Personalization – An essential part of a great Customer Experience (CX)

Welcome back friends. Apologies for not posting the newsletter last week as I was traveling and didn’t have a stable internet connection (yes that’s true) to post it. I feel good that I didn’t post it because what I experienced during my last week’s travel was a revelation in itself as to how “PERSONALIZATION” which we only think is possible if you have collected enough customer data and passed it through some futuristic technological algorithms comprising of Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence etc. that you will know what your customers want.

Please keep reading the story below and you'll shortly understand what I mean.

I, with my family (wife and 12 yrs. old daughter), travelled to the northern-most part of India (i.e., Kashmir – One of the 3 regions within J & K State) for a stay of 4 nights and 5 days. We started planning about this trip a month ago as we could guess that this time the holidays for the Eid-Ul-Fitr festival will be a little longer in UAE. We got in touch with a few travel agents who kept on sending us the standard travel itineraries which were not as per our expectations so we didn’t like. Finally, a week before our travel, we got hold of one of my wife's friends who fortunately was in Srinagar (Kashmir’s Summer Capital) at that time for the Eid holidays, whom we briefed our requirements and requested him to help us plan our journey. He asked us to just book our flight tickets (to & fro) and leave rest on him. So we didn't wait to receive the itinerary, hotel and transport details etc. as we trusted that he understood our requirements perfectly and left it on him to plan the trip.?

We landed on Srinagar Airport on the scheduled date and time. To our pleasant surprise there already was a Kashmiri man (let’s call him JM) in his late thirties with a placard, who immediately picked us. He was well dressed and spoke excellent English (we’re surprised because we're told that there are hardly any good English- speaking drivers). Initially we felt that he is the driver of the hotel we are staying in. Later we came to know that he will be our driver, guide and everything else till the time we leave Kashmir. We were pretty impressed with the way he maintained his vehicle, he was a living encyclopedia of everything about Kashmir, whether it’s the history, cuisine, culture, climate, environment, people etc. He was born and brought up in a typical Muslim Kashmiri family and has spent his entire life in Kashmir.

We were put up in a traditional Kashmiri hotel right in front of the famous Dal lake with the clear and beautiful view of the lake. We were surprised because we never asked for a hotel room overlooking the lake because we knew that it will be pretty expensive and hard to get it in such a high tourist season. Later on we found that the hotel was surrounded by the eateries which prepared the type of food we wanted to eat during our stay. We were told that this will be our base for the entire stay and everyday we'll go outside the city for the sightseeing and return in the evening.

The next day we were taken to a place which was found to be a non-touristic, untouched and hardly travelled even by the local Kashmiris.

The pristine beauty of the place was a treat to the eyes and we completely forgot our travels to other parts of the world where we thought the natural scenery is incomparable.

We spent the entire day admiring the green meadows, the clean air, innocence of the local populace, the transparent water of the fountains flowing from the high mountains, the melting ice, the horse ride and the local folk lore by the horse riders and to top it up having to sip the Kashmiri Kahwa (local tea made with herbs and saffron) with vegetable hot Maggie (popular Indian readymade Noodles from nestle). During our travels from Srinagar to these places, JM, always kept telling us stories of these places like their specialties, culture, food, people, significance in the state, history, what people like, wear, speak, do etc. At no point we felt bored or over loaded with information because he shared only what he felt we would like to hear.

In the evenings when we returned to Srinagar, JM made sure that he took us around the markets of the old city (downtown) and made us buy stuff which he knew, we would like. Apart from this, he also made us eat at places which we just adored and can still feel the taste and smell of the food we had.?

For the next three days, we followed the same routine but the last night was the most memorable as we were finally taken to the Shikara (traditional Kashmiri decorated boat) ride across the length and breadth of the Dal lake. The ride was for almost 2 hrs. and it was memorable in the sense that all your basic needs were fulfilled by the vendors around your boat who will drive to your boat to offer things like bar-be-que, flowers, general use items, coffee/kahwa etc. During the ride we also made strops to the floating markets selling various local and traditional items of our liking. The ride ended in us staying in a house boat for the entire night, which itself was a cherry on the cake, as they say that a trip to Srinagar is incomplete if you have not stayed in a house boat in Dal Lake.

Finally on the last day morning when it was a festival holiday for JM which he could have enjoyed with his family but he ensured that he himself drops us back to the airport for our forward journey. And that's how our journey ended.

Now when I relook at this narration, I found to have learnt a lot of newer ways to PERSONALIZE the Customer Experiencer (CX). So let me explain the same below for your understanding :

Point 1 - Although JM was briefly told about our likes and dislikes but his comprehension of our needs was immaculate and he translated it into creating an experience which was beyond our expectation.?

Learning: One doesn’t have to wait to accumulate a lot of consumer data and use the technology to decipher what the customers want. It's always better to read through the available information and apply your own business intelligence gained through experience to curate products/services which will certainly provide an amazing CX.

Point-2????JM was an expert and knew the place well.

Learning: Know your product/services well. One does not have to hard sell or rely on multi-channel advertisement to sell through.

Point-3????JM took risk to show us places which were hardly visited by other tourists or the local populace.?

Learning: Don’t always depend on your best-selling products/services. You never know that there could be hidden gems in your unsold inventories which could become the gold mine. Always offer the customer what they want rather than offering what the majority buy.

It's a treat to watch customers when they find what they least expected. It's the best CX.

Point-4????JM didn't cheat or over charge us or took us to places where he gets commission.

Learning: Always try to support your fellow retailers because the intention must be to make a life-long customer rather than concentrating on selfish means to maximize your own profits.

Point-5????JM ensured that the best product is kept for the last or play the master stroke at the end.?

Learning: A customer’s overall experience takes an exponential rise if they are exposed to something unexpected which is also found to be the best amongst what they had experienced thus far.

It leaves an indelible mark on their memory and make them loyal to you.?

Point-6????JM ensured that he himself drops us back to the airport rather than asking one of his other drivers to do so despite the day being a festival holiday.?

Learning: A small mistake from your end could spoil the entire customer experience.

Ensure that every small detail is worked out in advance and no stone is left unturned to overwhelm the customer throughout their journey.?

What say? Do you feel that our short Kashmir sojourn makes it a compelling case study for "How to best PERSONALIZE your products/services to make the customers loyal who not only buy from you again and again but also advocate you to others"?

Just to mention that since I have returned to UAE, I have already recommended JM to three of my close family friends who are already planning a trip in coming months.

if you liked the newsletter, please do leave with your comments even if it’s a small one.

Thank you. See you till then. Bye.

(UMESH AGARWAL)