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I have often suggested that a measure of a person and a brand is what people say about you when you are not around. My book “The Zappos Experience” includes many customer voices demonstrating how people talk about service brands that authentically care about them. For example, here’s an X (formerly Twitter) post:
@ptubach “Went to an Indian restaurant that gave me a free beer for showing up too early to get my food. This place is like the Zappos of Indian food!”
From my perspective, reflects a culture committed to impassioned service delivery, transparent communication, acceptance of differences and weirdness, and a highly playful/highly productive and innovative business where staff and customers become fully engaged and emotionally connected.
Micah Solomon, contributor to Forbes.com, posed the question –
“What would it mean if your business could become: the Zappos of muffler shops? the Ritz-Carlton of hardware stores? the Starbucks of hospitals?”
He goes on to say,
“To become the Ritz-Carlton of screwdriver distributors, or whatever your particular situation may be, is going to be a lofty, time-consuming, and somewhat expensive undertaking. It’s not going to happen overnight. Even if you learn to deliver Ritz-level service once, that is far, far different from building your systems, your hiring processes, and your cultural mindset to allow such service to occur as the norm in your organization.”
Since I’ve written books about all the companies Micah mentioned (Zappos, Starbucks, and Ritz-Carlton), here are a few tips on how to emulate their success.
- Commit to Impassioned Service: Foster a culture where employees are passionate about delivering exceptional service. Encourage them to go above and beyond to meet customer needs and exceed expectations.
- Promote Transparent Communication: Ensure that your communication with customers is clear and honest. Straight-forward communication builds trust and shows that you value their business.
- Embrace Differences and Weirdness: Celebrate the unique qualities of your employees and customers. Create an inclusive environment where diversity is appreciated and leveraged for creativity and innovation.
- Engage and Connect: Strive to build emotional connections with your employees and customers. This engagement leads to a more loyal and dedicated customer base, which, in turn, drives customer engagement, loyalty, and referrals.
- Be Creative and Present: Encourage creativity in solving customer problems. Being present, attentive, and resourceful shows customers that you genuinely care about them and are innovating ways to improve their experience.
Since the topic of authentic service is too big for a single post, look for part 2 on “walking the talk” next week.
Related: Owning Peace of Mind: Everyone Is Responsible for Customer Calm