserve (and expand!) brand affinity when there’s just less “love” (time, money, attention) to go around…

How we’re going to prioritize and optimize our activities around the customer…doing fewer things more efficiently and responsibly, rather than doing more.

How we’re going to keep our biggest asset (good staff) employed, adequately rewarded and motivated during tougher times.

Some assert this economic rough patch will last 18 months, and others assert our current state is merely a symptom of a coming global economic collapse. I'm no economist, so I'll save my opinion for family dinner debates.

Whatever the scenario, this is not a “future” thing – it’s here, now.

Beyond thinking greener and contemplating the myriad of ways we can incorporate social media tools into our marketing plans, I think it's wise to start thinking leaner, smarter and with more vision around how to proactively plan for and manage the next-generation customer experience.

It’s also time to ask tough, but practical questions, such as whether or not our current value propositions can weather this economic storm.... Many of us may need to adjust sails!

Please let me know your thoughts here or on the Marketing Profs daily fix.