Leave Your Customers Breathless

3 secrets for building a legion of clamoring fans

September 8, 2009 | Edited by Ken Beaulieu
Permalink: http://www.fuelnet.com/?p=4756

Does your business place a premium on excellent customer service standards? If not, it could be the kiss of death for your company. According to Chip Bell and John Patterson, coauthors of Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers, satisfactory isn’t good enough these days — customer service has to blow away the competition.

The authors offer 12 ways to boost customer service, supporting each strategy with careful analysis and interesting examples. How did a driver for Hertz’s shuttle service get an entire busload of strangers to yell “I love Hertz!” at the end of a ride? What is it about White’s Diner in Oregon that has customers saying it’s the best in the state? How can a restaurant blatantly insult its customers and have that be the attraction of the establishment? The answer, Bell and Patterson contend, lies in a carefully planned and executed customer service strategy that leaves customers breathless. Here are three ways to build a legion of clamoring fans:

1. Get animated. Delivering service with excitement will have a reciprocal effect on your customers. In turn, they are much more likely to tell their friends about their positive experiences than those who merely receive satisfactory service.
2. Reinvent yourself. Doing the same thing for too long will lull any company into a false sense of security, which your competitors will surely capitalize on. Mix things up by continually finding new ways to surprise your customers.
3. Pamper them. People love being indulged. Even the slightest hint of luxury will be noticed by a consumer base that has grown tired of poor, impersonal service. Although you may run the risk of alienating some people, if you can deliver elegance without the arrogance, you’ll soon have customers singing your praises.