5 ways you can use service to distinguish your business from all the rest.
1. Have a plan B for product or service limitations:
eBay, for example, has partnered with UK retailer Argos to provide alternative collection points for online purchases.
2. Video valets:
Fiat’s Live Store service lets customers explore cars in a showroom remotely via floor staff with head-mounted cameras. US insurance company Esurance now allows webcam accident appraisal through a smartphone.
3. Deliver (more than) the goods:
L. has started a one-hour delivery service in New York City where it matches each purchase of condoms with one packet donated in a developing country.
“Enticing customers to behave nicely has the happy side effect of creating a more pleasant environment for other clients, too.”
4. Sixth sense:
While consumers increasingly expect real-time data to shape and improve customer service, transparency is vital. In 2014, staff at Copenhagen Airport trialled Google Glass devices, using them to access information, identify passengers and provide instant language translation.
5. Politeness pays:
Enticing customers to behave nicely has the happy side effect of creating a more pleasant environment for other clients, too.
In 2013, a French cafe brought in pricing based on manners. In the Philippines, the McDonald’s and Coca-Cola BFF Timeout app rewards diners for not using their phones, with scores publicly displayed.
This article is from the February 2015 issue of INTHEBLACK.