The acclaimed Disney Institute focuses on details as markers for success. Interiors, door knobs, parking lot, even the office pictures influence consumer experience. Do the details support the image being built?
Traditional or online, the most successful marketing encompasses every aspect of your business no matter the industry you are in. The difference is solely in what your customers notice most...the small details.
The small details build a large chain of customer reactions that take in every sensory emotion.
For instance, how is a problem handled by your employees. Do they react that the customer is always right, diffuse a situation properly or defend the employee over the customer? I was that customer recently at a hotel in West Palm Beach, FL. When I arrived at the hotel I was told my reservation had been canceled. They even stated the name of the person - a name I didn't know. The clerk proceeded to say that the woman in charge of their reservations and cancellations had a strict procedure and never makes mistakes. She stated this twice. That tact made me - the consumer - at fault. Would you want your employees handling your customers this way? All she had to do was say she would honor my reservations and look into the issue without discussing blame.
Establishing procedures and providing guidance and training is a detail that should not be ignored.
The physical environment is one sensory impression. But the personal communication between customer and company makes the engagement personal.
Who answers the phone and greets your customers? What impression do they make? Hint: call your company and find out what it's really like from a customer's perspective. The small details build a large chain of customer reactions. They take in every sensory emotion.
Give your company a "Detail" audit. Follow your customers journey by taking a tour of your business from the outside in. Do you like what you see and the experience provided? For every company there is more than one way a customer interacts with you. How well does your website function for your prospects and customers?
What can you do to improve the experience online, in person and on the phone? Can little shifts in procedure improve the experience? When you only view your marketing and advertising as a modular department, it becomes focused on execution. Successful marketing involves every detail of a business.
Technology has created opportunity to listen to customers and prospects whether they are talking about you, your competitor or an unrelated experience that tells you how to better meet their needs and how they like to be engaged.
Read more about customer engagement....
Measuring the Impact of Marketing Efforts
