So,
here’s a captain obvious thought, “If you want repeat customers, treat them
like they already are!” This is a powerful lesson I learned recently
while visiting a restaurant in St. Simons Island, Georgia. The staff experience
at the Ocean Lodge Restaurant and Hotel
was so positive to the point when they asked me to write a review on TripAdvisor.com,
I had no problem doing so. You see, I had moved from being a customer,
to a Brand
Ambassador! This got me thinking out loud about how this
happens and how, as a leader, you can replicate the process for yourself.
According
to the 2013 State of the American
Workplace report produced by Gallup, just having a strong Brand Identity is
no longer sufficient to compete in the marketplace. Businesses, non-profits, colleges,
and other enterprises large or small must come up with new ways to rise above
the noise in an era of social media and marketing. Simply put, an enterprise
can no longer rely on their own resources and team to promote their brand, they
now need an army of enthusiastic customers to become volunteer brand ambassadors
to get the word out! But how do you do this? How have brands such as Apple,
Chick-fil-a, and Bose done so? I believe to produce brand ambassadors; three
elements must be present in any endeavor from colleges to food pantries to
corporations.
Customer Intimacy –
now before you get nervous, this is nothing creepy! Customer intimacy is simply
building an emotional
connection with a client or customer. I am sure all of us have
had the experience in dealing with an impersonal call center or retail staff.
In fact, we have pretty much have come to expect that is the way it will be in
such situations. But think about when you were pleasantly surprised. I bet you
shared that positive experience with friends and associates. Back to my
experience at the Ocean Lodge. I was expecting at most courteous service but
the wait and bar staff treated us like old friends. They laughed at (but also
made fun of) my lame jokes. In short, they made an authentic CONNECTION! On
the surface this may just seem like a slow night in a beach town in January but
according to Gallup, when enterprises intentionally engage and connect
with their customers, they experience a 240% increase
in business related outcomes. If I have said it once, I will say it again . . .
soft skills have hard dollar implications!
Brand Promise –
when an enterprise keeps or makes good on a promise to their customers and
clients, they create Brand Ambassadors. Again, back to my example, the staff asked us
about our preferences and made suggestions about some small plate choices and we were not
disappointed (I highly recommend the short-ribs if you go!). The other way an
enterprise does this is, when they fall below standards (which will inevitably happen),
they empower front line staff to
MAKE IT RIGHT! It may cost a little
bit to do so on the front end, but the good will this generates is likely to be
shared widely; thus, another brand ambassador is born!
Brand Difference –
finally, providing experiences, products, and services that are CLEARLY
different than competitor brands are vital in creating brand ambassadors.
Obviously, I am using a lot of food examples today but who has not heard a
friend or colleague tell you about a favorite restaurant you just have to go to if you happen to be
visiting their home town or city? Further, I am sure you have seen a TV show
where people travel hundreds of miles out of their way to eat at a certain
barbeque or burger joint even though I am sure there were similar options where
they live. The difference was that there was something about the quality of
product or experience that created such a competitive advantage.
See
how all of this works? And the beauty of such a business building strategy is
that you don’t have to triple the size of your marketing or sales team. Just CONNECT,
keep your PROMISES, and provide something of such quality or DIFFERENCE that your
customers will do all that work for free! In addition, they will spend more
time in or with your business, forgive the rare shortcoming, come back often,
spend more money, and will less likely be swayed by competitor brands.
A
few blogs ago, I discussed the difference of moving from an A to
a THE! In terms of your personal or organizational effectiveness. I
have a designed a companion workshop along that theme and a big part of the
curriculum is helping participants work on creating Brand Ambassadors. So, if
you ever find yourself lucky enough to be in St. Simons Island off the coast of
Georgia, make sure to visit the Ocean Lodge Hotel and Restaurant. Ask for Molly
at the bar and make sure Stephen waits on you! And just as an FYI, the shrimp
and grits is simply heaven on a plate!
Ocean
Lodge Hotel and Restaurant = www.oceanlodgessi.com
.
As always if I can help you and the
people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would
invite you to email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the
training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a
bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will
send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your
organization! Such an initiative would be critical to add value to your
organization!
Yours in Leadership (and
still walking both roads!),
Bill Faulkner
Principal Consultant –
Out Loud Strategies
Independent Coach,
Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email = bill@outloudinc.com
