Accidental Engagement: Not an accident

 

 

Since many of us are now claiming to be many things, I have decided to borrow a leaf also. Please don't get me wrong, there is nothing particularly wrong about claiming to be whatever. In fact, it is a healthy thing to do. Engaging in such an exercise is pure self-preservation. It think it was Aristotle that asserted “Man Know Thyself”. In the spirit of Mallam Nasir El Rufai's publication; The Accidental Public Servant, I am borrowing the phrase "accidental" with the hope that this will help create some mystic about the subject I intend to write on. I am not alleging that Mallam El Rufai chose the title to create mystic but I must confess that the title has something invitational about it. In this piece, I will be sharing some few thoughts about customer engagement.

 

 

I transited from my office in Central London to Leyton; North London in a journey of about 2 hours using the tube station and the metropolitan bus. Exhausted, I made my way through the elevator to access my room. Upon clocking in using my biometric key; tired and exhausted, I was invited into the room by a bottle of drink and snack. How come they knew I was famished? This experience is a classic case of thoughtful customer engagement and connection. Little things do matter.

 

 

I am not a customer service engagement expert nor am I an engagement consultant but I know one thing or the other about what I want. What qualifies me to write about this is not because I have some intermediate theoretical knowledge about customer service development. Of course I do. I have chosen to write about this because of the frustration that I have endured. With the emergence of the virtual space, it appears that there is a lot of confusion on how to manage this "new" world. Entities that have excelled in the physical realm of service often find it hard to create the same unique magic experience in their virtual platforms.

 

 

I can imagine that there are volumes of literature already on this topic. In fact many have become best sellers espousing nuggets and insights on how to manage the virtual space. I do not wish to repeat anything that has been said. In fact, I say AMEN to most of all the theories. My opinion is however that we must go back to the basics. This is always a serendipitous thing to do. It is a wise thing to get away from the verbose and remind ourselves of what really is expedient. On this subject matter of engagement, the truth is not far fetched. The rules of customer service engagement have remained largely unchanged. The same principles that govern physical market interactions apply largely to the virtual world. So what are these principles? Look no further than to practical examples of institutions where the principle s has been practiced. They are all around us. For my inference, I will refer to Ritz Carlton and as you should expect Apple. Starbucks is also a great practitioner of excellence in customer service. I will address two principles as espoused herein:

 

 

Make the welcome memorable!

Thoughtfulness and Order are two key ingredients. There is a first a place for everything and everything must be at its place. Engaging the customer requires that the initial point of contact is memorable. First impression surely counts. Nobody does the welcome better than Ritz Carlton and Apple. Holiday makers and guests who visit Ritz often find it difficult to lodge in another facility. The gate personnel in Ritz is trained to un-nerve the guest by wearing a wonderful ‘duchen” smile. If you want to know more about this type of smile, get Guy Kawasaki’s book; Enchantment. I was recently at a mentoring conference and one thing that remains very clear in my memory was the welcome. Guests were welcome by a train of greeters who were all beaming with great smiles and courtesy cheers. I personally was overwhelmed by the gesture. That experience is such a golden moment. The memory lingers on.

 

For virtual platforms, it is essential that thought be taken to give a memorable welcome. Google got it right when it designed its user interface (UI) in such a way that heralded its search column. Google didn’t have any first mover advantage but today enjoys such matchless brand equity in the search business. Today, the word Google is synonymous to search. While it is arguable that what is responsible for Google’s success is not unconnected to its unique insight and algorithm which yields more relevant search results, it would have been quite impossible for Google to lead that market if Google didn’t deliver a unique UI. Google’s secret is trapped in its uber-simple welcome philosophy which recognised what people would respond positively to. The best way to achieve a memorable service experience is to design it.

 

 

 

 

Delight and surprise!

This is not about scrappy freebies and shabby freemium.  This is about according deliberately flattering the customer whatever the definition is. Everyone loves to be flattered. The star treatment at Ritz Carlton is an industry standard. Starbucks cafes are designed with the highest level of customer centric consciousness. This is very consistent with the company's desire to make Starbucks cafe a 3rd place. From time to time, coffee Baristas are empowered to delight the customer. If a customer does not enjoy his latte cup, a Barista is so empowered to fix him another cup of his choice. This orientation should be a rule and not an exception. An unrepentant adoption of this principle ensures that the people will keep coming back.

 

In the similitude of  magical welcomes, entities can do more in their virtual platforms by giving more to the customer. Of a truth, creativity is greatly needed to deliver a delightful experience. Care and caution must be exercised however so as not to inundate the customer. According to Guy Kawasaki, you must be sure to remove all unnecessary barriers. If you are at a loss to what delight entails, I recommend that you visit coca cola's happiness islands for a time of your life.

 

 

 

 

It is safe to conclude that life is a ceaseless continuum of conversations. However, of all things that is accidental, effective customer engagement is not. It is a cause and effect arrangement where we must invest to get the right response. In these commercial conversations (transactions), not getting a positive response creates a dim future for the enterprise. True brands do more than sell. They engage!


Image Credit: Google Image