Whether offering products or services, a business is expected to create connections and engage in conversations with its prospective clients ─ but equally important, with its existing clienteles. While these connections might come in the form of attractive print ads, or utilizing social media/digital platforms, or even face-to-face interactions at various touch points, they should all be tailored to initiate meaningful conversations between brand and consumer. Conversations that can achieve sales targets along with obsessive fan followings which ultimately boost the popularity of the brand.
Customer engagement: the essentials
More than 20 years ago, a popular method for companies to obtain sales was to utilize a sales force and apply pressure tactics. Some companies used the telephone as their tool of choice for cold calling. This was a typical marketing and sales approach. Sales staff where trained in persuasion and closing techniques including answering the most popular objections. This is what is known as a “push” strategy. Today, customer engagement works in reverse. It is the customer, whether an end-user or a business, who decides if and when to communicate with a company. The typical contemporary consumer has the power of the internet and word of mouth in determining great deals and which brands they should be transacting with. Moreover, on the consumer side, there are countries with strict national regulations concerning telephone solicitation. This has had companies scrambling to stay relevant with the times and is considered a “pull” strategy. There is also a refined marketing method known as “Permission Marketing” (opposite of interruption marketing) which was coined by marketing maven Seth Godin. As a result, marketers have been adjusting their strategies and integrating them with online and offline marketing activities, along with a laser focused approach with their specific audience. This has resulted in deep customer engagement.
Customer engagement is not a single outcome ─ it is an ongoing dialogue. They have come to expect more personalized interaction, customized solutions, timely results and most certainly a “bang for their buck.” This requires brands to be customer centric ─ with everyone in the organization on-board, in addition to being well versed in the digital age. This includes blogging, Twittering, Instagram posting and viral marketing among others. One other notable trend is towards widespread audio and video production and communication. From podcasting to mobile video, audio and video is predominating in our digital world.
Push vs. Pull marketing
Push marketing and pull marketing are different yet complementary marketing methods for promoting a business – most notably online.
Push marketing is more traditional methods of advertising – essentially, you are pushing your message to your audience, regardless of whether they want to receive your message or not. Push marketing focuses on product features and awaits the audience to respond. Examples of push marketing include email marketing, website advertising, and cold calling.
Pull marketing is more proactive, pulling the customers toward your brand/product with targeted messages they care about. Pull marketing is all about brand building. Examples of pull marketing include media interviews, public speaking, and word of mouth advertising.
The holistic approach
Consumers today are more brand conscience, better informed and with more options. Despite this, there are companies which continue to spend money advertising and selling product rather than brand. They place emphasis on price and quality as differentiators despite these two being overused by many copycats. Successful brands take a holistic approach to selling by exploiting the five human senses which now constitute the brand. This is accomplished by what I regard as “ambiance marketing” and “sensory/sensorial branding”, through a captivating designed setting, yet alluring. This adds character and invites clients to truly feel the brand experience.
The five senses, when applied toward the customer, are regarded as follows:
Visual – lighting, decor, colors, layout…you can get a real sense of movement using these elements.
Auditory – music, effects, volume, vibrations…you set the tone and the energy of the room with your sonic selections.
Tactile – textures, comfort, climate…this is all about how your guests interact with the environment. This is a big thing to consider when you are designing the layout.
Olfactory – fragrance, emotion, ambiance…this sense is under-rated and powerful. Of all our senses, the sense of smell is most closely linked to emotion and memory. You can use something as simple as burning incense or candles to something far more complex like computer controlled scent machines to enhance your environment. This could just be the extra touch needed to set the mood.
Gustative – with food establishments, the challenge is in finding the perfect balance between sour, salty, sweet, and bitter during menu designs and beverage selections. The presentation also makes an impact on the overall image.
Storytelling along with the total customer experience
Standard products and mundane user experiences don’t offer compelling reasons for consumers to do business with certain brands. If a business can’t articulate its USP (unique selling proposition) ‒ as to why anyone should do business with your brand, your product and/or service merely becomes a “commodity” whose price will be the sole determinant in any transaction. Being formidable and considered top of mind in your B2C sector requires a philosophy – a certain culture which will develop a following by consumers who share your values.
Quality materials, assembly and final product look increase a company’s competitiveness. The quality of a product may be defined as “its ability to fulfil the customer’s needs and expectations”. If the characteristics and specifications of a brand’s product line are equal or superior to its competitors, along with a fair price-value equation, the brand will turn out to be a preferred choice.
