Maya Angelou once said: People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya knew a thing or two about the spirit of customer service lessons didn’t she? Her secret of course was focusing on making people feel good about themselves. And, by transference, feel good about the business that was serving them.
Why is this a powerful secret? Because doing nice things for people often get talked about. A lot. And things that get talked about are at the core of word of mouth marketing. The most valuable way to execute your marketing, in our humble opinion.
There’s much to be learned from companies that place a value on the details of customer service. For the small business, there are practical lessons, such as how to increase business by developing a relationship with existing customers.
For larger corporations, there are lessons to be learned about company philosophy and brand development, and how taking a customer-first approach can benefit all aspects of an organization. And perhaps most simply, businesses can learn how to emphasize customer service from those that are doing it best.
Regardless of what lessons there are to be learned, or whether or not businesses choose to adopt this approach, there is little doubt that for many businesses, placing customers first leads to real benefits.
As it turns out, in a world where there are ever more businesses competing for the consumer’s dollar, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to make those consumers feel appreciated and wanted.
Fundamental lessons from the best
Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Zappos, LL Bean, Legos. These are our favorites among the best of the best when it comes to customer service. But what lessons can these companies impart?
Well, each adopts different policies in order to meet their customers’ needs but the fundamental lesson is simple: do everything possible to appease the customer, and you will earn his or her loyalty, and that means return business. So how do businesses achieve this?
Well, let’s take a look.
Amazon.com
When Amazon started out, the idea of doing most of your shopping online was still foreign for most. In order to convince individuals to skip the department store and shop online instead, Amazon needed to first earn their trust – and they did that in part through their now quite well-known return policy.
Nearly everything on the online giant’s website can be returned within 30 days of purchase, no questions asked. This return policy is seen by consumers as a sort of safety net, helping build trust and loyalty.
Customer service … Marriott
I have been a loyal Marriott customer from the start of my business career for over 45 years. Did quite a bit of travel throughout my career, and got sold early on with Marriott, from their Rewards Program, one of the best, if not the best in the industry.
Of course, in addition, their properties were all consistently outstanding. But since my retirement, I have not had the opportunity to stay with them very often.
But for my wife and I’s 20th anniversary, we decided to visit Miami Beach for a couple of nights. For my many years of loyalty, I am a Marriott Platinum Rewards member. The most significant benefit of this is having access to the concierge lounge and upgrade to a nicer room if available.
When I called to make a reservation, the corporate reservation desk person reminded me that he would request an ocean view upgrade, in case they were any available. A few days later, after thinking about it, I called the local hotel front desk, told them we had a reservation for 2 nights in celebration of our 20th anniversary, and asked for a special favor for the ocean view room for this special occasion. The front desk assured me they would do their best.
On our arrival at check-in, the front desk welcomed us with a warm anniversary congratulations and welcome. They said they were able to find us a very nice ocean view room. We certainly were not disappointed.
Later, after getting back from an afternoon of sightseeing and a dinner on the bay, we returned to the room to receive a very nice bottle of champagne and fresh strawberries from the front desk and hotel chef. What a great surprise and ‘wow’ customer experience.
The thing is this: the front line of any brand in the marketplace is not the advertising, packaging, or product design. It is the interaction of the customer experiences that determine the brand’s reputation to a large degree. It is human and emotion, and at that critical time when a customer engages with your employees at your touch points, your brand (your product and reputation) will either be enhanced or diminished. No doubt about our experience was there?
Ritz-Carlton
If someone told you that Ritz-Carlton Hotels was voted one of the best companies for customer service, you likely wouldn’t be surprised. Our research on them certainly didn’t surprise us. And that’s kind of the point; by making customer service a priority, the company has established a reputation as being always willing to put the customer first.
And this reputation not only engenders loyalty from existing customers, it attracts new customers as well. Ultimately, that is the promise of customer service and the point of brand reputation – to earn new business.
LL Bean
For some companies, it’s a magical return policy, while for others, it’s anticipating the customer’s needs before he or she is even aware of it. Retail giant L.L. Bean takes a simple approach; working every day to improve customer service across the board, by implementing policies and taking steps to put the customer first.
And perhaps this lesson, above all, is the one to take away from this article. If you run a business, whether it is Google or a local coffee shop, put your customers’ needs first – work hard every day to keep them satisfied, and in turn, they will give you their business.
Trader Joe’s
We frequent Trader Joe’s when we can (none in our local area) and we like to witness their operation first hand. Our study shows them particularly adept at random acts of kindness. Here is a story to illustrate.
An elderly man, 89 years of age, was snowed in at his Pennsylvanian home around the holidays, and his daughter was worried that he wasn’t going to have access to enough food due to the bad weather in the area.
Calling multiple stores in a frantic attempt to find anyone who would deliver to her father’s home, she finally got ahold of someone at Trader Joe’s, who told her that they also do not deliver … normally.
Given the extreme circumstance, they told her that they would gladly deliver directly to his home, and even suggested additional delivery items that would fit perfectly with his low sodium diet.
After the daughter placed the order for the food, the employee on the phone told her that she didn’t need to worry about the price; the food would be delivered free of charge.
The employee then wished her a Merry Christmas.
Less than 30 minutes later the food was at the man’s doorstep—for free! In refusing to let red tape get in the way of a customer in need, Trader Joe’s shows that customer service doesn’t need to be about the fanfare, it can simply be about doing the right thing.
