Getting the customer experience right
But there is still relatively little differentiation in service tiers and 'human' resources are still underestimated (as compared to getting the strategy right).
My customer experiences on a recent short Easter vacation in the USA drove home the incredible differences in service culture. It also showed me the direction that successful service industry players will need to go - whether it is the vacation/entertainment industry, real estate, banking or retail sector.
As far as Poland has come during the past decade, I realized that the U.S. tourist industry has also developed substantially during the past 15 years or so. Interestingly, product quality - especially in the service industry - can already be matched in certain parts of Poland, especially Warsaw. Just to name two obvious comparisons on quality - there is no doubt that restaurant food is better in Poland, and all but the most expensive hotels can seem a little bit shabby by comparison to international hotels operating in Poland.
Service was another matter altogether. In Florida, the competitive advantage of the U.S. service culture is on proud display. It shows the lengths that service organizations can and do go to in order to turn customers into loyal customers. It also showed that the right approach to selling and serving customers - broadly termed total customer experience - does create a competitive advantage. It also creates a competitive advantage that cascades over into the entire community. Orlando, for instance, has gone from a sleepy Florida lake community two decades ago into the world's leading tourist destination (50 million visitors a year).
The Customer Service advantage is all a matter of having the right people, properly empowered with appropriate training. What sets apart the successful service industry organizations from their peers? I have taken examples of 'best practices' within the industry to examine a couple of key areas of differentiation:
1. Product (and Customer) Knowledge
Marriott Vacation Club - a fancy name for Marriott's timeshare properties - has created an extremely efficient sales system. Not only does the sales system generate a substantial number of customers/sales, but it also reinforces and connects closely with the Marriott loyalty and marketing programs.
The sales process starts at a 'sales stand' where an outgoing and friendly clean cut woman or man engages you in a conversation and gently (but firmly) schedules a meeting with the potential customer (this is a long way from the hostesses in Poland who distribute product samples in mini-skirts).
Timeshares have a bad reputation for high-pressure tactics, but from the outset the Marriott representatives - using glossy promotional material and no-gimmick rewards - create some trust. They also begin the selection process by gathering a few important details prior to appointment - the details then serve as a starting point for the sales presentation.
The sales pitch is not a pressure pitch, which is what timeshares are known for. Rather, the 'vacation specialist' asks plenty of questions. She/he then tailors the message directly to the family/individual and their reasons for buying. Each customer gets a tailored sales message using different combinations of features and incentives (not discounts) that encourage them to buy. The combination of features makes the Marriott offer completely unique and therefore able to command a premium.
For this approach to work, there needs to be a well-trained 'vacation specialist' with the right personality and approach. Marriott has also created a system that emphasizes the special features of its 'team'. Vacation specialists are the kind of people that you instinctively like and trust. They have the ability to learn the system and then they are trained extensively. No one else sells timeshares with this system - although now some of the other hotel chains like Hyatt and Sheraton are moving more and more in the same direction.
2. Independent Decisions/Initiative
As I checked into my hotel, the agent upgraded me - for a nominal fee of $50 - to a suite. Ostensibly, this was because of my loyalty program status. However, it struck me later that it is also a way of utilizing an unreserved room for the purpose of marketing and showing more of the hotel's possibilities to a frequent guest. What a great marketing tool (which also generated revenue)!
A system or program like this is based on trust; in other words the empowerment of the employees to decide who is to be invited to the program and when. In Poland, such empowerment often results in freebies being given to friends.
In Business-to-Business environments the special promotions are often oriented only at the VIPs of client companies. However, it creates loyalty to focus the programs and benefits on the users and purchasers of the services (within the range of propriety, of course).
Trusting junior employees requires the right employees. It also requires management who invest in training and are willing to tolerate some glitches on the way to success - after all staff empowerment also means that the staff may make mistakes.
3. Focus - Customer Experience
The theme parks in Orlando are all quite different from one another. Disney is the best known. However, Anheuser-Busch - the largest U.S. beer brewer - owns a number of the other major attractions (including Seaworld and Tampa's Busch Gardens). Not to be outdone, Universal Studios also has a major theme park. Each of these parks offers a different type of customer experience and signature.