Storytelling, on the other hand, builds relationships by the stories that are well told. Stories add personality and authenticity to products which customers can better relate to and feel affinity with. Luxury brands tend to boast their pedigree since their discerning clientele desire a deeper level of involvement and understanding of the history and heritage of the brand when it comes to their luxury purchase. This is referred to as “experiential luxury.”
It is essential that the sales professional be product proficient and adept at assisting and guiding the client to the purchase making use of flattery, romance and showmanship. To illustrate, when selling a niche automobile such as a Porsche, the sales consultant can talk about racetracks, describe road-holding capabilities, build-up a fascinating story – after which time he/she can bring-up reliability and the technical details which confirm to the discerning client what he/she is already aware of.
When consumers are delighted by a particular brand experience, they begin to bond emotionally with it. They become brand loyalists and advocates – purchasing the brand more often and recommending it to others. This behavior serves to build the brand’s reputation.
In the end
With a plethora of marketing noise, differentiation in the delivery of non-evasive communication, personalized service and focus in niche markets will be the determining core value equation for success in attracting and retaining clients.
When consumers are treated with honesty and delighted by a particular brand experience, they begin to bond emotionally with the brand. They become brand loyalists and advocates – buying the brand more often and recommending it to others. This behavior serves to build the brand’s reputation. This approach is priceless –even though it may take longer to take positive effect.
by James D. Roumeliotis with contribution by Thomas C. Mylonas (Creative Entrepreneur & CEO of Dot Kite Design-Branding)
Packaging for renowned chef Enrique Olvera by Ponxo Design (Mexico/Spain)
Beauty and design in all things is artistic, engaging, stimulating and creates a sense of comfort. It’s also a very personal thing. Creativity is beauty in art form. It starts from nothing, utilizes mind exploitation, imagination then something awe inspiring is produced which stimulates the mind and senses. Apple comes to mind, first and foremost as it has successfully created not merely electronic entertainment consumer merchandise, but products of desire which are visually appealing, user friendly and ergonomically designed through a minimalistic approach. Tesla Motors has not only created an environmentally friendly car but taken the mundane automobile to greater heights in design, functionality and gratification with the driving experience.
Done well, minimalism is highly nuanced and widely engaging as it’s a catalytic blend of functional essence and aesthetic elegance. Equally impressive in the design aspect was putting plenty of thought into getting its packaging right. The shape, details and texture of each package is just perfect and a unique work of art in its own right. It is quite evident that Apple and Tesla, amongst others, went above and beyond to get the overall product experience above and beyond customer expectations.
Innovation perception
What is design? In the simplest form, it is creating an aesthetically appealing and functional solution to a problem. Innovation has the same concept without necessarily having the creative appeal. Problems that design and innovation resolve vary from a product or service that functions poorly to not having enough market share. In that case, you innovate and design a new solution. Design and innovation are related at another level. If your company is designed in the right way, then it will stimulate innovation. This can be done by designing your processes so that:
Employees have the time to work on their own projects;
People are motivated to generate new ideas;
Others outside of the company can contribute (outsourcing);
You have time to listen to new ideas;
Experimentation and risks may be taken.
Investing time and money into new ideas may be the most difficult barrier to generating tangible solutions that can be executed. This is because most companies are averse to taking risks, especially large companies. However, once the processes in a company are designed so that new ideas can be followed up on, more ideas will follow.
Even though design is not so easily categorized, there are two main types of innovation; radical and incremental. One can also say that a new design is radical or incremental. An incremental innovation is basically an adjustment to an existing product or process while a radical innovation shakes up the entire product or process so that you will have something distinctive.
You cannot say that one form of innovation is better than another. It all depends on the market and how you communicate your new design. So, will a new design or innovation have a positive impact on your bottom line? No one will know from beforehand, but the most innovative and design conscious companies are doing well, even during an economic downturn.
Clever design significantly increases sales and improves brand performance
There are many ways of seeing the value of design. For instance, you can measure sales and relative value as an output of changes in design. Design can also improve your standing amongst rivals and give you a competitive advantage. The Design Council published a report where facts and statistics concerning the value of design are highlighted. One interesting statistic is that design conscious businesses can expect a return on their internal design investments as high as 125%. That’s quite an impressive return compared to other types of investments made in a business.
What may be obvious is that if you have high quality design, you do not need to compete with your competitors on price. If you design your product and/or service well, then customers will enjoy what you have to offer and continue to be loyal to your company – even if the price is higher than the nearest competitor. That’s because you offer something unique and of a higher standard/value.
