So What...They Don't Do Meat Balls!
Well the marketing team at Ikea are right. They don't do
meat balls at John Lewis for £3.75 but
then you can't get freshly cooked Chicken Szechuan in Ikea either. This humorous
ad almost mocks John Lewis customers as they sit and gaze toward the blue and
yellow box.
But you know what, the John Lewis restaurant was packed despite
Ikea's offer of a meal for less than £4.00
So what does it tell us? That John Lewis patrons never go to
Ikea? Of course not. That they don't eat meat balls? Wrong again, I'm sure many
do. No it tells us that despite the recession tightening our purses customers
will still pay a premium for a better experience.
And what more of a commodity
can you get than food? My meal and drinks for two came to £16.95 and I'm
watching the pennies just like everyone else but the last thing I will sacrifice
is a better experience as there are more mundane things I will trade down to
before I sacrifice a better experience. But if you can't provide a better experience
than the next supplier then I'll focus on price as the differentiator.
|
The Experience at All Points
|
If you've followed my work and words by now you'll have
recognised that the customer experience involves all touch points. It's an
holistic approach. On another occasion my wife Cheryl, returned from a shopping
trip to the John Lewis store and was full of praise for a member of staff and
eager to share her experience with me (she's truly a promoter). So here's a great
example of the John Lewis experience.
Cheryl had found a blouse she wanted to buy but the only one
of her size had a button missing. She pointed this out to one of the store
assistants who apologised, checked for additional stock but when realising
there was none offered to discount the goods by 10%. On top of that she offered
to find a replacement button and to have it sewn on whilst Cheryl waited in the
store. She managed my wife's expectations by saying that it might take ten
minutes or so as the correct colour of cotton needed to sourced from the
haberdashery department on the next floor down. My wife was offered a seat and
a coffee whilst the task was completed. Now I bet you don't get that in Ikea!
If you are anywhere near the window in the John Lewis
restaurant
you can't fail to see the Ikea ad. But when you have an
experience like the one described above then it takes a lot more than a cheap
bowl of meat balls and chips to prise away loyal
customers.
Can John Lewis afford to sit back and not respond to the
economic down turn? Of course they can't. They have recently introduced a range
of everyday grocery items at their Waitrose stores as a way of meeting the
needs of customers that might be tempted to save here and there on essentials by
shopping at Sainsbury's or Tescos etc.
So take heart my friends and take action. Keep fighting for delivering
great customer experiences. In these times it is vital that you look after your
customer, one at a time. Treat your customers as guests when they visit you,
provide a great customer experience during every interaction, let them engage
with you and your staff as much as possible. Pay attention to your environment
and make them as comfortable as possible. Do whatever you can to attract their
attention with what you've done for them so they have something to talk about.
|
In Conclusion Then...
So consider these three questions:
- At your business meetings throughout the organisation how
much is the customer experience discussed? What can you do change this if it's
minimal?
- What actions are you taking to add value to every customer
experience? If you're not beware of the meat ball syndrome. If your are out of ideas right now - I bet one of your
team just might have that great idea or suggestion that will keep your business
ahead of the competition!
- Are you selling an experience or promoting cheaper products?
If you're not beware of the meat ball syndrome.
If you'd like to fill your tank with great ways to improve your customer experience and need to rev the team up then why not invite us in to run a session for you to kick start the process. Contact me via the details below. |
if you'd like to find out more call me on 0784 3284310 or respond to this email.
If you'd like other colleagues to receive copies of these newsletters then please forward me a list of individuals including first name, last name and email address.
Please take my two question survey telling me if you found this newsletter useful or not.
Kind regards,
Mark Gregory
|
