Outrageous Customer Service
The devil is in the details
By Jim Walton
CEO, Brand Acceleration, Inc.
Indianapolis and Charlotte
Have you ever had one of those customer service experiences that just make you say “Wow?” You know what I’m talking about. The ones you can’t wait to tell the whole world about. Good or bad, customer service experiences are memorable moments. They shape your opinions and forever impact a company’s brand.
In my presentation, “Whole Brand Thinking,” I explore several examples of how everyday activities impact your brand. From the coffee served to the way your office phone is answered, a sloppy approach to seemingly minor details can do great harm to an otherwise spotless reputation. Managed well, they can impress clients, creating a “wow” moment.
Ritz-Carlton Hotels
In the hospitality industry, it’s an accepted fact that Ritz-Carlton is the hands-down leader when it comes to outstanding customer service. In fact, companies in other industries attempt to emulate the Ritz-Carlton model.
What’s their secret? Their employees and leadership are very much aligned. The Ritz-Carlton gold standards of service are reinforced by a daily line-up that occurs at the beginning of every shift, for every team, at every Ritz-Carlton hotel in the world. Employees everywhere are encouraged to ‘break away’ to serve customers. Each employee has a card containing the twenty ‘basics’ and the mantra, “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” For example, using guest names and saying ‘good morning’ or ‘good evening’ rather than ‘hi’ supports the Ritz-Carleton brand image.
Ultimate Economic Developer Site Visit
A friend of mine is a site selection consultant. This is a person who is contracted by companies to find a new home for a company headquarters of expansion. On assignment for a company seeking a location for a new distribution center, he arranged three site visits for this client. Along with the company President and two other company representatives, they all hit the road to visit the three cities. The company had been through the process before and their pattern was to expand their sales area, build a distribution center and create 500 to 600 good paying jobs.
At city number one, the group was met at the economic development office where they were offered cookies and institutional coffee before loading into minivans for a tour of the city and a visit to the industrial park. Nothing new. Nothing outstanding.
The next day, when they arrived at city number two, their experience was much different. At the airport, they were greeted by the economic developer and Mayor who escorted the group to two stretch limousines. In the limos, they were offered freshly brewed premium coffee while being driven to the site being proposed for their new building.
At the location, the executives were greeted by a group of community leaders who were gathered under a tent where a catered lunch was served. Among the group were representatives of the city and county, promising a streamlined process, and utility companies who promised plenty of capacity. Also present was a local construction contractor, who had staked out the footprint of their most recent building, showing how the building would sit on the property. Local officials also presented a plan for a job fair, showing how they would assist with the process of hiring qualified employees.
Needless to say, company execs were blown away. So much so that they cancelled their visit to city number three and stayed another day to begin the process of making city number two the site of their next distribution center. This had clearly been a “Wow” moment for them.
Details matter
Whether it’s a big event such as a major site visit or other details such as a new brochure, stationery or web site, it’s important to manage each touch point wisely. With so much at risk, why would you risk so much by cutting corners on details that could put you at a serious disadvantage?
As a good friend and client once said to me, “Never give them a reason to diminish you.”
Brand Acceleration is a full-service advertising, brand management and public relations firm operating from Indianapolis, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. The agency’s focus is on economic development, architecture/engineering/construction, real estate and motorsports.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Are You a Visionary or a Tactician?
Will today’s actions be remembered in a hundred years?
By Jim Walton
CEO
Brand Acceleration, Inc.
I was recently in a meeting where I met a business owner who was pitching a relationship with a large Asian company. After several discussions with junior executives in the United States, he was invited to meet with the company President in Japan. His directive was to lay out his company’s long-range business plan and to explain how the two companies would partner for their mutual success.
He diligently crunched the numbers, led countless internal planning sessions and prepared his presentation. On his flight to Japan, he reviewed his presentation until he had memorized every word. He carefully anticipated every possible question and practiced each answer. He was set! Nothing could possible surprise him.
At the company headquarters, he gave a beautiful presentation, carefully detailing every reason why the two companies should forge a relationship. As directed, he presented his company’s long-range business plan, showing how they would look in five, ten and fifteen years. Brilliant!
The Japanese gentleman listened without interruption, carefully taking in every word, and when the presentation was over, he asked one question; “Where is your long-range plan?”
In Asian culture, “long-range” often has a considerably different meaning. To them, it could mean 25, 50 or even 100 years. What my American acquaintance had apparently presented was considered nothing more than a short-term tactical plan.
Having been in the marketing communications and public relations business for 30+ years, I’m surprised at how “short-term” or tactical American business has become. In our present weakened economy, it seems to be getting worse. Many companies, communities and states are completely focused on surviving another day, let alone a century.
I often get calls from companies or communities wanting a new web site, brochure or other tactic. I’m always glad to help in any way possible, but when I bring up the topic of long-range strategic planning, I often get a response that tells me there just isn’t any planning in place beyond the next year or election cycle.
Strategic planning
Even in today’s economy, it’s important to step back and take a big-picture look at your situation. Try to look beyond next month or next year and consider how things might look once we get on the other side of this economic cycle. Maybe “long-term,” for you, really is one, three or five years. But, it’s worth trying to look further out so that you can put ideas in place your company’s or community’s future. Consider a few key questions:
- How might the world (U.S.) look in two, five or ten years?
- How will these changes affect us?
- What industry changes are emerging now that will affect our future?
- How can we best position ourselves for these changes?
- How will our brand need to evolve for the future?