If you would like to increase your market share, then being a design savvy business is a wise option. Businesses that did so increased their market share by 6.3% through design. This could be due to several factors, such as those mentioned above concerning the increased value of the product or the notion that you will set yourself apart from the competition.
Furthermore, companies that grow rapidly are almost six times more likely to see design as an integral part of their business compared to those companies that remained static. The effects of design are hard to see, but these hard facts prove the value of design.
Cutting into consumer indecision amongst the competition
When you head to the grocery store to pick up a product such as cereal, do you purchase the same one each and every time or, like many consumers, are you comparing and contemplating about which one to grab?
When presented with a large range of choices to fulfill a need, it is in human nature to become confused, thus the inability to quickly make a choice. When we spend too much time comparing the plethora of options we are presented with, the functional differences between each of them soon become blurry. Once the functional differences lose importance, the peripheral aspects take precedence. This means that whichever product’s ad, spokesperson, or packaging color stands out favorably in our minds will most likely influence our product purchase.
What does this signify for those responsible for branding and communications for such low-involvement products? The peripheral aspects must stand out for products in categories where the number of substitutes is vast enough to cause customer confusion close to the point of purchase. Axe, a brand of male grooming products owned by the British-Dutch company Unilever is a good example of this. Their marketing messages are well known and hold a great amount of recall. They are likely to be quite popular in the deodorant and body spray isle where men are faced with more brands than they can count. The functional superiority or inferiority takes a back seat in such a situation.
Those factors differ for high-involvement goods, such as in cars, watches and so on, where the customer is not likely to make a grab-and-go purchase. In these cases, functionality, brand values and associations begin to play a key role.
Form and function
Product designers work on new products with two aspects in mind: functionality and aesthetics. Through their work, designers connect the industry with consumers by translating a concept into something that adds extra value to consumers.
A competent design team should have an excellent understanding of people, culture, and societies. This knowledge is applied to its deep knowledge about design and includes, but is not limited to:
In this way, products are developed that not only have an appealing design and bring out emotion, but are also practical and of high quality. The products will have the right combination of feel, detailing and ease of usage. Pricing will then determine the value equation. Here are sample ingenious packaging designs in the consumer goods sector http://bit.ly/1clAHSN.
Creative packaging leads to increased sales
Packaging is as important as product itself. The main objective of packaging design is attracting a buyer’s attention to the product. Along with making the product look amazing, it should prompt and influence the customer into buying the actual product as looks do matter. No matter how good the product is, if the packaging is dull and inferior looking it may compromise sales of its contents. Consequently, modern, creative and clever packaging design plays a major role in inspiring and selling any product. Packaging design should include labeling which expresses and communicates key information to the end-user such as benefits, product information, usage directions and perhaps a story.
Some consumer product companies are using a more educated market approach. For instance, to stand-out on the crowded supermarket shelves they introduce art in the printing of their packages and/or labels inviting the consumer to reach-out for the product to learn more about it.
A case in point, after more than two decades in the limelight, California’s Kenwood Vineyards‘ highly-acclaimed Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as a premier marriage of fine art and fine wine. The combination of the fine art of wine-making with the work of contemporary artists creates an elegant, easily identifiable package, while promoting beautiful artwork at the same time. Other brilliantly designed wine bottles can be viewed at this link: http://bzfd.it/1AubMIH
Saddlers Creek Naked Wines minimalist design
Food and water product branding via brilliant packaging
Taking bottled water to a whole different level for uniqueness and attractiveness requires broad imagination and creativity if one is to turn an essential daily commodity to a product with a premium or luxury cache. The most common approaches to differentiating water that the marketing professionals apply are:
Fancy bottle and label packaging – shape/color/functionality
Source and story telling
Health qualities – promote fitness
Flavor enhancements – better tasting than plain drinking water
Ways to drink – creating a certain lifestyle
Adding unusual and compact/practical sizes
Limited price offers or bundling with other products
Solid and extensive distribution channel with retailers and institutional clients
Sponsorships for additional exposure and significant opportunities for distinct marketing
Here are several eye catching designs – some of which you may mistaken for premium vodka http://bit.ly/1HwA01J.
