Marketing has always taught us that business success is sustained by loyal customers, generating long term profitability!
Does this concept now significantly change when emotional relationships can be terminated by something as heartless as a text… does this devalue the very meaning of loyalty. Is it Dead?
Regrettably for business owners and managers who still think that “this, begets that and therefore one shall be fruitful and forever multiply” will be in for a rather rude shock!
When the fundamentals of human relationships have changed, then by default, the effect immediately impacts the hospitality and service industries; the people who try to capture, package and amplify broader societal trends!
Think about it, consumer attention spans are plummeting, competition for eyes, throats, backsides are at all-time highs… good gets lost in a maze of distractions; mixed signals turn customer facing interactions into forgettable “transactional” pallor!
Does this mean that an experience lives and dies on its merits, just in that moment! It’s now or maybe never again that an upset, disappointed, underwhelmed customer , judges your business and walks away silently!
How then does the "merit of the moment” impact a guests experience of value (or the perception of it), service levels, staff friendliness, overall attentiveness; determining whether the guest stays for the next drink, possibly a meal?
More importantly, how other than anecdotally do we measure these sometimes unseen/unheard customer pivot points?
There is no one answer, however the smart money suggests a combination of evolving strategies, dependant on the hour, day, week , season, event and occasion!
A likely merger of operational imperatives, continuous and at times repetitive staff training, seamless POS/CRM/smart technology, exemplary staff/consumer interactions, accurate tools to replicate, scale, measure and execute become the must dos to be successful on a moment by moment basis; of course flair, ingenuity and a point of difference are still important engagement tools too.
When you do not have your customer‘s loyalty other than in the moment this then becomes a powerful wake-up call, the catalyst to always be on top of your game: never relaxing, not taking anything for granted ever again!
Get ready now to excel, excite and explore daily! Your business will thank you!
Loyalty now lives in the moment!
