Small Gestures Build Customer Intimacy
I noticed today on the the TripAdvisor Site that there were some reviews for the Hampton Inn in Manhattan/Times Square in New York. In the review section there were numerous extremely favorable responses and just a few non favorable reviews.
What got my attention was not the reviews themselves, but the responses. Luis Santiago is listed as the Front Desk Supervisor and has responded to each and every review given for as many pages that I was willing to flip through. When I hit 15 pages containing at least 3 reviews each, I was satisfied and happily impressed.
The responses that Luis gave were not canned responses at all. He took the time to craft each and every one. Now, the beauty is that these responses were just a few short sentences, not lengthy at all. That’s the point, it doesn’t take an enormous amount of effort or time to connect with customers. It just takes a small step.
Now, for those of you who may be wondering if there any negative feedback, yes there were a few. I couldn’t find any that were a “One Star” or “Two Star” review, but I did find some negative feedback imbedded in an overall favorable response. Luis addressed those topics specifically with the reviewer and thanked them for the feedback. He also told the reviewer that he would take it under consideration to see if any improvements could be made.
Bottom line… This is an example of building and strengthening the customer relationship after the interaction or transaction has been made. Just the small effort of thanking for the review, thanking the customer for their business, encouraging them to return and addressing any incidental issues is huge in the mind of the customer.
And, it just may garner some unintended unsolicited marketing… as I’m doing here in this blog. I have no ties whatsoever to the Hampton Inn or plans to visit New York anytime soon. I’m hoping that this post serves two purposes… 1) to show business leaders that the little things count massively in the overall customer experience; and 2) to send a little extra business to the Hampton Inn in New York. Please be sure to tell Luis hello!
Please comment below to share your thoughts….
When thinking about improving the customer experience it’s easy to think about the big things – technological innovation, executive strategy sessions, big budget programs. This is a good reminder that the simple touchpoints can make a huge difference. Following up on customer feedback, especially with a personal touch, is a great way to build customer loyalty. Great story!
Janessa
You are absolutely right, Janessa. We’ve turned the customer experience into so much more of a complex issue than it really is. It really comes back to the basics of connection and the small things making the biggest difference.
Thanks for commenting and I hope to see more of you on this site!
Kristina