How about branding water and putting the world’s most expensive price tag on it predominantly by visual appeal and perception? That’s just what its founder and president, Kevin G. Boyd, did for Bling H2O which he labels it as “luxury” and charges about $44 per bottle. He has accomplished this through a clever marketing strategy such as:
– focusing on distribution of limited editions;
– creating a fancy glass water bottle to add cachet;
– conveying a glamorous story with his marketing messages;
– has celebrities sipping his water and as a result, gaining massive publicity.
Bling H20 bottle design (Image processed by Code Carvings Piczard)
If that weren’t enough, Kevin Boyd introduced the Dubai Collection’s “The Ten Thousand” with a price tag of $2,600 per bottle. This item has over 10,000 hand applied Swarovski Crystals with each bottle custom made to order, numbered and comes with a pair of white handling gloves and an attractive case. There appears to be a market for it – albeit a very small one.
In food packaging, unique examples of standout and alluring packaging design with storytelling can be found with the following products:
With the rise of consumer protests and a heightened concern for the environment, many modern companies are responding these days by making every effort to produce both “green” products and packaging that is biodegradable or, at the least, recyclable. This includes the reduction of the size of its packaging and demonstrates eco-friendliness which can bolster their image and attract additional new clients – especially those who are environmentally sensitive.
“While eco-friendly packaging is a recent phenomenon, it is already a large and rapidly growing trend,” observes Susan Selke, Ph.D., acting and associate director of the School of Packaging at Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Some of the companies with well-publicized use of sustainable product materials and packaging are Nike, Starbucks, Estee Lauder, Unilever, Dell and Hewlett-Packard to name a few.
The way forward in product and packaging design
The approach to creativity is the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. Staffs who work in a creative environment should be given plenty of leeway to utilize their full potential – the freedom to flourish. Not doing so limits their artistic talent and deprives the company from taking a leap at the competition.
By having a good understanding about materials, production techniques and manufacturers, striking designs can be created that assure loyal partnerships between consumers and manufacturers. This saves marketing costs in the short term and creates more stability in the long term.
The primary goal of packaging design is to entice customers’ attention. For this purpose, package designs cannot simply inform the customers, but also provoke feelings and communicate emotions. An effective packaging looks attractive, impresses with its creativity and not simply appealing to have on the shelf. As a result, it stands out in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Product and packaging design should also clearly communicate a company’s brand identity. As such, the brand team should be asking: What is our product? What is its unique selling proposition (USP)? Who is our primary target client? What is our company’s mission and vision? Accordingly, the product and packaging design ought to be consistent with the brand identity, as they will help determine the size, shape, colors and materials used with the product and packaging.
Amongst other impressive statistics, stocks of design-led firms outperformed the FTSE 100 by 200%! That should be compelling enough to make product designs consumer appealing, along with practicality and quality built-in to them, precedence. If a manufacturer is to create and produce new products, as well as re-design/revitalize existing ones, why not put some creativeness into it, like industrial designer Philippe Starck, who turns mundane items into objects of desire or Apple who took personal electronic devices to an extraordinary level. It is the “wow” factor accompanied by emotionality in branding.
A place which wants to attract the most discerning souls, should be unique and embody a complete lifestyle concept which combines a relaxed, holistic approach amongst an elegant setting and decor with attention to detail. This includes, clean, updated and attractive guest rooms with no amenities spared. Pleasing food & beverage prepared and presented with pizzazz are complemented by soothing music which is also an integral part of the ambiance. The attractive, smiling and well-mannered staff is dressed stylishly. All of these elements combined will, undoubtedly, seduce the senses and generate good vibes along with positive memories created.
However, is all that adequate? Today, more than any other time in history, customers are the most sophisticated and increasingly demanding – whether they’re Boomers, GenXer’s or Millennials. The total customer experience in the high-end hospitality domain requires superlative attention to customer care from the moment a booking is made, during the guest’s stay and beyond. The use of an integrated approach is essential across various touch points with the purpose of engaging and retaining customers.
The sanctuary away from home
Astute guests consider hotels they choose to be an upgrade away from home in terms of comfort and services offered. One area of particular attention in the last few years has been the bed. It has been the focus of tremendous improvement. According to J. D. Power & Associates, a comfortable bed and pillow choices are must-haves ‒ especially for business travelers. In fact, 93% of luxury hotels offer a selection of pillows.
A high-end resort developer and operator, Kerzner International, renowned for its opulent One & Only luxury resorts brand has “Blow away the customer” as it core mantra. The company walks the talk by impressing its guests through grandiose entrances, facilities, overall ambiance and luxury amenities – then making absolutely certain that they are pampered throughout their stay. It’s all an integrated, well-orchestrated and flattering process. Nothing is left to chance although it does take a coordinated team effort to make it all happen flawlessly.