In each of these different parks, clear decisions have been made with respect to pricing, set-up strategy and goals. They use the feedback of their customers to continually tailor (and improve) the product.
An example of a recent innovation is Discovery Cove, which is a sub-park of Seaworld. Building on the success of their 'Dolphin Swim' program, they developed a specialized park that allows guests to swim with dolphins and manta rays, as well as to swim in a simulated reef environment. The demands of the system require them to limit the number of guests each day to no more than 1,000. As a result, the price for a day runs at about $200. However, the experience reflects the price, and the environment more closely resembles an exclusive resort than a theme park.
Discovery Cove was a risky venture - it required a substantial capital investment, fulfilled only a niche market and at a relatively high price. It is so successful that reservations need to be made more than three months in advance, and now Seaworld is expanding to offer shark swimming encounters as well.
The lesson for companies in Poland is to move boldly and focus their customer experiences - meeting their expectations. This requires senior executives capable of taking calculated risks, and empowered to do so.
4. Efficient Service
In the example of the Marriott Vacation Club, if a customer decides to buy a timeshare, usually at a cost of $15,000 to $30,000, they can process the paperwork, including a credit check, on the spot. Compare this to Poland, where buying a new car - even with a small credit - can take as long as two to three weeks to process. Efficient sales pitches require efficient closing, when the decision is made.
Efficient services also mean effectively solving problems, and avoiding mistakes with documentation up front. Every 'mistake' as perceived by a customer requires between two to three next steps to be rectified - and sometimes involves two or three additional people.
5. Hiring the Right People
Training and retention programs are clearly and obviously crucial in order to make all of the system's advantages permanent and valuable. After all, a trained employee who knows the company and its products is going to be more efficient than a new employee.
However, not enough attention is given to hiring the right people. No amount of training will work if the management and the team are not capable enough and do not have the right kind of experience. In the service industry - especially in Poland - special attention needs to be given to service orientation, independence/desire for empowerment, judgement and intelligence.
Matthew Tebeau, the Managing Partner of Ray and Berndtson Poland and the Baltic States
My customer experiences on a recent short Easter vacation in the USA drove home the incredible differences in service culture. It also showed me the direction that successful service industry players will need to go - whether it is the vacation/entertainment industry, real estate, banking or retail sector.
As far as Poland has come during the past decade, I realized that the U.S. tourist industry has also developed substantially during the past 15 years or so. Interestingly, product quality - especially in the service industry - can already be matched in certain parts of Poland, especially Warsaw. Just to name two obvious comparisons on quality - there is no doubt that restaurant food is better in Poland, and all but the most expensive hotels can seem a little bit shabby by comparison to international hotels operating in Poland.
Service was another matter altogether. In Florida, the competitive advantage of the U.S. service culture is on proud display. It shows the lengths that service organizations can and do go to in order to turn customers into loyal customers. It also showed that the right approach to selling and serving customers - broadly termed total customer experience - does create a competitive advantage. It also creates a competitive advantage that cascades over into the entire community. Orlando, for instance, has gone from a sleepy Florida lake community two decades ago into the world's leading tourist destination (50 million visitors a year).
The Customer Service advantage is all a matter of having the right people, properly empowered with appropriate training. What sets apart the successful service industry organizations from their peers? I have taken examples of 'best practices' within the industry to examine a couple of key areas of differentiation:
1. Product (and Customer) Knowledge
Marriott Vacation Club - a fancy name for Marriott's timeshare properties - has created an extremely efficient sales system. Not only does the sales system generate a substantial number of customers/sales, but it also reinforces and connects closely with the Marriott loyalty and marketing programs.
The sales process starts at a 'sales stand' where an outgoing and friendly clean cut woman or man engages you in a conversation and gently (but firmly) schedules a meeting with the potential customer (this is a long way from the hostesses in Poland who distribute product samples in mini-skirts).
Timeshares have a bad reputation for high-pressure tactics, but from the outset the Marriott representatives - using glossy promotional material and no-gimmick rewards - create some trust. They also begin the selection process by gathering a few important details prior to appointment - the details then serve as a starting point for the sales presentation.
