Engage your Customers

In his 10 Commandments of Exceptional Customer Service, Mark Sanborn writes;

Marketing creates demand.
Selling creates transactions.
Service creates customers

This is absolutely true and your company must create customers by providing great products and service, however there is fierce competition out there who are able to very quickly imitate your product and match the service with cheaper rates. The big question now is how do we keep the buyers coming back or retain them?

Customer retention and loyalty increases only by ENGAGING and INVOLVING them. It's the relationship between your company or its associates that keeps the customers stick to your brand. As I keep working on my current assignment at Le Meridien Al Aqah beach resort in Fujairah UAE, I interact casually with some of their regular clients and I learn the reasons that make them frequent this hotel.

One guest from Holland commented that the butchery chef knows well that he loves Mayonaise and he makes sure that there is Mayonaise Sauce on his table whenever he dines at any of the restaurants in the hotel. In fact the guest actually calls this Chef and informs him about his next visit before he even contacts the reservations team. WOW!

Another Customer from Germany who are visiting for the 10th time said "Almost all the staff know our name and even my favorite beer and as he was mentioning that to me, a smiling associate handed out a Heineken from a tray of assorted drinks to him at the General Manager's Guest Cocktail party.

Take a look at the picture below - It's the Associate Grafitti wall located back of the house where the staff involve their guests as well in writing about the hotel. A perfect example of engaging customers.

This wall is filled with positive things about the hotel and it really inspires the associates as they walk the corridor to start work each day.

Southwest airlines is another great company that is well known for engaging their customers. Watch this flight attendant making the in flight announcement in his Rap style as the passengers clap with him.