The wealthy cherish their time and know what they want. Even time is a luxury and limited resource for them, thus saving time greatly trumps saving money. This is part of the reason service is crucial for them. They can be generally described as:
– Seek a higher and exacting standard with a minimum set of expectations; – Fussy in nature; – Often require customized solutions to mirror their lifestyle – whether a product or service; – Take pleasure on getting extra attention from the brands they pursue; – Prefer the uncommon to the mundane; – Expect to be offered unique choices and experiences; – Synonymous with a taste for luxury with pedigree and craftsmanship which they’re able and willing to pay; – Aspire an aura of exclusivity; – Crave an experience heightened by exceptional service along with a personal relationship; – Seek products which are different and more sophisticated – whether it’s apparel, electronics, food or insurance; – Want to feel in command of their purchase decision without any pressure.
Boutique hotels vs. corporate chains
“Boutique hotel” is a term to describe hotels which often contain luxury facilities of varying size in unique or intimate settings with full service accommodations. Sometimes known as “design hotels” or “lifestyle hotels”, boutique hotels began appearing in the 1980s in major cities across North America and Europe – mainly in the U.K. These hospitality properties are characteristically furnished in a themed, stylish and unique manner. Boutique hotels generally are known to have less than 100 rooms. Their limited capacity enables them to enhance the customer experience through personalized service, as well as to customize their property and operations. An intimate atmosphere is usually regarded as a vital part of a “boutique” hotel. This includes cozier premises, quality amenities; conceptual dining outlets that become destinations in their own right, and an environment whereby the hotel staff recognize what your needs and desires are, rather than just responding to what you ask.
Taking the personal touch to a higher level
Superb customer experience isn’t merely offering the customer what he/she asks for but rather what the discriminating customer truly desires to receive. This is accomplished by constantly exceeding of expectations through the delivery of remarkable tailored customer service with a series of personal touches. Premium and luxury hotel guests expect surprise and delight along with unusual positive experiences.
Forrester, an independent technology and market research company, defines customer experience as: How customers perceive their interactions with your company. As with brands, customer experience is not what management thinks it should be – it’s what the customer perceives it to be. Thus, it should be understood that, because experience is a customer’s perception, management doesn’t control the customer experience, but it can certainly influence it.
The challenge for hospitality organizations is to ensure that their personnel always provide at least the level of service that their guests want and expect every time, perfectly. The purpose of quality management in the hospitality industry is to ensure that customer service is consistent and flawless. Providing it is intertwined with the overspill of the needs and expectations of guests and therefore their enthusiasm (delighted guests). The element of quality of service offered by the hotel industry should be apparent, be recognized and understood by the guest, as absolutely essential element in all the stages and processes during the service delivery.
The organization’s strategy, personnel and systems are aligned to meet or exceed the guest’s expectations regarding the following aspects of the guest experience: service product, service setting and service delivery. These aspects are carefully woven together to give guests what they desire and expect, plus the wow element. It all starts with the guest. Evidently, you can’t have a guest experience without a guest to experience it. That’s the main point, without the guest to initiate it, the components such as the carefully designed service product, the detailed and inviting setting, the highly trained and motivated servers and the finest back of the house people and facilities are just an experience waiting to happen.
The evaluation of service quality is a complex process, and the guest side is primarily subjective criteria, because each person can have their own opinion. But what is it really imparts excellence in quality of service to guests and causes only positive emotions and reactions of customers when they experience an unforgettable experience?
There are four key elements that make up the quality of the generated service and identify the outstanding quality of service (Service Excellence) which are as follows:
The Guest
The service setting – environment
The service delivery system
The processes
When these four elements, coexist and perform maximally, then the chances, the qualitative result to delight the guests, are significantly increased.
The service, as a product of person to person or a series of interactions between the guest and the person delivering the service is transformed into experience for the guest. The positive or negative aspect of the experience depends on the strategy applied by each company and sets the service delivery system. The guests, the service procedures and physical data sited so as to form a quality experience for the customer service they receive. Employees, who are also the brand ambassadors, play a crucial role in the process of service delivery. They are trained specifically for this purpose and supported by the organization itself along with the organizational culture. Technology and information flows like internal and external communication.Artificial and natural elements of the service along with the human factor, in this case, define the guest experience.
