Creating Devoted Customers with Imaginative Service

Imaginative Service: A Fond Farewell to 2009!

As 2009 draws to a close it is a time to reflect on the good that came from the challenging times of the past year and to express our gratitude to all of those who helped make 2009 the best it could be.

“Thank you!” These are arguably the two most powerful words in the English language. Customers love to hear and feel a sincere “thank you”. Imagine what would happen to your business if everyone increased their use of these two words with associates and customers. We have all heard “thank you” directed at us, knowing full well there was little sincerity behind it.   In imaginative service, thank you means communicating gratitude in a fashion that makes customers feel your authenticity.

What are you doing to deliver an authentic communication of gratitude to your customers, your family, your friends and everyone else who helped you make 2009 the best during very tough economic times?

As you look forward to the New Year remember that you create your own future.  Sure, these are challenging times.  Of course, we are in an era of frugality and reduction.   We've been in tough economic times before.  The winners are those who view it as an opportunity to turn lemons into champagne. As Deepak Chopra says; “The spell that our habits hold over us is one that we have created and thus one we can break.” Resolve to break your negative habits in 2010 and approach every day with an attitude of gratitude.  

We sincerely thank all of our readers and especially our clients for their business, for following our writings and for being a part of our world. Our best wishes for a very happy and prosperous 2010!

 

                                                         

Imaginative Service: If Service Were a Christmas Ornament

Sooner or later it happens if you decorate enough Christmas trees over a long enough time.  At some point you discover that almost all of the ornaments are handmade or have some special meaning.  Discarded are those store bought ones that looked pleasing to the eye but had no short cut to the heart.  The special ones all have stories attached; the store bought ones just have hooks.

Service has a similar transformation.  We start out settling for what looks good, what’s convenient, or what is the least expensive way to get the job done.  But, sooner or later we want handmade service—personalized to our specs—with a story we can share with others.  The glitz might not be there but the value surely is.  

How can you make your customers’ experience as special as the well-worn Christmas ornament that Sarah made for you?

Imaginative Service: Finding a Pony in The Middle of "Economic Poop"

Did you hear the one about the lady who had a five-and-dime store parakeet named Pretty Boy.  Over the years she taught Pretty Boy to sing a bunch of songs.  One day she ordered a new vacuum cleaner.  It came with a tube shaped attachment she thought perfectly suited to vacuum out Pretty Boy’s birdcage.  You know where this story is going!  The phone rang one day and Pretty Boy ended up in the vacuum cleaner bag!

She panicked!  Tearing open the vacuum bag she found the poor parakeet alive but totally covered with dust, dirt and soot.  She rushed the bird to the bathtub and turned wide open both tub faucets, almost drowning Pretty Boy!  Realizing the error of her solution, she grabbed the hair dryer to blow dry the poor bird!

A few days later at the church social the editor of local newspaper heard of her catastrophe and sent a reporter around to get this unique human-interest story.  As the reporter was about to leave at end of his interview, he asked my mother-in-law, “By the way, how’s Pretty Boy now?” 

Without expression or hesitation, she answered:  “Pretty Boy doesn’t sing anymore.  He just sorta sits and stares!”

We live in times of turbulent change.  Far too many employees hired to “sing a bunch of songs,” are almost daily traumatized by cutbacks, layoffs, and just plain old uncertainty.  Some end up like Pretty Boy…“sitting and staring.”  But, customers expect responsiveness not rigid “Rules R’ Us” front line behavior.  Leaders expect commitment, not compliance.  And, organizations need responsibly, not resistance. 

Current times call for a wake-up call—a persuasive appeal for bold behavior, courageous action and character-filled substance.  Watch gutsy movies like The Patriot, Chariots of Fire, and Milk.  Use their strong messages of courage as a lens to find true heroes.   Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  We need more people to stop sitting and staring and start standing and caring.

Imaginative Service: Invite Customers to “Dinner on the Ground”

“Dinner on the ground” was code for participation in small towns in the South when we were growing up.  While this event went with all family reunions, its most special form of community occurred after certain church services.  “Dinner on the ground” was a super event for little boys to run, holler and pull ponytails pretty much unsupervised since their caretakers were occupied with set-up and clean-up.  For the women, it was a time to show off a new recipe.  Men told tales over sweet ice tea of the one that got away.  Everyone went home after eating way too much fried chicken and peach pie. 

But, this “everyone brings something” event brought people closer and enabled them to feel more interdependent.  It was community in its purest form.  And, it was surely a sad day when someone got the bright idea of “just calling Big Al and having him bring the barbecue with all the trimmings.” 

Customers’ feelings about a service provider soar when they get a chance to put “skin in the game.”  Inclusion not only captures the creativity and competence of customers as they serve with you, it elevates their commitment and allegiance.  People care when they share.  Wise service providers attract customer devotion by making the “dinner on the ground” side of service as fun, memorable and wholesome as a church picnic. 

What are you doing to make your customers feel like a partner?  How can you appropriately include them in ways that ratchets up their loyalty?