The sales pitch is not a pressure pitch, which is what timeshares are known for. Rather, the 'vacation specialist' asks plenty of questions. She/he then tailors the message directly to the family/individual and their reasons for buying. Each customer gets a tailored sales message using different combinations of features and incentives (not discounts) that encourage them to buy. The combination of features makes the Marriott offer completely unique and therefore able to command a premium.
For this approach to work, there needs to be a well-trained 'vacation specialist' with the right personality and approach. Marriott has also created a system that emphasizes the special features of its 'team'. Vacation specialists are the kind of people that you instinctively like and trust. They have the ability to learn the system and then they are trained extensively. No one else sells timeshares with this system - although now some of the other hotel chains like Hyatt and Sheraton are moving more and more in the same direction.
2. Independent Decisions/Initiative
As I checked into my hotel, the agent upgraded me - for a nominal fee of $50 - to a suite. Ostensibly, this was because of my loyalty program status. However, it struck me later that it is also a way of utilizing an unreserved room for the purpose of marketing and showing more of the hotel's possibilities to a frequent guest. What a great marketing tool (which also generated revenue)!
A system or program like this is based on trust; in other words the empowerment of the employees to decide who is to be invited to the program and when. In Poland, such empowerment often results in freebies being given to friends.
In Business-to-Business environments the special promotions are often oriented only at the VIPs of client companies. However, it creates loyalty to focus the programs and benefits on the users and purchasers of the services (within the range of propriety, of course).
Trusting junior employees requires the right employees. It also requires management who invest in training and are willing to tolerate some glitches on the way to success - after all staff empowerment also means that the staff may make mistakes.
3. Focus - Customer Experience
The theme parks in Orlando are all quite different from one another. Disney is the best known. However, Anheuser-Busch - the largest U.S. beer brewer - owns a number of the other major attractions (including Seaworld and Tampa's Busch Gardens). Not to be outdone, Universal Studios also has a major theme park. Each of these parks offers a different type of customer experience and signature.
In each of these different parks, clear decisions have been made with respect to pricing, set-up strategy and goals. They use the feedback of their customers to continually tailor (and improve) the product.
An example of a recent innovation is Discovery Cove, which is a sub-park of Seaworld. Building on the success of their 'Dolphin Swim' program, they developed a specialized park that allows guests to swim with dolphins and manta rays, as well as to swim in a simulated reef environment. The demands of the system require them to limit the number of guests each day to no more than 1,000. As a result, the price for a day runs at about $200. However, the experience reflects the price, and the environment more closely resembles an exclusive resort than a theme park.
Discovery Cove was a risky venture - it required a substantial capital investment, fulfilled only a niche market and at a relatively high price. It is so successful that reservations need to be made more than three months in advance, and now Seaworld is expanding to offer shark swimming encounters as well.
The lesson for companies in Poland is to move boldly and focus their customer experiences - meeting their expectations. This requires senior executives capable of taking calculated risks, and empowered to do so.
4. Efficient Service
In the example of the Marriott Vacation Club, if a customer decides to buy a timeshare, usually at a cost of $15,000 to $30,000, they can process the paperwork, including a credit check, on the spot. Compare this to Poland, where buying a new car - even with a small credit - can take as long as two to three weeks to process. Efficient sales pitches require efficient closing, when the decision is made.
Efficient services also mean effectively solving problems, and avoiding mistakes with documentation up front. Every 'mistake' as perceived by a customer requires between two to three next steps to be rectified - and sometimes involves two or three additional people.
5. Hiring the Right People
Training and retention programs are clearly and obviously crucial in order to make all of the system's advantages permanent and valuable. After all, a trained employee who knows the company and its products is going to be more efficient than a new employee.
However, not enough attention is given to hiring the right people. No amount of training will work if the management and the team are not capable enough and do not have the right kind of experience. In the service industry - especially in Poland - special attention needs to be given to service orientation, independence/desire for empowerment, judgement and intelligence.
Matthew Tebeau, the Managing Partner of Ray and Berndtson Poland and the Baltic States
