Pivot like the Argents did, but don’t diminish great service with all this change!

Art teaches us! If we just stop long enough to think about service.?Lawrence and Ann Argent changed up the color to blue from sandstone but kept the main bear concept the same. What a great change! Do the same. Change whatever you need to do but make sure to keep your commitment to great service – it just has to be there as the foundation. You might be going all virtual, or touchless, or starting new products, but make sure there are still far-reaching ways you can WOW your customers. Just like the sandstone color would have been bland, don’t automate so much that your service is bland too!

Let’s talk about

-?????????The artists, Lawrence and Ann Argent and the Blue Bear

-?????????Change it up without diminishing great service

-?????????Other things to think about when looking at the bear!

The artists, Lawrence and Ann Argent and the Blue Bear

At the Denver Convention Center, there is a 40 foot-blue bear peering in that was created by the Argents. Just a curious bear trying to see what’s going on inside the building. The original design was to reflect Colorado sandstone colors, but when they saw the first prototype as bright blue, they decided it would be a much better choice without changing the interesting overall design. Just like they pivoted, do the same. Pivot but keep your commitment to service.

Please don’t diminish great service as you change

Now is the chance to have more self-serve, more touchless, more online, more distancing from your customer. As the actual interaction narrows, make sure not to be so automated, you lose all sense of service and an emotional connection to your brand.

-?????????Extras – I dropped off my car pre-Covid to get it detailed and the owner said “We popped out that dent in the back, it was bothering me”. How nice! Make sure to still allow for the many extra touches! Create new WOWs, don’t eliminate them!

-?????????Above and beyond- At the meat market, a lady had ordered a large roast and when she went to pick it up, she dropped it on the floor. It was way too heavy for her. Without a way to get around the counter, the butcher told her to stay right there, he would have to run around to the front of the building but he would take it to her car for her. Again, she will be back again because they did that one extra step without having to ask for it.

-?????????As your narrow direct contact, find ways to make service not just automated but better. Make sure what’s left is better than before, not less. In picking up a Ham yesterday, it was busy but the staff was delightful even with all the masks and partitions.?Smiling eyes looking at customers, listening, being positive! Yes, think of ways for customers to say delightful about what you do for them!

-?????????Touchless but better – As you literally remove customer interactions, add other actions that they will like! Make memories, connections! Anyone can automate. Continue to stand out above just automation!

Other thoughts created by the Argents blue bear design

In my recent blogs, I have been using windows a lot and this blog is no different. The Argents had no idea when they first built this bear that we would all RELATE to it today!

If the bear could talk for us, it would say

-?????????“What’s going on inside? I wonder if it’s all back to normal yet inside?”

-?????????“Am I missing something? If can’t get inside now, I will be back as soon as I can.”

EVERYONE is watching! Every move, every change. Every customer service interaction. All this time, people are still talking about what happened when they were out… in detail!!! Service is more important now than ever and customer will remember how you pivoted just like the Argents did with the color blue.

I hope all the best to everyone over the holidays! And I hope the blog helps in some way! Mary Furrie, CEO, Furrie Consulting