The service dimensions consist of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy which characterize an emotionally intelligent and spirited staff with tangible elements in the ensuing way:
Reliability reflects the service provider’s ability to perform service dependably and accurately.
Responsiveness is a strong indicator in assisting guests and providing prompt service.
Reassurance reflects the courtesy and knowledge of employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
Empathy involves the caring individualized attention the brand provides its guests.
Tangible elements include the facilities, amenities and ambiance felt by the guest directly or indirectly.
A company’s reputation for excellence in the services sector can be developed and supported, as long as the firm has a strong organizational culture oriented in high quality service, customer focus throughout the organization, as well as a dynamic set of employees. They are conscientious and committed to act within the quality standards which the company has established.
For a hospitality organization to achieve high levels of customer service and maintain constant satisfaction, it should develop and implement a structured service strategy, which covers all necessary actions on what measures and actions will be taken to:
Create a customer-centric culture.
Develop and install appropriate infrastructure service delivery system.
Identify the necessary procedures to recognize and meet the needs and expectations of guests.
Refine and encourage staff to speak with the right attitudes, skills and behaviors to internal and external environment of the company and towards the guests.
Measure – evaluate the degree of guest satisfaction.
Continuously implement practices to improve internal operations and procedures relating to excellent guest service.
An experience is created when a company uses the services and goods, in such a way as to create a memorable event and to stimulate the emotional world of the guests.The more intense is the intensity of emotion, the more strongly imprinted in memory and then only is it created as a memorable experience.
Guest experience is an integral part of service excellence and absolute customer satisfaction, all of which are subject to evaluation and performance measurement of an organization. With modern techniques and methods identified and assessed the degree of customer satisfaction and the recorded positive or negative experience. The collection of information, both during the service and the configuration of the customer experience provides useful information and enables the company to rectify and remedy any failure or deviation from the quality standards prescribed.
Customer service centric hospitality businesses train staff to utilize the so called “sixth sense:” It’s the innate ability to perceive what is not seen or immediately apparent. That perception will undoubtedly offer hotels, as well as other customer driven businesses, to delight their customers. According to an article authored by Mike Metcalfe, founder of Hoteliyo, a resource and blog for hotel professionals, he suggests to define your hotel service culture. Start by creating the ‘Guest Journey’. Map out every interaction or ‘touch point’ guests will experience as the following image depicts.
Hotel guest touch points according to Mike Metcalfe of Hoteliyo
At Ritz-Carlton hotels, employees with direct contact with guests, such as the bellmen, are authorized to spend as much as $3000 to help solve a customer’s problem. At some other luxury hotels a wake-up call from the employee is not a typical, “This is your wake-up call ‒ wish you a great day”, but it also includes an offer to send up a complementary cup of coffee to get the guest’s day started.
At a Four Seasons Boston hotel video, an employee describes with pride and exhilaration how she went out of her way to personally get a guest’s luggage to the airport at the nick of time. The luggage was locked in the trunk of the customer’s rental car parked at the hotel and had lost his keys. Meantime, he had to rush to the airport without them so as not to miss his international flight.
Utilizing IT and social media to enhance the personal touch
Nowadays, luxury hotels should not neglect utilizing the benefits of IT and the internet to keep a two-way flow of continuous communication with its prospective, as well as existing clientele. This includes a fully integrated CRM system which connects sales, marketing and the administration including reservations, monitoring and responding to review sites and reaching out to social networking sites. Customer preferences are also kept on record to keep in consideration and deliver upon during the guest’s future stays.
Digital think tank L2 reported 78% of the affluent participate in social networking sites, with more than half using social media to connect with a brand, while 65% of wealthy consumers believe that brands that have no such presence are considered out of touch.
Luxury hotel chain Four Seasons, only a couple of years ago, unveiled a new website that reportedly cost a whopping $18 million to develop. It uses a holistic digital media strategy to enhance the total online experience and give a visual taste of what can be anticipated at their properties. Extensive research around digital consumption of luxury consumers, both in the travel sector and across other categories, was conducted for the development of the new website. The result of the investment is a fancy, colorful website, with a new booking process, social media integration and personal profile technology that allows users to set preferences and create a more targeted online experience. It is also optimized for mobile, which provides access to a reduced size version of the site, and includes videos, room rates and booking capabilities. In addition, locations and experiences are showcased through photo-rich, informative property and destination pages.
