I've Been Thinking...

About companies that know how to do great…no I mean extraordinary… service. I think I can count on one hand the number of companies I have seen lately that know how to do service in a STAND OUT way. And by STAND OUT I mean they focus on not only getting it right every time, but they do great, extraordinary or unusual things to get remembered at the same time. In today’s competitive service economy, STAND OUT is the only way to do service.

Last month’s newsletter presented how to create the STAND OUT workplace. That is a workplace that does great things to help attract and keep the best employees. And employee-focused workplaces lead to customer-focus businesses. Employees who are properly matched to their roles, have an active voice in making decisions, own their performance and have a personal stake in company success create a high performing workplace. High performing workplaces consider doing STAND OUT things for customers.

Imagine for a minute that your employees do as little as possible during the day. They get the job done but just barely. How will this type of employee ever be engaged enough to do extraordinary or STAND OUT service for a customer? So first things first - get the right people on your team and in the right roles... then give them some information about what extraordinary service looks like, give them some freedom to try it and watch the outstanding reviews come back from your customers.

Let's introduce the components of STAND OUT service. It is best presented by what I call the Loyalty Formula. And our focus is on loyal customers - those customers that shop only with us and spread the good word about who we are to their friends. Satisfied customers may or may not come back, so in this age of service competition, I know that my only approach with customers must be to create loyal ones.

So back to the Loyalty Formula - it has two parts and is easy to learn and easy to use:

Get It Right – we must get what the customer wants and needs right 100% of the time or we are not even invited to the game. If we get it right, the best customer we create is a "satisfied" customer. These customers do not necessarily come back. I'll show you an example of this in a minute.
Add "STAND OUT" or the "and then some" – this is the place that once we get it right, we still do something that makes us stand out in the minds of the customer; we impress them by getting it right AND doing something that gets us remembered. This is where we look to hook the customer’s emotions and passions. And in this age of information blur, if we do not get remembered we get forgotten. If we do not do something that stands out, we are bland, boring…and just like everyone else.

So let's see it in action.

Let's say that I go to a restaurant and order a steak prepared "medium.". The steak comes out in a reasonable amount of time and is cooked as I ordered. Am I impressed? Not really - it is what the restaurant is supposed to do. So at this point in the service event, I am satisfied – nothing more. Now, let's say that my waiter knows (through our conversation) that I love mushrooms on my steak so he brings me a serving to try... free. He also introduces himself and asks my name... which he uses whenever we speak for the time I am in the restaurant. Now this restaurant is starting to do STAND OUT... get it right AND do something more. They are connecting me emotionally to the event and as studies have recently shown, customers who are emotionally connected to the service event buy significantly more than others and come back. Now I remember this restaurant... I come back and I tell others about it. I have become a loyal customer.

STAND OUT only works if you first get it right for a customer. Loyalty happens in both getting it right AND standing out. Connect your employees emotionally to your service event - it is the only way to drive loyalty. Try it... before your competition does. Check out our SuperService program and service-focused keynotes.

Take Action

This month we focus on developing a Culture of Service – but remember that we can focus on service only after we have create a Culture of Performance. We need engaged and passionate employees – because these employees will understand and commit to an extraordinary or STAND OUT level of service. Employee first, service second.

Now that we know we need to do STAND OUT service, let’s review some that employees can create STAND OUT in your workplace:

Create a service program with an acronym like ACE – the Absolute Customer Experience or GUTS – Guaranteed Unconditional Total Service. Have employees create the acronym and the program to raise the "STAND OUT" of the company.
Host monthly customer service focus meetings. Have all employees attend and discuss topics that affect service and customers. Get all employees talking about customers.
Subscribe to great customer service periodicals or newsletters (check our site for ideas); have employees review them and present an idea or topic at each team meeting.
Have employees create customer survey questions that are asked to customers that call or come in. Develop a reward system for employees based on service improvements identified on the surveys.
Have employees develop STAND OUT events each month for customers. Be sure that the STAND OUT events are distinct, high energy and get the company remembered.
Require each employee to submit 3 ideas a month on ways to improve service and focus on customer loyalty.

Invent other ideas. The important point is that all employees are first activated and secondly held accountable for an extraordinary service response. Have fun with it…employees work better when they are having a good time. And remember STAND OUT. Review the Customer Service section of our Idea Center for more great ideas.

Your Tools

Humanetrics wants you to think your way to success. To help you with this we introduce BLOGucation (Daily Power Learning), our Success Formula process and worksheet, our programs and our keynotes. Remember that you can also find great resources, articles and links to some of today’s best thinking and sites. Use the sources, review the articles... get smart. And when you need some help to raise your performance to a power, contact us and let’s get started together. Until then, use what you find on the site to be your best; your employees and your customers need you to be great.