Friendliness and attention are not an end in themselves. In contact with customers, they create trust — in times of Internet reviews, the currency of the future.
“Hello Anderson!” , the elderly skier sitting next to me shouts happily before she sits on our four-seater chair. “Good to see you again!” , he laughs back. Anderson Scantlebury is something of a trademark of the Marguns-Plateau Nair ob St. Moritz chairlift. No matter how cold the weather and no matter how big the rush to his lift: Anderson is always in a good mood and friendly.
Anderson doesn't just put you in a good mood: The former water sports instructor from Barbados takes insecure skiers and small children by the hand without hesitation, dreamers in the queue are woken up with a friendly shout or even “dragged” to the still vacant seat in the armchair.
Every company wants employees like Anderson. Because Anderson is not only a funny guy, he also has his task under control. Customers love employees like this. And if they like the employees, they also like the company and trust it.
The professional and social skills of employees are among the first criteria when customers evaluate the performance of companies. Social networks (social media) on the Internet serve as the most important feedback channels for customer reviews today. They are used by billions of consumers worldwide as efficient platforms to share their experiences with companies.
Costs — Conveniences — Trust
If you take a closer look at criticism and praise on the Internet, you can see three groups of characteristics according to which products and services are rated: hard (measurable), soft (measurable to a limited extent) and human (not measurable) factors.
The “hard” properties usually have to do with costs; they can be compared objectively. In the service sector in particular, however, offers cannot be compared on the basis of costs alone. Soft and human factors also play an important role when making a purchase decision.
The group of soft factors consists of things that could be described as “convenience.” This includes opening times, the breadth and depth of a selection of products, delivery periods or warranty periods. Soft factors can certainly be compared and sometimes ranked. Very often, however, several soft factors work together and then make it impossible to make a comparison between different products that is really objective.
After all, human aspects cannot be ranked at all; yet they also significantly influence purchasing decisions. Values such as hospitality, friendliness, helpfulness, competence or interest in customers can often only be described emotionally. However, they decide whether customers feel comfortable in contact with a provider, trust him and recommend him online.
Internet research before buying in store
Today, companies must approach their customers competently, transparently and honestly, both online and in direct contact. Reviews on social media are becoming increasingly important: International studies show that 40 percent of customers get information online but then shop in a shop. Anyone who slogs at dealing with social media today has lost the battle for tomorrow's customers, even in stores.
Friendliness is not an end in itself: At the chairlift, in the sports shop or at the insurance agency, employees like Anderson do their part to ensure that reviews about their companies are positive. “I know my guests!” , he explains to me the next day at the mountain station, not without pride. And in fact, there is hardly a chair passing by from which he is not greeted in a friendly manner, usually with his first name. “Today is our last day,” a family man shouts to him as he disembarks and waves. “See you next year!”
(Published in the Engadiner Post from 5.1.2012)
More about this topic:
Cost — Convenience — Confidence: How users rate social media services.