MBA Geek

I’ve had a flight cancellation with RyanAir recently and it got me thinking about how much low-cost companies actually save by removing the service element from their offering. Traditionally, companies have always sought to minimise costs and increase efficiency; whether it’s by reducing product complexity or using call center outsourcing, but doing so by removing the service element was a pretty bold move. The fascinating thing is that the net result has been the usurping of the incumbents and the emergence of a completely new model for flying.

It does turn the whole game on its head and opens the door to a rethinking of other sectors. More importantly, it raises an interesting question:

Is the customer still king? Or are cheaper prices more important?

If one of your customers has a problem, how long does it take you to respond? I’ve had a number of opportunities to interact with companies here in Europe and the usual experience is as follows:

1. Send an email to the company
2. Get an automated email saying that you’ll be contacted within the next 48 hours
3. Wait 2 days
4. Get a customer service representative emailing back
5. Reply saying that I’ve solved the problem in the meantime or switched to a different supplier.

I had a great experience the other day dealing with a company in China called DVBSeller, an online store where I purchased my new Dreambox. I emailed them with a problem on my shipment and received an email reply from one of their customer service reps in under 8 minutes! An email response time measured in minutes is something that European counterparts can only fantasise about, but the experience has redefined my expectation of Customer Service. We can really learn from these guys.

Interesting experience a couple of days ago when we placed an online order on Marks and Spencer‘s website. We ran into a problem where we had a couple of coupons to use and the website would accept only one. We sent an email to customer services and they took care of the problem for us.

The really interesting thing was one line that they added to the email response they sent:

Thanks for getting in touch and I must compliment you on your choice in kids wear.

I found that single line awesome. It wasn’t just a thank you for communicating with them. It showed that someone had taken the trouble to actually look at my order, and note what sort of products where in there. It added that touch a touch of personality to the email and gave it that human touch.

It doesn’t matter if you sell cheap clothes, or the top of the line walk in bath, adding that touch of humanity to your online presence can add that touch of class that will keep clients coming back for more.

Wherever I go, I always try to think what I could do to improve a business. I’ve been doing it for years and now that it comes naturally to me, I even do it while I’m on holiday. So, as I’m holidaying in DisneyLand Paris at the moment, I couldn’t but think up something I would do to improve the place. And here it is.

What is Disney’s most powerful advertising medium? TV? Print Ads? Movies? All wrong, the people who enjoy their entertainment products and pass on the message to their friends. This viral element is immensely powerful and as Seth Godin would say, if something is remarkable enough (read Purple Cow), people will talk about it. It’s advice that applies to any business, whether you’re an Outer Banks rentals outfit or a multinational like Disney. So why don’t you encourage people to speak about you.

I would provide free Wifi in their hotels and their parks (there’s paid-for Internet in the hotels, but nothing in the parks) so that people can share their images and experiences in real time with friends and family around the world. I would enhance my website, so that photos taken in the parks (or even live streams) can be watched by people around the world. I’m having a whale of a time here and am eager to share it with my friends, so why don’t you just make it easier for me?

I was thinking about my previous post, which was about our recent visit to Butlins and was thinking about the pointers that I picked up from the trip. I think the major take away was the success of Marketing as an encompassing function. You see, many organisations see marketing as a means to an end, a way to get clients through the door, a way to attract their attention. The great thing about our experience seemed to be the fact that marketing seemed to be engaged with the entire customer experience.

Does this mean that marketing should dictate how a company is run? Well, it depends. If the merits of your company isn’t based around the customer’s experience, then maybe not. For example, selling industrial equipment supplies is more than the customer experience. It’s about reliability and performance. But, if on the other hand, you’re engaged in delivering a valuable experience to your customers, then marketing SHOULD dictate the where and the wherefores of how the service is run.

What do you think?

We spent a weekend at Butlins in Skegness recently and it was interesting to see some of the things their marketing team and strategy have put in place. Here are some great things I saw:

• Focusing on the target market: First of all, who are the target market at Butlins? Well, they have a number of segments they attract, but each of these was catered for individually. If you’re a kid, there’s a whole selection of things to do. If you’re a parent, there are loads of things to keep your kids amused and give you some space. If you’re into live entertainment, there’s something new every evening. If you’re into gambling, there’s a whole selection of slot machines and bingo you can lose yourself in.
• Deliver: The delivery of the service Butlins provide is excellent. Do they provide accommodation? food? entertainment? In part, yes; but the real deliverable is a complete holiday experience. Everything I saw was aimed at delivered a great experience to the holiday makers, from the hassle-free check-in, through the selection of entertainment options, all the way to the cordiality and approachability of the staff. For example, when there’s entertainment put on in the evening, a number of staff members are present who’s sole role is to entertain the kids. This means that the kids have a great time, and so do the parents because they don’t have to hassle about keeping their kids in check or worry what they are doing.
• Leverage the great experience: I think the greatest takeaway though was the fact that Butlins will try to keep their customers engaged and encourage them to book their next holiday while they are still there. There’s no better way to sell something to a client! There are reminders around the complex offering incentives if you book your next holiday and I could have sworn that these changed on the last day to “If this is your last day, you might want to book your next holiday”

All in all, an enjoyable stay at Butlins, and some great lessons learnt.