Tactical planning
Assuming that you’ve considered how to best position for the future, let’s consider how to begin the process of preparing a short-term tactical plan. If your longer-range strategy requires a shift in your brand position, then your tactics need to begin that evolutionary process now. Your ads, brochures, web site and other tools must begin to convey a message that is consistent with your future vision.
If your tools are entirely backward-looking, telling the story of who you are and where you’ve been, you risk being perceived as “stuck in the past.” Not a good position at all, especially if you have an up-and-coming competitor that is growing a brand position as a forward-looking leader.
Will it matter in 100 years?
Several years ago, I had a co-worker who always seemed to be unfazed by the daily challenges of life’s challenges. Whenever someone in the office was panicking or upset with a situation, he would look them in the eye and say, “In a hundred years, will anyone remember this moment?” He was so right, and his attitude encouraged me to be more focused on the big picture.
Visionary thinking
I love being in the presence of visionaries. I’ve met several in my lifetime. They have an incredible ability to see things that others don’t, usually because they are able to look beyond the minutia of the day and see far into the future. They’re sometimes seen as a little weird. The other skill they have is that they can convey their vision to the rest of their team, setting in motion a very powerful and influential future.
What is your vision?
Something that really excites me is the visioning process. Whether with one of our construction industry (a/e/c) clients or a team of economic development leaders, I love working with people to help look into their future.
I’d love to do that with you, too. Please feel free to contact me any time and we can have a forward-looking discussion. Who knows – maybe in a hundred years, future generations will still be talking about what was done back in 2010.
Brand Acceleration is a full-service advertising, brand management and public relations firm operating from Indianapolis, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. The agency'f focus is on economic development, architecture/engineering/construction, real estate and motorsports.
Will today’s actions be remembered in a hundred years?
By Jim Walton
CEO
Brand Acceleration, Inc.
I was recently in a meeting where I met a business owner who was pitching a relationship with a large Asian company. After several discussions with junior executives in the United States, he was invited to meet with the company President in Japan. His directive was to lay out his company’s long-range business plan and to explain how the two companies would partner for their mutual success.
He diligently crunched the numbers, led countless internal planning sessions and prepared his presentation. On his flight to Japan, he reviewed his presentation until he had memorized every word. He carefully anticipated every possible question and practiced each answer. He was set! Nothing could possible surprise him.
At the company headquarters, he gave a beautiful presentation, carefully detailing every reason why the two companies should forge a relationship. As directed, he presented his company’s long-range business plan, showing how they would look in five, ten and fifteen years. Brilliant!
The Japanese gentleman listened without interruption, carefully taking in every word, and when the presentation was over, he asked one question; “Where is your long-range plan?”
In Asian culture, “long-range” often has a considerably different meaning. To them, it could mean 25, 50 or even 100 years. What my American acquaintance had apparently presented was considered nothing more than a short-term tactical plan.
Having been in the marketing communications and public relations business for 30+ years, I’m surprised at how “short-term” or tactical American business has become. In our present weakened economy, it seems to be getting worse. Many companies, communities and states are completely focused on surviving another day, let alone a century.
I often get calls from companies or communities wanting a new web site, brochure or other tactic. I’m always glad to help in any way possible, but when I bring up the topic of long-range strategic planning, I often get a response that tells me there just isn’t any planning in place beyond the next year or election cycle.
Strategic planning
Even in today’s economy, it’s important to step back and take a big-picture look at your situation. Try to look beyond next month or next year and consider how things might look once we get on the other side of this economic cycle. Maybe “long-term,” for you, really is one, three or five years. But, it’s worth trying to look further out so that you can put ideas in place your company’s or community’s future. Consider a few key questions:
- How might the world (U.S.) look in two, five or ten years?
- How will these changes affect us?
- What industry changes are emerging now that will affect our future?
- How can we best position ourselves for these changes?
- How will our brand need to evolve for the future?
Tactical planning
Assuming that you’ve considered how to best position for the future, let’s consider how to begin the process of preparing a short-term tactical plan. If your longer-range strategy requires a shift in your brand position, then your tactics need to begin that evolutionary process now. Your ads, brochures, web site and other tools must begin to convey a message that is consistent with your future vision.
If your tools are entirely backward-looking, telling the story of who you are and where you’ve been, you risk being perceived as “stuck in the past.” Not a good position at all, especially if you have an up-and-coming competitor that is growing a brand position as a forward-looking leader.
Will it matter in 100 years?
Several years ago, I had a co-worker who always seemed to be unfazed by the daily challenges of life’s challenges. Whenever someone in the office was panicking or upset with a situation, he would look them in the eye and say, “In a hundred years, will anyone remember this moment?” He was so right, and his attitude encouraged me to be more focused on the big picture.
Visionary thinking
I love being in the presence of visionaries. I’ve met several in my lifetime. They have an incredible ability to see things that others don’t, usually because they are able to look beyond the minutia of the day and see far into the future. They’re sometimes seen as a little weird. The other skill they have is that they can convey their vision to the rest of their team, setting in motion a very powerful and influential future.
What is your vision?
Something that really excites me is the visioning process. Whether with one of our construction industry (a/e/c) clients or a team of economic development leaders, I love working with people to help look into their future.
I’d love to do that with you, too. Please feel free to contact me any time and we can have a forward-looking discussion. Who knows – maybe in a hundred years, future generations will still be talking about what was done back in 2010.
Brand Acceleration is a full-service advertising, brand management and public relations firm operating from Indianapolis, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. The agency'f focus is on economic development, architecture/engineering/construction, real estate and motorsports.
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