Upscale hotels, particularly, must offer WiFi access throughout the property at no charge. This is becoming part of the standard package that guests expect and demand. The cost, reliability and performance of WiFi in hotels worldwide has been a subject of frequent contention amongst hotel patrons.
The most notable high-tech innovation since a few years ago has been the mobile revolution. From the tablet with the iPad to the smartphone before it, they have become ubiquitous to everyday life. According to the Luxury Institute, one-third of wealthy consumers own a tablet or e-Reader such as the Kindle or Sony.
The takeaway
Any organization obsessed with customer service and the total customer experience, let alone the hospitality domain, should forgo routine and avoid unpleasant surprises. Complacency is a comfort zone which yields marginal performance. It can cause deficiencies, stifle growth and progress. This syndrome should be replaced with drive and consistent improvement. The culture of the organization, along with its structure, play a major role with the challenges it faces and how it deals with them.
As in every service sector, with an upscale hotel, every guest contact point should offer a unique and pleasant experience. Hotel brands need to use an integrated approach across their various touch points to engage their customers – commencing from the ease of their online (website) procedure or phone reservations center, during the guest’s stay, at check-out and beyond.
Placing emphasis on employee attitude/personality, empowerment, constant training, offering effortless accessibility for clients, flexibility when solving issues and presentations with style, as well as finesse. Each and every customer should be treated with personal care – a sign of individuality;
Sufficient resources and proper procedures should be implemented in hiring and training individuals with the right attitude over skills. The organization’s culture ought to support and inspire its staff to impressive achievement. An environment of mutual trust between leaders, employees, and customers should be created, along with proper rewards and incentives. This is what it takes for a human and personalized touch that retains its brand promise.
The best managed organizations have one factor in common: They are constant achievers, exude managerial excellence and possess a well-targeted CRM. The payoff will be a higher level of repeat business, referrals and profitability. Their financial performance is reflected in those results.
Ultimately, everyone in a service organization should live and breathe the brand.
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Empirical fact references:
– Robert C. Ford, Michael C. Sturman, Cherrill P. Heaton (2011) Managing Quality Service in Hospitality.
– Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V., and Berry, L. (1994a). Alternative scales for measuring service quality: A comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic criteria. Journal of Retailing, 70 (3), 201-230.
– Armstrong (2009). Armstrong’s Handbook of Management and Leadership. A guide to managing for results.
Delirious, confused and frustrated are merely three terms which best describe what clients typically experience when dealing with many customer support representatives. Excellent customer service is a crucial component of your business image and philosophy. Regardless of how good your products and prices are, if you can’t offer a positive experience for your customers, they will likely not return. Moreover, you can be certain they will spread negative word-of-mouth. With social media so prevalent, a brand’s reputation can eventually take a nose dive. Today, customers are more demanding than ever. They want to know their issues are genuinely acknowledged and demand timely results. Simply apologizing to them does not suffice.
Do head honchos get it?
Much is touted by companies about customer satisfaction but surprisingly only a few actually deliver on their promises. Prominent brands are not immune either. At the outset, it appears that many lack a vital customer relations policy. Inadequate staff training amongst other factors further aggravates the problem. Picking up the telephone and calling certain companies, for example, can sometimes lead to an exasperating experience. People love to hate the phone tree experience where you have to go through a maze of menus until you eventually get to speak to a human – assuming you’re lucky. It shouldn’t have to be that way.
The executives who are is in charge of finance and operations respectively (consider the CFO and COO) are mainly focusing on costs and productivity even to the detriment of the average customer. Consequently, they will measure the calls answered per minute – regardless of the outcome. In contrast, a customer focused executive will reward those who take their time to listen, engage and solve customer issues.
Deliberate bad customer experience
Sadly, some brands have a built-in mechanism to test their systems with some clients in the hopes they will give in which in the short term will not entail refunds or product returns which can hurt bottom lines. However, this approach is quite short sighted with long term negative consequences. Those companies use their seemingly discounted prices to lure customers but their real business model seems to be in tricking customers with inaccurate payment information and then charging extra for any delayed payment amongst other inconveniences and unpleasant surprises along the way. Many gym memberships and website hosting service organizations are notorious for such trickery. Their hope is that through a lack of awareness, or constant frustration an average customer will simply cave in. This ultimately backfires with constant negative consumer publicity and an unusually excessive business turnover. Most modern consumers are too sophisticated to relinquish their rights to fair treatment. Companies may ignore this syndrome claiming it’s a ‘numbers game’, as well as a cost of doing business. Though, in the process, they also corrupt their front line staff who have to address an abnormal rate of legitimate grievances.
