I pulled into the Ritz Carlton only to have my car descended upon by a crack team of Bell Captains. By the time I was walking down the hall to my room I had been accosted by at least 8 trained professionals who all had the mad plot of making my customer experience “needle” pin against the “wow” part of the scale.
It took me the rest of my three day stay to figure out how they provided an off the chart guest experience. I thought I would discover some secret technology that allowed them to communicate between themselves about who I was (name, home city, etc) and why I was at the hotel. How devious. They had NONE.
The days of providing a fresh apple (Marriott) or a fresh cookie (DoubleTree) are being threatened by a new level of customer expectations.
So what is YOUR secret something? What is making you visible? As a leader how are you creating an experience that is so overwhelming that, according to one survey, it will get customers to pay up to 50% and tell thousands about you?
Think of a panel of levers to drive your visibility. Each is labeled as a possible addition or tweak for your offering. The four biggest levers are:
- Experience
- Education
- Entertainment
- Time
In days gone by there were three major considerations. They are still there and are part of every business. Quality, Service, and Price. But today, to really standout, you have to go to the visibility of a Special Something, your own se ne sais quoi. Is customer service enough? Nope. Is a great property (for hotels) enough? No sir. Can leadership generate it? No way.
You (and your staff, marketing, service) must understand the power of E3+T (Experiences, Education, Entertainment + Time) to get to the next level.
Stay tuned.
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