 

Imaginative Service: Driving a Nail with a B Flat

How do you measure customer service?  The question was leveled at us by a too-smart-for-his-own-good CIO.  He was searching for the arithmetic formula that would measure the precise financial return of an investment in improving service quality.   We held in check our “how to you measure the success of your marriage” bad boy response.  But, it got us thinking about the challenge of using quantitative measures to ascertain the worth of a qualitative experience.

We can do a good job of determining if customers are loyal—they return, invest more, advocate more, are cheaper to serve (since they know you) and forgive errors faster.  But, there are many things in the customer’s definition of value that could account for loyalty.  Coke and Pepsi come out neck and neck in blind taste tests.  But, in a branded taste test (people know what they are drinking), Coke beats Pepsi 75-25.  Great service at a poor location could lose badly to average service at a great location.  A four-hour delayed landing can erase the awesome service delivered by the flight attendant. 

Measuring customer service is more complex than simply asking customers if they would recommend you to a friend.   And, since it is more a correlation than cause-and-effect, we are not always able to put a precise yardstick on an emotional feeling.  “Where in the medical armamentarium is the will to live?” wrote Marilyn Ferguson.  “How big is an intention? How heavy is grief? How deep is love?” 

How are you verifying the worth of improving customer service?  Are you trying to drive a nail with a B flat? 

Imaginative Service: Following the Rules of Combat

Several years ago Logan Graves posted the “Rules of Combat” out on his website.   We filed the clever set of rules away but recently dusted them off for a fresh look at imaginative service.  Here are a few of his rules.

1.  The easy way is always mined.  There is an adage that goes “only dead fish       swim with the current.”  Imaginative service seeks the road less traveled      in the pursuit of ingenious and novel.  Today’s customers are bored with        pretty good service.

2.     No combat-ready unit ever passed inspection; no inspection-ready unit ever passed combat.   Imaginative service is scrappy and provocative.  It focuses on what works, not on what’s cute.  The ‘function over form’ orientation enables you to race past preoccupation with appearance to outpace those mired in convention.  

3.     All five-second grenade fuses are three seconds.

       Imaginative service requires preparation, not serendipity.  Dancers do rehearsal, planners create what-if scenarios, and product makers use dry runs.  Granted, everything cannot be pilot tested.  But imaginative service providers know that mastering the unexpected comes through forethought and study.

4.     When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is NOT our friend.

    Imaginative service requires the courage to try new and different.  And, such courage comes from a sense of accountability to those you serve.  It enables you to embrace challenge as a chance to test limits and reaffirm principles. 

Would your customers describe you as brave or courageous?  Do you celebrate excellent efforts that fail?  Are you constantly seeking a path to new experiences your customers will find memorable as well as valuable?

 

 

 

Imaginative Service: “If I Were a Rich Man”

Luxury.  The dark side spells opulence, conceit, and gluttony.   On the high side, it is associated with excellence, majesty, reward, and worth.  It is the choice of the rich and famous; the aspiration of wannabes.   But, it is more than pricey stuff.  “Luxury is fundamentally a state of mind,” says David Williams, North American director of The Orient Express.  Luxury is an expression of excellence—particularly acts that exhibit fine craftsmanship, obvious pride, superior training, and a perpetual attention to detail. 

What if you examined your service experiences through the lens of what luxury customers expect?  You might discover applications relevant for all customers?

*       Luxury seeking customers know they are different and search for service that acknowledges that difference.  This does not necessarily imply arrogance or superiority. 

*       Luxury seeking customers expect quality throughout and know it when they see it.  Cutting corners in perceivable service dimensions will net an overall mediocre experience.

*       Luxury seeking customers value classy over flashy, authentic over pretentious, and personalized without being invasive.  They want it real and respectful.

*       Luxury seeking customers have an aversion to opulence and excess.  They prefer experiences unmarked by puffery and waste.  Err on the side of being understated.

*       Luxury seeking customers are enamored by extremes…as stirred by the magnificent painting in a hotel lobby as the simple silk mat on the floor by the bed.  They are stirred by the rareness of place and the brilliance of practice.

*       Luxury seeking customers value privacy, yet enjoy an inclusive connection. 

What can luxury seeking customers teach us about service in general? 

Imaginative Service: Freestyle Service

It made business headlines in the summer of 2009.  The most popular brand in the world focused on the experience, not just their product.  Coca-Cola introduced their “Freestyle” vending machine.  Their ad copy described it as “all packaged in an innovative and interactive fountain experience.” Step one, pick  your favorite Coke beverage—Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid lemonade, Coke, etc.  Step two, pick your favorite flavoring.  Want a raspberry coke or a peach Fanta?  There are at least 100 combinations.    

Now, here is the best part.  At the end of the day the vending fountain sends all the combinations chosen to the R&D unit at Coke headquarters.  By watching patterns Coca-cola is able to introduce new products tailored precisely to customers’ latest whims.  Now, take the concept to your business.  Because today’s customers are getting so many choices, all “one-size fits all” approaches look archaic and out-of-date.   Are you learning your customers’ preferences to turn that insight into tailor-made experiences?  Would “have it your way” describe your customer service today?