Saturday, October 4, 2014

Service Is the New Marketing – Thanks to Social Media

In the words of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, “We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

Two recent experiences couldn’t have been more different, and as a result, I started to think how the two establishments valued service and repeat business. In today
s era of nearly instant communication and thanks to social media and the myriad of sites available to anyone with a smartphone or tablet, a recap of a good or bad experience can appear anywhere from a small blog to thousands of YouTube views to the national TV news.

I visited a local restaurant for lunch. While the restaurant I visited was in Los Angeles, there are other locations, so it’s not a one-off like the Cheers bar we all know and love from the TV show where you walk in the door, and “everyone knows your name.” However, at this restaurant, I have a favorite waiter who knows what I like and actually brings my favorite items without menus. Alas, on this particular visit, my favorite waiter wasn’t working. Since I have positive experiences at this restaurant 99% of the time, imagine my horror at this rare experience.

After entering the restaurant and waiting 10 minutes for the hostess, I was seated at a patio table. Then, after waiting another 10 minutes to be acknowledged by a server, I placed my order. After the order was taken, I saw the waiter walk out of the restaurant’s back door never to return. Yes, you read that correctly: I never saw him again. Some other waiters tried to provide decent service, but without “owning” my table, they were unsure about order details and did not check back to ask if anything was needed after the kitchen team delivered the food.

Contrast this poor excuse for service with another recent experience. I visited a large hotel (a member of the Westin hotel chain) for a family celebration in Southern California. From the moment I checked in to the moment I checked out, I was treated like a VIP. My name was used when the front desk personnel spoke to me, and my name was used when I dined at the hotel’s restaurant. It was clear that this hotel staff understood that people have choices when it comes to choosing a hotel. The staff at this hotel wanted its guests to remember their version of excellent customer service – and return in the future.

Think how quickly I could have posted my dissatisfaction with the restaurant. I could have posted a comment on Twitter or Foursquare, uploaded a photo of the waiter’s disappearance out the restaurant’s back door on Facebook or Pinterest, shared a short video on YouTube, or posted a negative review on Yelp. By contrast, I could have posted positive comments or photos or both about my hotel experience just as quickly.

With social media becoming such an integral part of a company’s overall marketing strategy these days, service is really the only way for companies to stand out from their competitors. While negative reviews tend to remain online longer, it is critical for customers, clients, stakeholders, and guests to share their positive experiences and feedback too.

So, at the conclusion of your business dealings and interactions, do you request that your customers talk about their positive experiences online? Do you follow up with them to repeat the ask? And how do you thank them? This should all be part of your social media strategy.


Happy Customer Experience Day! #CXDay



Image Courtesy: Boians Cho Joo Young via FreeDigitalPhotos.net