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To Get Loyal Customers Start With Loyal Employees
Hotel giant Hilton recently dropped the H from its rewards program, replacing the linguistically puzzling Hilton HHonors with an easier to pronounce version, Hilton Honors.
The change is more than cosmetic. The new rewards program will be the first in the industry to allow members to combine points and money for a hotel visit. Members can also combine points with friends or family members for free, or use points to buy things on Amazon.com. And frequent travelers will be able to put their elite membership status on hold rather than lose it when they take a break from travel.
“These new perks revolutionize how all Hilton Honors members can use their Points, senior vice president and global head of customer engagement, loyalty and partnerships Mark Weinstein said in a press release. “Frequent travelers told us they want more flexibility while less frequent travelers want to be able to use their Points in more ways and more quickly.”
This is a great example of a company listening to its customers and giving them what they need and want out of a rewards program. I like these changes. I signed up for Hilton HHonors to get a discount on a hotel room, but I only stay at Hilton brand hotels (which include the more budget friendly Hampton Inn) sporadically. I’d love to give my points to my daughter, or use them to buy some new socks. I’ve also qualified for airline elite status after a busy travel year, and then watched the perks squandered when I didn’t fly as much in the next one.
But rewards programs alone – no matter how good – aren’t going to create customer loyalty. In fact, as we become more and more accustomed to shopping around for the best deal online, customers are likely to shop around for loyalty programs too, ditching one program for another if it offers better perks.
So how does Hilton or any other company create true customer loyalty? Start by engaging the employees.
In our customer experience consultancy, we’ve found that there’s often little connection between the concept of employee loyalty and customer loyalty, and that’s a big mistake. Researchers have found that an engaged employee is essential to success in the global economy. Engaged employees aren’t just satisfied with their working conditions and pay, they want to go above and beyond, to innovate and advance the company’s goals. Through our employee engagement services, we help organizations create a culture that leads employees to become company ambassadors.
Happily, Hilton seems to be on the right track. It was one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 best companies to work for in 2016, and it is committed to giving employees a path to advancement by promoting them from within.
Hilton’s president and CEO talks of looking for ways to inspire people. He personally visits hotels and thanks employees for their work. He holds town hall meetings to update staff on the company and recognize high performing employees. The company is also credited with helping employees achieve personal goals such as living abroad.
Hilton seems to be creating an environment where employees can become what our Thought Leadership Principal Michael Lowenstein, PHD, CMC, calls an “employee ambassador.” Ambassadors are the most active and positive employees you have. They are committed to the company, its value proposition and its customers. They are committed to the company’s mission and to helping customers meet their needs, while delivering great service.
Ambassadors might make up only 20 percent of your workforce, but by studying them, you can learn how to motivate the other 80 percent. When you understand what motivates your ambassadors, you can communicate it to your other workers and improve both employee morale and the customer experience. And when your customer experience improves, so will customer loyalty – with or without a rewards program.
Are you aware of any Employee Ambassador program or similar? Are you a loyal employee? Let us know in the comments below.
Read my latest book: The Intuitive Customer: 7 Imperatives for moving your customer experience to the next level to find out more about these ideas for business.
If you found this interesting, you might also enjoy:
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Colin Shaw is the founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s first organizations devoted to customer experience. Colin is an international author of six bestselling books and an engaging keynote speaker.
Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter @ColinShaw_CX
Startling Revelation! Tell More Jokes To Get Ahead in Business
When I was a kid, my teachers labeled me the class clown. I wasn’t one for long winded jokes, but I was always ready with a snappy comeback, a sarcastic comment or a funny observation. My classmates loved my wisecracks, but I have to admit that I spent more time honing my sense of humor than reading my textbooks.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve held onto my wisecracking ways and yet, I’ve been successful in business.
Research confirms that my success isn’t just an accident (though of course I like to think that I am exceptionally witty). According to a study conducted by the Harvard and University of Pennsylvania business schools, using humor effectively can actually bolster your status at work. If you can make people laugh, they’ll think you are more competent and confident than you might actually be.
“If you are brave enough to tell the joke you want to tell, whether it succeeds or not, people ascribe confidence to you because they see you as efficacious” for taking the risk, considering all the ways a joke can go poorly, said one of the study’s co-authors, Allison Wood Brooks of the Harvard Business School.
I’ve experienced this firsthand. Back when I had a corporate job, I showed up for one of my first senior level meetings and sat waiting for the meeting to start. The room was silent. It was weird, and I felt uncomfortable, so I said something funny. I asked these senior level execs how their weekend was. They looked at me like I had two heads, but I ignored them and went on to tell a funny tale about my own weekend. Lucky for me, they laughed, and the funny remarks I made during that meeting made a big difference in my career.
Since then, I’ve learned that it’s good to use your sense of humor in business. I don’t think people do it enough. If you can make people laugh, they’ll enjoy being around you, and they’ll want to do business with you.
The Harvard and Penn study bears this out. Interestingly, though, the study found that telling a joke that flops doesn’t hurt your status as much as you’d think because you’re still seen as a confident risk taker. But if you use humor inappropriately – say, making a joke about 9/11 while visiting a Manhattan skyscraper – your status can fall dramatically!
My Tips for Using Humor When Conducting Business
After a lifetime of wisecracking my way through business meetings, presentations and the like, I have some advice on when to use humor for the greatest impact:
- When you’re building a relationship. Bantering with clients helps “break the ice” and create a better rapport. If someone likes you, they’re more likely to trust you and want to do business with you.
- When you’re giving a speech. People remember things better when they’ve had a good laugh, so I try to get the audience laughing at my keynote speeches. Since I work in the customer experience field, I’m always able to find a funny story of a customer’s terrible experience!
- When you need the audience to focus on something serious. This sounds counter-intuitive, but if you’re making serious points, audiences can start to tune you out. Throw in a joke and they’re more likely to stay engaged long enough to take in the real message. In our Customer Experience Management Training, we use stories of truly horrendous customer experiences to get them laughing while also absorbing a key concept.
- When you want to create a better work environment. No job is fun all the time, and humor can do a lot to lighten the workplace atmosphere. And a happier environment means a more engaged, cooperative and productive team.
Making Humor Part of Your Customer Experience
When you use humor in your customer experience, you trigger an emotional reaction in your customer, whether it’s amusement, surprise or delight. These positive emotions engage customers in ways that add value to your business. Here are some ways to incorporate humor into your customer experience:
- Find the right time and place. Wisecracks may not be well-received if they come from the representative who handles customer complaints. But your customers may love funny quips from front-line staff.
- Always be tasteful. Remember that inappropriate jokes reduce your status. That goes for your brand as well as you.
- Train employees on what’s tasteful and what’s not, and especially avoid jokes that can demean or insult any group of people.
- Be natural. Scripted jokes don’t go as well as natural and genuine banter that lets personalities shine.
Laugh with them, not at them. You can joke about yourself, but never make jokes at other people’s expense.
Humor is a great business tool that’s not used nearly enough. It can improve your status within an organization, help you win more business, and strengthen your relationship with customers. And I for one would enjoy having more business people to joke around with.
How do you use humor in your business? Tell me about it in the comments box below.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:
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Colin Shaw is the founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s leading Customer experience consultancy & training organizations. Colin is an international author of six bestselling books and an engaging keynote speaker.
Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter @ColinShaw_CX
