Thursday, April 17, 2008

Giving Your Best

Collective Wisdom is about collecting wisdom, knowledge, research and opinions from others, often adding my own 2 cents and presenting it to you.

However sometimes, I have nothing important to add. Like right now. So on with the show...

No Reservations

In a recent post at his blog, Seth Godin recounts the experience of arriving at a trendy restaurant for his 6:30 reservation. "We were promptly seated at the worst table in the place," he says, "in the back, in the corner, cramped by the kitchen." Though the restaurant was only a third full, the host rebuffed his request for a better—and unoccupied—table with the explanation that it was reserved.

"The chances, of course, that a particular table is reserved are close to zero," says Godin. "What he meant was, 'oh, we have a regular customer who deserves that table more than you.'"

For Godin, this raised the intriguing marketing question of who should get the "best table" your company has to offer. Do you give it to a valued loyal customer or a new customer who might be converted into a long-term client?

The answer, he says, is to please everyone by transforming lesser offerings into appealing alternatives. "Maybe the table in the worst location comes with a special menu or a special wine list or even a visit from the chef," he suggests. "Maybe the worst table, for some people, becomes the best table because of the way you treat people when they sit there." In other words, you might treat people differently, but nobody feels like they're getting the shaft.

The Po!nt: Says Godin, "No one wants to settle for the bad table, your worst salesperson, your second-rate items. Not the new customers and not the loyal ones."

Source: Seth Godin's Blog. Click here for the post.

I Trust You Because Your Floor Looks Clean and Shiny

How do customers evaluate quality? It can be simple when judging a product, where it's easy to see the workmanship. But what about the more intangible things—like the customer experience? Recent research says: Get out your mop and pail.

A study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that when consumers are uncertain how to evaluate the efficacy of a service provided, they use external cues to make inferences about the trustworthiness of the service provider. For instance, to evaluate a doctor, they might consider how welcoming the waiting room is, the friendliness of the receptionist, or even if the room is clean and tidy.

The fact that these cues may have nothing to do with the quality of the service provided does not appear to be important. A customer service desk may have caring reps in spite of its messy countertop. But first impressions count big with customers. And yes, that goes all the way down to the shiny clean floor.

External cues can impact just about any aspect of the retail process. For instance, if a product delivery is delayed, customers may be less irritated if they are advised of the delay, and the person doing so is friendly and courteous.

The Po!nt: Little things mean a lot. Keep up appearances, and stay courteous, since these seemingly little things actually have a big impact on customers' judgments of quality.

Source: "When Does the Service Process Matter? A Test of Two Competing Theories," by Michael K. Hui, Xiande Zhao, Xiucheng Fan, and Kevin Au. Journal of Consumer Research, 2004.

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