This is my second compilation from my customer delight research archives. I want to share this with small business owners and consultants. I think it’s especially relevant to consider how we can differentiate our services to provide customers with exceptional experiences.
With bank failures, uneasiness in the economy, and massive layoffs, any competitive advantage that businesses can leverage includes true drivers of customer success or delight.
First, what is customer success? Most of us refer to levels of satisfaction.
Marketing research describes the zone of tolerance that ranges from adequate service as the baseline.
The zone of tolerance can be vague and wide. At the pinnacle of service is called desired service. This is when customers experience delight, or surprise (Barnes, 2022; Berman, p129).
Marketers and business owners should strive for a higher level than the baseline of satisfaction. If loyalty and brand equity are primary goals, it’s important to reach customer delight.
Have you, as a consumer, received an unexpected gesture that created an emotional bond with a brand or company?
Sometimes it’s easy for a business to focus too much on mapping a customer journey without understanding the customer’s reactions, feelings, and values they bring to their search. Whether it’s searching on social media or on a company website, each interaction is an opportunity to interact in a direct and impactful manner.
Do you recall the last time you, as a consumer, experienced exceptional services or products? Do you have a brand you are fanatical about?
A marketer or business owner should ask these types of questions and continue to dig deeper. Also, there is never one size fits all solution or shortcuts. Putting in the research and desire to understand and connect on a deeper level is key.
When you experience exceptional service, that experience becomes unforgettable. Here’s an example I still can’t stop thinking about.
Last February, I took a week-long vacation to Las Vegas. There was high anticipation for all the food I missed from the West Coast, such as In-n-Out burgers and decent tacos.
Hint hint: I already had built-in nostalgia and a strong connection with certain types of food and quality I missed. I was homesick and the thought of being closer in proximity to the SF Bay Area was my motivation for the restaurants and type of food I sought.
Highly anticipated were our reservations for David Chang’s Momofuku and Roy Choi’s Best Friend. Both of these restaurants were already managing my expectations. This was through their websites, the anticipation I already had from being a fan for over five years, and through various television shows I had already consumed. I knew both of their stories and their successes in the culinary space.
These are my recollections and analysis of customer expectations and how Roy Choi’s restaurant embodied the true definition of desired service at its best based on my experience.
Customer Expectations
Expectations: As a consumer, I have different expectations from the goods and services I purchase. I manage my expectations by assessing what level of service I can expect. I had high expectations from Roy Choi’s restaurant. On the other hand, I also looked forward to getting my hands on an In-n-Out burger as soon as I landed in Las Vegas. However, expectations from fine dining and fast food restaurants are different. Having mentioned that, evoking emotions of nostalgia is possible at any price or service range. See below for more on nostalgia.
Nostalgia: I spent my college years in Los Angeles and also visited Southern California on a regular basis since elementary school so the decor was nostalgic for me. The walls in the dining area were covered with scenes from various streets of Los Angeles and I would guess it was from the 80s. I recognized a lot of the downtown streets. This was the emotional aspect of creating a connection with the environment and the restaurant.
Servicescape: The restaurant that exceeded my expectations was Roy Choi’s restaurant. The decor is very unique and eclectic. The front of the restaurant is very unassuming. Upon entering the front area of the restaurant, it is disorienting because it looks like a futuristic, punk-ish liquor store. Bright neon colors signal this is going to be a very bright, loud, and memorable experience.
Staff training: The level of service was exceptional. The servers and staff members were observant and anticipated our needs. The staff also blended well with the entire environment, rather than standing out. They were easy to identify due to the track suits they wore (I loved these tracksuits!), but there was never a moment when I saw anyone looking bored or appearing as if they did not know where they should be or what they should be doing. It was a very fluid, uncontrived service delivery.
Anticipation to return: The food was so amazing that I can’t wait to return. I also want to return to L.A. and try to get reservations at Roy Choi’s other restaurants.
Here are my notes on how companies can take action to improve the zone of tolerance. Remember, the goal is to move from the baseline level of adequate service to that of desired service.
According to Schneider & Bowen (1999), emotions play a critical role in customers. Remember how nostalgia played a substantial role in my experience at Roy Choi’s restaurant?
Emotion is not passive. It’s experiential, and a level of active engagement needs to be present to respond both emotionally and positively. Collecting customer feedback is a start.
Implementing a delight program is not straightforward but begins with emphasizing customer service, rather than focusing solely on the products/services offered.
Determining what level of delight delivery is feasible is a great place to start. A strategy that works for one industry may not apply to another. It is important for managers to understand that with the right approach and implementation, the goal to achieve delight and increase customer loyalty is quite possible.
Even if implementing a delight program is currently not feasible, I think having serious discussions about a strategy is definitely worth it long term.
With the convergence of philosophy and psychology, there are certain ways to build trust or impact self-esteem through customer engagement (Schneider & Bowen, p38).
There are elements of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in terms of meeting customer needs. Understanding the psychological and motivational needs of customers will allow a customer-centric culture to be built.
For companies that need to compete, a company must value providing experiences and value to its customers, all stakeholders, and develop an infrastructure that embodies these values.
A company can manage customer needs through their HR policies and the extra effort invested in hiring the right people.
Skills can be taught, and employees can be trained. Attitude and the ability to go the extra mile for a customer tend to add more value and improve customer retention.
The next article will focus on how to build your team to improve customer experience. Focusing on employees that help to improve customer experience should be a priority for managers.
References:
Barnes, D. (2022). Module 3: Antecedents to Customer Delight. MBA 546 Coursepack.
Berman, B. (2005). How to Delight Your Customers. The Regents of the University of California. Vol. 48 no. 1, 129-151. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166331
Prokesch, S.E. (1995). Competing on Customer Service: An Interview with British Airways’ Sir Colin Marshall. Harvard Business Publishing. P102-112. https://hbr.org/1995/11/competing-on-customer-service-an-interview-with-british-airways-sir-colin-marshall
Schneider, B. & Bowen, D. (1999). Understanding Customer Delight and Outrage. Sloan Management Review, 35-45. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/understanding-customer-delight-and-outrage/
© 2023 Julie Lee