Creating Devoted Customers with Imaginative Service

Imaginative Service: Be a Service Innovator

When Al Hopkins a young boy he watched the other ten-year-olds wait for customers to stop by their sidewalk lemonade stands in the hot summer sun.  Al abandoned the “stand” concept and took his lemonade business door-to-door.  He made enough money in one summer to buy a new Schwinn Flyer bicycle with a siren!

Imaginative service is distinctive, unique, unusual, atypical, unexpected, and all the other words you can think of that insinuate a pleasant surprise.  This brand of service yields in customers the exact same emotional reaction that might be created by witnessing a rainbow you did not expect, or getting a novel gift that communicates the giver knew you better than you realized.  

What would your customer experience be like if you had a magic wand and could change one important aspect of the customer experience?  Or, if you had unlimited resources?  Or, if the new experience was going to carry the name of your child or your parents?  

Imaginative Service: What’s New with You?

The most famous cattle brand in the state of Texas is the “Flying W”.  It is the symbol for the largest ranch in the U. S. — the 875,000 acre King Ranch in Southeast Texas. Established in 1860, the ranch has produced cattle and horses that have won top honors at competitions around the world.  One King Ranch quarter horse won the Triple Crown in 1946.  But, King Ranch is best known for their significant contributions to the cattle industry.  Experimenting with breeds that could produce high quality beef in a setting of intense heat, King Ranch cross-bred Brahmans from India with Beef Shorthorns from England to create the Santa Gertrudis breed.  The King Ranch example of going beyond image holds an important message for all brand-makers. 

How can you take your service to a place it has never been?  What if you piloted a hybrid form of your service with novel attributes?

Imaginative Service: Juicing Up Your Service

We like words that “juice up” the way service is delivered.  What if your service was delivered faster, slower, longer, smaller, healthier, cheaper, bolder, divided into parts, done with a helper, done anywhere, done with a manual, done randomly, done while you wait, or done in reverse.  Here are few examples of our juicers can work.

• What would a carwash be like if it was done greener?
• What would boarding a plane be like if it was done funnier?
• What would completing a form be like if it was effortless?
• What would contacting a call center be like if it was done more elegantly?
• What would ordering a pizza be like if it was done automatically?
• What would completing a tax return be like if it was done more instructionally?
• What would check-out be like if it was done invisibly?
• What would the receptionist area be like if it was more entertaining?

Imaginative Service: Serving with Character

We were exiting a taxi at the Hartford airport and requested a receipt for the fare.  The taxi driver laughingly said, “I’ll give you two—one for you and one you can turn in for however much you think you can get the boss to reimburse.”  The message was clear.  He believed every business traveler pursued ways to stiff the company by padding expense reports.  “We only need one,” we told him.  “We own the company.”  His grin changed to a look of embarrassment. 

Remarkable comes from “own the company” character.  Smart “owners” practice responsible stewardship along with giving great service.  They make decisions with one hand on their “wallet” but with the other on their heart. And, when customers witness service with character, their confidence in that organization climbs.  What would your son or daughter learn if they could watch you deliver service to your customers? 

Imaginative Service: Become a Roadrunner

The Road Runner streaks into the sunset leaving behind a vanquished coyote with a look of exasperation and exhaustion.  Road Runner 1, Wile E. Coyote…0.  “Beep-beep!”

We laugh at the inevitable outcome.  The Road Runner is the epitome of confidence---power at warp speed.  He doesn’t just escape; escape implies the threat of capture, and the Road Runner never seems seriously concerned.  He emerges…victorious, again.  The cartoon metaphor contains powerful lessons relevant for enterprises seeking marketplace victories. 

We live in an era where customers expect personalized outcomes delivered by passionate, agile, and responsive employees…where spirited, on-the-run learners outpace “just-follow-the-Acme-instructions” domesticated workers.  We live in a time when roadrunners rule and coyotes…crash!

Wile E. Coyote is earnest; Road Runner passionate.  Wile E. is resilient but the Road Runner is resourceful.  Wile E. looks over his shoulder; the Road Runner looks ahead.  Wile E. is grim; the Road Runner is joyful. 

Your customer is watching your cartoon.  Is your unit a coyote or a roadrunner? 

Imaginative Service: Say “Amen!”

“Amen!”  The words were loudly spoken by someone in a business meeting.   What followed was an awkward silence, sideways glances from others, and a muffled apology from the overly enthusiastic participant.

But, that one-word pronouncement preached an entire sermon.   It was not a religious outburst—this wasn’t church.  It was simply an authentic expression of enthusiasm and passion.   Someone in the middle of a meeting got way too excited…and, loudly proclaimed it to everyone within earshot. 

In our metric-driven, hard-nosed, bottom-line driven work world we have relegated spirit to the boardroom closet.   We like enthusiasm as long as it stays within the bounds of a rational business meeting.  After all, we’re dealing with serious stuff here, right? 

But, what if your customers loudly said “Amen” to your customer service?  Would you insist they “hold it down?”  Spirit and passion never get outside unless affirmed inside.  What can you do to help others say “Amen!?” 

Imaginative Service: Service as a Junior High Crush

Few emotional feelings more heart-racing and all-encompassing than the feeling associated with a junior high school crush. The moniker is used synonymous with puppy love—the adoring affection that may be felt by a puppy.  Remember how that special someone in junior high dominated your conversation and filled your thoughts.  The artifacts of a junior high school crush were impromptu notes, simple gestures of fondness, and actions that signaled attention to details that were very important to the target of your affection.

Customers love being loved.  This does mean some romantic attachment.  It does mean being treasured, valued, and even adored. And, the junior high school crush approach would mean finding simple and frequent ways to remind customers of their importance.  It would mean knowing and remembering special things about your customer-- not just their needs and expectations, but their issues, concerns, hopes and aspirations.  It would include making service simple, easy and their way. 

Why send a letter when customers prefer a call?  Why be inaccessible when customers need to reach you?  Why would processes ever be easy for you but cumbersome for your customers?  Treat your customers like you have a crush on them and they will likely love you right back.

Imaginative Service: Being Really Good

“When people ask me how do you make it in show business,” says famed actor Steve Martin,  “what I always tell them — and nobody ever takes note of it ‘cuz it’s not the answer they wanted to hear.  What they want to hear is here’s how you get an agent, here’s how you write a script, here’s how you do this — But I always say:  “Be so good they can’t ignore you.  If somebody’s thinking, How can I be really good? People are going to come to you. It’s much easier doing it that way than going to cocktail parties.” 

Imaginative service is all about being really good.  It means customers experiencing you pushing it to the top.  The pursuit of excellence says to customers, “You are so important to me that you get my absolute very best.”  “Being really good” includes service with an attitude—an unmistakable disposition of joy and confidence.  It includes paying attention to the details that, improperly maintained and managed, can spell mediocrity to the customer.  It means staying on top of the subtle signals customers experience that might disappoint.  It involves thinking beyond your customer’s needs to their unspoken aspirations.  And, it encompasses insuring customers witness internal service—colleague to colleague—that matches the same standard of distinction. 

If your customers gave your service a letter grade, what grade would you get?  What steps can you take to make “All A’s” on your next customer report card?  Give your customers the best that you have, and their best will come back to you.