To delight or not to delight? That is the question.
Eric Saint-Andre
Guiding Leaders, Teams, and Organisations to Be Future-Ready with Customised Training, Facilitation, and Coaching
I have been reflecting on why despite average or even mediocre services and experiences some brands offer, they are still around? Surely you would think that there is some correlation between poor customer service and customer attrition. But many brands continue to beat the odds!
I came up with the following reasons which may suggest how they get away with it:
Strategic location (F&B in particular):?
Forced buyer situation
Limited (or no) competition
Low prices
To be fair, I started believing that those brands do have a point: what is the ROI investing in going beyond what we currently do, in exceeding customers’ expectations?
On top of this, I also acknowledge that cultural norms can also play an important role, and I started to question whether I was biased in some ways. In some cultures, service may not be as highly valued or prioritised, hence customers may be more accepting of poor service.
American culture for instance values efficiency, speed, and convenience. This has led to the rise of fast food chains, online retailers, and other businesses that prioritise speed and convenience over personalised service. As a result, many consumers in the United States may be willing to overlook poor customer service if they can get what they need quickly and easily.
On the other hand, in India, there is a strong emphasis on building personal relationships and connections. As a result, many businesses prioritise building relationships with customers over providing speedy or efficient service. This can lead to customers being more forgiving of slower or less efficient service.
So who is right, who is wrong? No right or wrong - understanding the cultural context in which a business operates is a key factor in determining how it should approach customer service.
Culture is a source of bias as to how we perceive the world and the level of services we receive. A good example is even though I consider myself a global citizen, having traveled the world and lived outside of France most of my life, my French side often takes over when being faced with poor service: I feel the urge to start a revolution, to write my own version of “J’accuse” (Emile Zola), to denounce this action that causes outrage (“l’affront dont je suis la victime”)...ok you got the point ;)?
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But despite all the above reasons, I will confidently continue to believe and to preach that investing in delighting customers will always pay off. This is a clear ROI indication.
It does not have to be costly and disruptive; it comes down to simple principles:
Personal touch.
Responsiveness.
Showing you care. A genuine interest in helping someone.
Many ways we can hack this and do more with less to delight customers.
The following quote sums it all up: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Brands need to go beyond delivering the basics, delivering functional elements of value that customers are expecting and focus on the more emotional elements of value, the life-changing ones or even higher purpose ones. For those of you who would like dive deeper, I invite you to have a look at Bain’s Elements of Value Pyramid - The Elements of Value | Bain & Company]
Let’s take the example of a cleaning company serving a hospital. The basic expectation is for them to clean the facility according to well defined functional standards right?
But if that company was to scratch beyond the surface, they would realise that everyday their army of staff come across lonely patients and that by simply encouraging their staff to engage systematically in small talks as they get on with their task, not only would they impact many patient lives, increase satisfaction for the hospital and help develop a sense of purpose in their staff (who happen to be delivering tedious repetitive tasks, which makes it harder for them to find real passion and purpose).
This change would significantly improve their value proposition, differentiate them from the many similar cleaning companies they are competing against, and make them an attractive place to work for, being recognised as a company with purpose helping them attract talent. I am sure you see the many benefits you can anticipate that would greatly outweigh the cost and effort in implementing this simple change.?
And there are many hidden pockets of value awaiting brands as to how they can delight their customers and create a bigger impact. You just need to do the work. Feel free to reach out if you need any help uncovering hidden value via value proposition design or business model innovation, I am always happy to help and have a good conversation.
In summary, creating delightful experiences for customers is critical for any brand looking to increase brand loyalty, make a bigger impact and as a result, drive revenue. By understanding customers, implementing targeted changes to improve the experience, creating emotional connections, and continuously iterating, any brand can start delighting their customers and reap the rewards of a loyal customer base.
You just have to take the first step. So how will you start delighting your customers?
Digital Transformation | Technology Scout
1 年Reminds me of a YouTube Short I recently watched. If you enter a Chinese restaurant and the service is good, expect average food. Conversely, if you are treated like crap, it means the food is authentic and amazing because their food is so good they can afford to treat customers poorly.
Great article! It's fascinating to ponder why some brands manage to thrive despite offering mediocre services. The reasons you outlined shed light on this phenomenon.