What would it mean if your business could become:
— the Zappos of muffler shops?
— the Nordstrom of tire centers?
— the Ritz-Carlton of hardware stores?
— the Starbucks of hospitals?
— the Southwest Airlines of B2B parts suppliers?
— the Apple Store of SaaS solutions?
There are some things I emphatically don't mean by this question: the kind of generalizations that don't apply to your industry, and that often get people offtrack when considering aspirational examples outside their own industry:
—By "becoming the Ritz-Carlton of your industry" I don't mean you have to offer valet parking or install minibars.
— By "becoming "the Southwest Airlines of your industry" I don't mean you have to limit your food options to pretzels.
— By "becoming the Apple Store" I don't mean you should develop a culture of secrecy.
--and, of course--
—By "becoming Zappos" I most certainly don't mean you should incorporate vodka shots into your hiring process.
What I mean is this: Within the framework of your company goals and industry options, what if you succeeded in becoming an absolute, indisputable leader in customer experience,customer service, or what the great Danny Meyer calls "hospitality"?
Well, it probably would mean a lot, wouldn't it?
The importance of customer service varies some by industry, it's true. But, by and large it's an extraordinarily ripe opportunity for a business to shine, regardless of what you are selling. In fact, the less an industry's customers have expectations of great service, the easier it is to wow those customers if you are able to deliver it.
To become the Ritz-Carlton of screwdriver distributors, or whatever your particular situation may be, is going to be a lofty, time-consuming, and somewhat expensive undertaking. It's not going to happen overnight. Even if you learn to deliver Ritz-level service once, that is far, far different from building your systems, your hiring processes, and your cultural mindset to allow such service to occur as the norm in your organization.
But I'd argue that it's almost always worth it. Even if you end up building a great service organization around a "dying product," (for example, fax machines), you'll get back on your feet more quickly than you would otherwise.
Why? Because you'll be that much closer to the customer, and hear about the changes they're looking for--even anticipating those changes -- far faster than the competition. And you'll adapt, survive, and thrive.
