Business and Customer Experience Marketing Tips from "Unreasonable Hospitality"

Want to add a good book to your non-fiction to-be-read pile? I recently read "Unreasonable Hospitality, The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect" by Will Guidara, and even if you don't work in a restaurant or other hospitality venue, there are numerous business and customer experience marketing take-away tips, and I highly recommend it.

According to the book's back flap, "Will Guidara is the founder of Thank You, a hospitality company that helps leaders across industries transform their approach to customer service. He is also the former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park. In his book "Unreasonable Hospitality," he shares many of the lessons about service and leadership he learned throughout his career in restaurants and makes the case that any business can choose to be in the hospitality industry by taking ordinary transactions and turning them into memorable experiences. A native of New York and graduate of Cornell University, he's co-authored four cookbooks. The restaurant Eleven Madison Park, under the leadership of Guidara and Daniel Humm, received four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and then in 2017, arrived at the top of the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. In addition, the restaurant was the recipient of seven James Beard awards, including Outstanding Service and Outstanding Restaurant in America."

I totally agree with Simon Sinek, who wrote in the book's foreword, "Will not only transformed a restaurant, but challenged our entire idea of service. The lessons in "Unreasonable Hospitality" have as much relevance to real estate agents and insurance brokers - even government agencies - as they do for people who work in restaurants and hotels. His thoughts on leadership are as applicable to business-to-consumer companies as they are to buiness-to-business companies. Indeed, any organization would benefit from his thinking."

I placed so many post-it notes throughout the book that it was hard to see the pages! So, it should come as no surprise that I found a myriad of business and customer experience marketing tips for leaders of organizations in any industry sprinkled throughout. 

Here are my top five:

(1) The 95/5 Rule: Manage 95 percent of your business's operations and finances down to the penny. Then spend the remaining 5 percent "foolishly," intentionally investing it in creative, unquantifiable, and emotionally impactful gestures for your guests. Early in Will's career while working at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, he designed a gelato cart for the Sculpture Garden. After managing the budget aggressively, he believed that he'd earned the right to splurge on expensive blue gelato spoons. As he wrote in the book, "I had to have them; the Sculpture Garden deserved them. Nothing else would do...[that one small detail] would dramatically transform the experience of getting a gelato at that cart."

(2) Intentional Magic: Pay close attention to what guests say in passing. After overhearing a conversation at a guest's table, Will once sprinted outside his restaurant to buy a $2 street hot dog for a group of tourists who said they regretted not trying one. It was cut into four pieces and placed on a plate with mustard, ketchup, sauerkraut, and relish and served on white tablecloths to create a legendary memory. The guests freaked out as Will told them, "We're thrilled you chose us for your last meal in New York, but we didn't want you to go home with any culinary regrets."

(3) Hospitality versus Service: Service is WHAT you do for people and how efficiently you do it. Hospitality is HOW you make them FEEL while you're doing it. Another way to think about this concept: Service is black and white, while hospitality is color.

(4) Team-First Leadership: You cannot provide great hospitality to customers without first providing it to your team. Hire for mindset over experience and give more compliments than criticisms.

(5) Employer Branding and Employee Experience: The best way to respect and reward the A players on your team is to surround them with more A players. You cannot expect someone to keep giving all of themselves if you put someone alongside them who isn't willing to do the same.

SHARE THIS: A leader needs to be a host. They need to pursue with creativity and intention, a genuine sense of connection amongst the people that work with them. Because if we don't feel like we are in a community with our colleagues, we'll never do anything. ~Will Guidara #BookReview #Leadership #CX #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Image Credit: Amazon.

Read "Outside the Gates" - one of Will's memorable e-newsletters about customer experience marketing:

https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/premeal/outside-the-gates

If you'd like to read more from Will, sign up for his bi-weekly newsletter:

https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/premeal

Read examples of amazing customer experience marketing here on my Blog: Want Your Brand to Soar Above the Competition? (April 2018):

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2018/04/want-your-brand-to-soar-above.html

Feedback Tips from Moulin Rouge! the Musical

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Pantages Theater in Hollywood to watch a performance of MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL. 