Marketing maven and best-selling author, Seth Godin rationalizes it this way:
“Unfortunately, just about all big customer service organizations do this precisely backward. They don’t escalate to a supervisor or roll out the kindness carpet until after someone has gone to Defcon 4. They decide that it’s too expensive to be flexible, to listen or to treat people fairly, and they wait until the costs to both sides are really high, and then they give an empowered person a chance to solve the problem. There’s huge waste here, as the problem costs more to solve at this point, and the unseen challenge is that they’ve established a cycle in which umbrage is the rewarded behavior.”
The customer centric organization: solving issues before they occur
Going above and beyond customer expectations is focusing on customer centricity. It begins by developing, implementing and continuously delivering a total positive customer experience at every touch point and beyond. The costs and benefits of this practice are equally beneficial for the customers and the business. A University of Michigan study revealed that companies which received high scores in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI) consistently outperform the S&P 500. Those companies include Walt Disney and Amazon, amongst others. Those are most certainly organizations that focus on quality over quantity and measure what truly make them remarkable.
The after sales service department should be designed with an efficient infrastructure in place so as to make the entire experience an effortless task for both the customers and employees who are assigned with the responsibility. It should be easy for the client to reach a customer service agent and/or online agent to chat with. Moreover, the client should not have to be placed on hold for more than 5 minutes. Whenever the wait is more than two minutes, there should be an option to offer a simple way to be called back. The organization’s mindset should be to constantly think of ways to release tensions and give solutions to the client promptly.
Since many of the inbound calls normally concern frequently asked questions, why not have them prominently displayed on the website and/or printed on the product insert. Having them recorded as an option on your phone line, in a clear English voice (and second or even third most popular language relevant to the region’s business demographics), can eliminate unnecessary calls and waiting times with a live person.
Staff tasked with customer service should:
Possess a positive attitude under duress;
Be initially trained and occasionally re-trained,
Treated with respect, and
Be empowered to make timely customer satisfaction decisions on their own.
There is no better example to illustrate this than online shoe retailer Zappos.
What customers get to see displayed prominently on the web site:
– 24/7 1-800 number on every page
– Free shipping
– Free return shipping
– 365-day return policy
What customers will experience:
– Fast, accurate fulfillment
– Most customers are “surprise”-upgraded to overnight shipping
– Creating a “WOW” factor
– Friendly, helpful “above and beyond” customer service
– Occasionally direct customers to competitors’ web sites
What’s done behind the scenes?
– No call times, no sales-based performance goals for representatives
– The telephone is considered for them one of the best branding devices available.
– Run warehouse 24/7. Inventory all products (no drop-shipping).
– Five weeks of culture, core values, customer service, and warehouse training for everyone in Las Vegas office.
– A Culture Book
– Interviews & performance reviews are 50% based on core values and culture fit.
Putting it all together
Within every organization, decision making drives performance. Every day, employees at work make decisions that impact performance. These decisions, at every level of the organization, including customer service policies and tactics, define the corporate culture and drive performance.
It’s important to keep in consideration that measuring customer satisfaction is a way to assess its effectiveness, and refine what’s necessary along the way. This is performed by evaluating communication at your help desk or and/or call centers, as well as conducting surveys or sending out brief questionnaires soon after a call has been consummated. How satisfied were your customers with the level of service they received and will they do business with you again in addition to recommending you to others?
Customers are not concerned about your operational problems, your costs and margins, your lead times, your staff shortages, and much more. They are only interested in themselves and the benefits they may be able to obtain from your business instead of the one down the street, or the other ones found over the internet.
Thus, a priority need for every (selfish) customer or prospective buyer is timely and personal service.
Bill Marriot said it succinctly with “Take good care of your employees and they’ll take good care of the customer—and the customer will come back.”
This management philosophy isn’t common but it is shared by both Southwest and Costco. When using either company you can experience it as employees are generally in a great mood, and in turn, happy to help.
Customer centricity should be everyone’s job in an organization. It’s to be embedded in the internal culture. It begins with the top leadership and permeates through the entire organization. Implementation of new and refined strategies and tactics equate to daily and long-term success in building profitable customer relationships. Been helpful with your customers, even if there’s no immediate profit in it, is simply a good business practice with pragmatic thinking for the long-haul.
Unconventional Business Wisdom for the refined entrepreneurial mindset - by James D. Roumeliotis 