I was about to lead an e-mail with this all too common snippet...realized it was unnecessary. What else can I remove?

In writing...less is often more.

Both are costly, both preventable. You just need to know to look for clues. They have a lot in common...except perhaps for the price of the outcome. Why do airplanes crash? The answer is not as obvious as you might think...like, the aircraft decelerating at a high rate of speed...hitting something hard or running out of gas, etc.  That might be the final problem. But, getting to that point is almost always a series of failures and/or poor decisions on the part of the pilot. And, had anything been done along the way to break the chain of events, the accident may likely have been prevented. For instance, when you review the famous JFK crash,
 

Hotel marketers are just like most other marketers...obsessed with trying to find new guests...the ones that don't know who you they are.

Many companies, from start-up's to mid-size to already large, have "growth" as a primary objective. They spend a lot of time mapping out strategy on how to get from one store to fifty, from one region to twenty and so on. Hotel companies are no exception. I clearly recall my days at the infant Doubletree, then later at Omni when almost everything was centered on this idea...getting big. In hindsight, this is rarely a good strategy. Below is an excerpt from the now well publicized memo from Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz...

"Over the past ten years, in order to achieve the growth, development, and scale necessary to go from less than 1,000 stores to 13,000 stores and beyond, we have had to make a series of decisions that, in retrospect, have lead to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand. Many of these decisions were probably right at the time, and on their own merit would not have created the dilution of the experience; but in this case, the sum is much greater and, unfortunately, much more damaging than the individual pieces."

A better approach is to focus on continuous improvement and building relationships with your guests. If you do that well, the big will follow. Then, you'll have a new problem, i.e., Starbucks....how to stay small, at least in the eyes of your customers and employees. A key part of success is figuring out how to manage it. Growth strategies and the development of efficient systems and procedures may seem important. But, the real issue and the one that should get most of the attention is how to retain the guest experience that created the growth in the first place.  Those are the SOP's that matter most.

Hyping your "world class" customer service program costs you...the chance to really impress someone. World class is a tall order. So, why not just say "call our friendly customer service agents", and let the world class develop on its own. If you make it, you've created a lasting impression and probably a raving fan. If you don't, at least you haven't lied.

I went through an interesting exercise today...I reduced my 5,000 word Vanished manifesto (released in April last year) to 500 words. Thanks to Hugh for putting me up to the task. I actually didn't think I could do it, and maintain the points I was trying to get across. Turns out, after three hours of editing, I was wrong. Once I changed my goal, 500 was more than enough to make my my point.

Changing the goal was the key. The original piece was targeted toward someone with service issues to spark some thinking about what might be wrong, and what to do about it. The audience was pretty narrow...someone interested enough in service issues to read a 20 page booklet. The goal of the abridged version is completely different...to attract attention and create the desire to read more. The prospective audience is much larger (could be thousands), so I can't put forth the longer version knowing most won't be interested (not to mention Hugh won't accept it...because he already had all this figured out). So, I gave them a snapshot. If someone finds it interesting, they'll probably take the time to read more and download the full version. And, at that point, there's a smaller audience who may want to learn even more...they'll call or write. Wala...niche marketing.

The same rules apply when you engage with your audience...whether it's your website, an ad, a sales presentation or a comment card. The bigger the audience and the less you know about what they want, the more simple your message needs to be.  Then, once you're engaged, you make a really easy path for them to follow to get what they want from you. If they don't want anything, that's okay. At least you haven't alienated them by wasting their time with nonrelevant messages up front.

By the way, here's the short version of the manifesto. The original is available in the sidebar by clicking on the eraser (or, by clicking this link).

Update: the abridged version is available as a download in the sidebar (or, click this link)

Vanished- Where Has Service Gone?

 With few exceptions, service has left the building. Here’s what to do about it...

1. Remarkability- Be different.
   1. Passion- Be insanely passionate. Forget about money. Do what you can get people excited about. Act like a kid…play. Fear the day when someone tells you to stop.
   2. Romance- Create romance with fabulous design and an interesting story. Get emotional.
   3. Friendship- Stop selling…make friends. Build your business around extraordinary people. Be truthful. Don’t use gimmicks, or unwanted solicitations to convince someone to buy.  

2. Marketing- Marketing is used to make-up for shortcomings. It’s spent on “icing” without concern for what’s in the “cake”. Spend more on people…less on “Marketing”.

3. Adaptation- Service can’t be prescribed. Great experiences are improvised, made where the game is played out of bounds. Hire the most talented and trustworthy people. Get out of the way!

4. Wrong Audience- People don’t change their minds. Making something to satisfy everyone is a bad idea…leads to average. Figure out what you can be the best at. Make that for a smidgeon of folks who think like you. 

5. Big- Large companies forget about the advantage of small…forget how they outmaneuvered the big competitor…forget how they learned from failure…forget small issues lead to larger ones. By the time they see problems, study them, and execute….the little guy is ahead. Flatten your organization and hire great people.

6. Compensation- Most employees don’t care because they don’t get paid to. They get paid to function…and get by. The fix:
   1. Get Winners- Takes guts, patience, compassion…money. You’ll pay more than everyone else, care for them like your children and listen, even if their ideas are       wrong.
   2. Winning- Put people in the right positions, train the mechanics and set-up just enough rules to free them to think. Mistakes will be made. But, it’s a small price for exceptional service and stomping your competition.
   3. Reward- People want to prosper. Reward them for taking a chance and making mistakes. When something works, give them bonuses…and genuine appreciation. When something doesn’t work, give them credit for trying.

7. Robin Williams Effect- We remember Robin because of his delivery…the sweat, arm waving and facial expressions. Companies are so focused on making the best widget, they forget about what makes something really great…the people who deliver it. Fancy reception lobbies don’t relate with customers…people do.

8. Care- The root cause of service problems lies in how you treat people. Start with serious      reflection on how you relate to employees, not on what they are doing wrong. Answer these honestly: How hard is it to attract people to work with you?; How quickly do people leave?; and, Are you losing or gaining customers? Successful companies put employees first, ahead of customers.

9. SOP’s- Procedures should remove guesswork from recurring tasks. They shouldn’t stifle the ability to think. The right brain should be left free to infuse emotion into the customer      experience. Let your staff express individuality…that’s what’s memorable.

Consider that not so long ago (maybe as little as 10 or 20 years), marketing was what you did before the product or service experience began. And, your customer didn't have much to say about it. Now, the rules have changed, and the opposite is true. People don't pay attention to the hype...they don't believe you, nor do they have the time or patience. But, in a matter of minutes , they can tell thousands (maybe millions) of strangers about how well or bad you do...and people take the time to listen. More importantly, they believe it.

Sadly, as you look around at the service mayhem, it still seems like its an us vs. them game. That gives you one heck of an opportunity...to create a "we" culture in your organization. Your customers are going to be your best marketers whether you like it or not. So, you might as well invite them in to join the conversation.