As a fan of musical theater, this was great fun. The show featured singing, dancing, music, lighting, amazing choreography, colorful costumes, convincing scenery, and talented performers!

Imagine my surprise when a few hours after the show ended and I returned home, I received an email from the Pantages Theater that read, "Thank you for joining us for MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, especially now. Every response is read and considered. Please take a few moments to offer your thoughts, so that we may understand and improve. Click to complete the survey. Thank you."

I have attended dozens of musicals and dramatic theatrical productions in my lifetime and never once received an email like this. I was incredibly impressed because of the content of the email and the timing, so close to the end of the show.

My theater and parking experience had been excellent so I was able to share that information while completing the survey. Since I have tickets for upcoming shows, I'm sure that the Pantages is happy that I'm a happy repeat customer/fan.

Here's a highlight from the show's review in The San Diego Union-Tribune by Pam Kragen, "Besides the eye candy that "Moulin Rouge" provides, the most entertaining and funny part of the show is the clever storytelling its Tony Award-winning orchestrators have created by weaving together and overlapping snippets of songs by more than 160 pop/rock composers, including Lady Gaga, Adele, Elton John, Katy Perry, The Police, the Rolling Stones, and more." There was also music from Tina Turner and "The Sound of Music."

What can your brand learn from this efficient request for feedback?

Image Credit: Pantages Theater's email communication.

Enter the spectacular world of the Moulin Rouge! The Musical:

https://youtu.be/fQucEg85p50?si=VJb-dqSwYvGTEHgY

Read about the history of the Moulin Rouge in Paris:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_Rouge

Read secrets about Paris' Moulin Rouge:

https://frenchmoments.eu/moulin-rouge-paris/

Check out Moulin Rouge art by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/333990

and

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/61128/at-the-moulin-rouge

and

https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46696-quadrille-moulin-rouge

Read the entire story of the Moulin Rouge! The Musical:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_Rouge!_(musical)

Tips for Excellent Customer Experiences, Interactions & Feedback

 

When I have either positive or negative customer experiences, I often hear someone’s voice in my ear. This person talks and writes about customer touch points, customer journey maps, and customer experience (CX) marketing. Since I’m always in the mood to discuss customer experiences and ways for brands to improve the way they treat their customers, fans, and stakeholders, it’s always a good time for my friend and CX promoter Annette Franz to appear here on my Blog.

Annette Franz is an internationally recognized customer experience thought leader, coach, keynote speaker, and author. With almost 30 years in the customer experience profession, Annette Franz, CCXP is founder and CEO of CX Journey Inc. She started her career at J.D. Power and Associates and spent much of the next 25 years before founding CX Journey Inc. leading consulting services for the major voice of the customer (VOC) platforms, helping clients in a variety of industries. She has also worked on client-side CX strategy for Mattel, Fidelity Investments, and Compellon. You can find Annette online at her website at www.cx-journey.com, on Twitter @CXJourney and @AnnetteFranz, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/annette-franz.

QUESTION: Since March 2020, which brands have stood out by providing excellent customer service during the covid pandemic?

ANNETTE FRANZ: Oddly enough, the first brand that comes to mind is Delta Airlines, and I haven’t flown since March 2020, but they were the last airline I flew. The brands that have won during the pandemic have done what Delta does and has always done: people first, timely and relevant communication, and doing what’s right.

Delta was one of the first airlines to show (not just say) how they were cleaning their planes, and they are one of the only airlines that still keep the middle seat empty in a three-seat row and the aisle seat empty in planes with no middle seat. They’re still allowing passengers to change or cancel flights without a fee. And they are one of a few airlines who offer at-home covid tests to help passengers comply with requirements of proof of a negative test. They also provide passengers with a care kit that includes a mask and hand sanitizer.

Their communications are always informative and on point; updates about travel requirements, their policies, how they’re keeping passengers and employees safe, and more, are always well- received.

QUESTION: Which social platform is the best tool for creating a positive customer experience, and why? If different, which platform is the most effective for addressing customer complaints or issues in a timely manner, and why?

ANNETTE FRANZ: I’m not sold on the fact that social media (most probably think of Twitter for this) is a tool for creating a positive customer experience. Yes, it’s a communication medium, and that’s it. Otherwise, customers tend to use it as a last resort to get a brand’s attention (and everyone else’s).

Here’s what creates a great experience: take the time to listen to your customers; understand who they are as well as their needs, pain points, and problems to solve; and learn how well you’re helping them and meeting their expectations today – then take all of that and design an experience that meets their needs. A positive experience is deliberately designed to be that way. Once people are on social media to talk to a brand, it’s too late; something has already gone wrong, most of the time.

TWEET THIS: Once people are on social media to talk to a brand, it’s too late. Something has already gone wrong. –@AnnetteFranz #CX #brandexperience

QUESTION: What three things must a brand do to create a consistently exceptional customer experience?

ANNETTE FRANZ: They’ve got to ensure that the foundation is in place within their organizations to do that, so they’ve got to ensure that the culture is customer-centric. That only happens when there’s a commitment from – and alignment across – the executive team. So, number one is culture and leadership.

If customers are first, employees are more first. Brands must focus on employees and take care of them, since the employee experience drives the customer experience. Happy employees are creative, innovative, and productive, and that bleeds into the experience that customers have.

And finally, customer understanding. It’s the cornerstone of customer-centricity. It’s all about taking the time to get into your customers’ hearts and minds to learn more about them, their needs, their pain points, and the problems they are trying to solve.

QUESTION: Bill Gates has a famous quote, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” What does that quote mean to you?

ANNETTE FRANZ: Unhappy customers share feedback about their experiences. Brands must listen and take to heart what they hear. They need to fix it. Unhappy customers share this feedback because they want brands to succeed, and with that success must come a better experience, or they’ll walk. Feedback really is the greatest gift that a brand can get.

TWEET THIS: Feedback really is the greatest gift that a brand can get. –@AnnetteFranz #CX #brandexperience

QUESTION: Jeff Bezos has a famous quote, “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.” What does that quote mean to you?

ANNETTE FRANZ: I’ll quote the closing paragraph of my book to answer this question. The last chapter is an open letter to CEOs. It closes like this:

I've got news for you, and it's really the bottom line: It's all about the customer! It's all for the customer. Everything you do. Everything you create. Every process. Every product or service. If you don't infuse the customer into your business and into everything you do, then I don't know why you're in business. It's not to maximize shareholder value. That's an outcome. But the means to get there is to relentlessly focus on the customer, day in and day out. When a great experience with your company becomes the customer's new normal, everyone, including your shareholders, will be happy. If you need a little reality check, pause for a moment, and imagine your business with no customers.

QUESTION: Which five customer experience books should everyone read while staying safe inside during the pandemic?

ANNETTE FRANZ: Well, of course, it goes without saying that one of those books has to be mine, Customer Understanding: Three Ways to Put the “Customer” in Customer Experience (and at the Heart of Your Business). Others that I would recommend include Hal Rosentbluth’s The Customer Comes Second; Bob Chapman’s Everybody Matters; Dave Gray’s Gamestorming; and an oldie but goodie: Heskett & Sasser’s The Service Profit Chain.

QUESTION: What’s your favorite brand, and does customer experience make it stand out?

ANNETTE FRANZ: One of my favorite brands is Starbucks. The experience really is what makes it stand out. Every interaction, every channel – it’s just easy. The baristas are always friendly, cheerful, patient, and happy to help. The product and the selection are good. It’s an all-around “this is how it should be done” type of brand.

My thanks to Annette for appearing here on my Blog and for sharing useful take-aways for all brands to improve their customer experiences.

Check out Annette’s Previous Appearances on my Blog:

Fall Back to Reading with 12 Thought-Provoking Business Books - Including a Review of Annette's Book
https://debbielaskey.blogspot.com/2019/10/fall-back-to-reading-with-12-thought.html

Sharing Secrets about Customer Experience Marketing
https://debbielaskey.blogspot.com/2018/06/sharing-secrets-about-customer.html

Customer Service Is Not Something to Drive Around
https://debbielaskey.blogspot.com/2016/06/customer-service-is-not-something-to.html

Image Credit: CallCentreHelper.com.