People Smarter Than Me

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Do It Well

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Alex mentioned this in a conversation we had a couple of weeks ago. I thought about it again today during today's indieHotelier program.

If you do hospitality really well, by default you will be different. And, you might even be the best. Take a look around. Almost all guest experiences are average and inconsistent.  This gives you an excellent chance to step-in and take over...to win.

It's not easy or cheap. But, if you make the investment, it's as close to a sure bet as you can get.

  • Pick something you're really good at doing, something you're very knowledgeable about
  • Put a lot of effort into it
  • Execute...Chop Wood
  • Act like you're always in second or third place (from Seth Godin)
  • Be honest and transparent
  • Be extremely customer focused...no gimmicks, shortcuts, or growth plans

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Experience vs. Price

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Debbie pointed me to an interesting article today, Building a De-Commoditization Strategy in Hospitality. It's a bit long, but there are a number of good takeaways, namely...

  • Stop competing on price
  • Differentiate your hotel from your competition with unique offerings
  • Use a different approach with different audiences

I wholeheartedly agree. But, the article also goes on to offer some fluff like this...

"Creating unique specials and packages, event-related getaways, seasonal promotions and other marketing initiatives that provide unique value to the customer should become an important aspect of the hotelier's de-commoditization strategy"

Sounds like something I'd find in my college marketing book. I think providing unique value goes a lot deeper than creating interesting packages and seasonal getaways...

  • First...you need to be different in order to have something unique to offer. And, I mean different in a very real way...including the cake, not just the icing. That takes heavy doses of design, story and care. A unique design gets attention, extraordinary hospitality makes people feel cared for and a compelling story makes it easy for people to spread the word. Unfortunately, most of the package offerings I see are little more than a creative pitch to hype an otherwise mediocre experience...not much different from the next one.
  • Second...get small. Even if you have a large hotel, find ways to break it down into smaller pieces. You'll do a better job of providing hospitality, it will be easier to manage, and you'll have a much better chance to serve niche audiences.
  • Third...clearly define what you want to be (up front) and make a valiant attempt to serve one audience. Hopefully, you choose what you can be the best at. And, that something is different...not slightly better with a cheaper price.
  • Fourth...surprise the guest with an unexpected experience. Give everyone more than what they hoped for. Consequently, the more you hype, the less this works. Stop hyping, and start doing. This is a big part of your story...what gets talked about. So, make it count.

The key point of their entire article is to focus on the experience vs. the price side of the value equation. And, it's an excellent point. The missing caution is to make sure you center your attention on creating something truly remarkable vs. packaging and selling it.

Oh, and contrary to their opinion, creating a unique selling proposition isn't at all easy.

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Press Releases, Lipstick and Chickens

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We all know stories matter. The more interesting and emotionally captivating your message is, the more it gets talked about. Nowhere is this more evident (and perhaps important) than in the world of PR.

Like everything else, PR channels have become very cluttered and noisy...it's really hard to get a writer's  attention these days. So, why keep using the "traditional" approach of crafting press releases...if you know they are less and less effective. Take it from someone who knows more about this subject then me. Here's what Shel Israel says in a recent blog post, Lipstick on a Chicken.... 

" If you want to get me to write about you, and if I want to get the people who are most relevant to Roam4Free and Scrapblog to write about these clients, I don't pitch them.  I don't send them email attachments.  I don't call them up on the phone. I join their conversations. We get to know each other.  Hopefully, in many cases, we will get to know and trust each other.  When my audience is interested in what a PR practitioner is talking about it, I write about it and thus accelerate the conversation."

"If you are in the PR profession, I think you need to stop pitching and start becoming part of the conversation relevant to your market and your client."

Stories are passed along by people who connect and who share common goals. And, that's much easier as people get to know you...and they start trusting you. The challenge is to find new ways to make connections, start conversations and earn someone's trust. PR professionals are people too.

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The Element of Surprise

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While talking with someone today about the finer points of service, I was reminded that the most important part of delivering a really memorable experience is the unexpected...or surprise solution that makes a person feel like you really care about them (like giving a Christmas gift that took real effort to find and that no one expected). In hospitality, the key is to be able to anticipate, artfully adapt and improvise, making an otherwise odd request or challenge seem completely normal. That requires creativity, experience and practice.    

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How To Connect

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Earlier this month, I wrote about Connecting vs. Capturing to grow your customer base...essentially, talking to the interested few instead of hoping to net a few of the masses. I came across this excellent example on Seth's blog which was sent in by Chris of Glass House Denver.

1.  We placed a site sign at the construction site directing people to a website (not the one that exists now).

2.  At that site, we ran a short slideshow of what I would call benefit pictures - no renderings of a pool, just a guy sitting by a pool.

3.  Once the slideshow ended, we offered people a chance to "get on the list" for more information.

4.  When we had permission from these people, we began updating them on our progress once a month, including revealing in more detail each feature of the building.

5.  By the time we began the next step, over 5,000 people (I can't remember the exact number) had signed up (85% saying they were recommended by a friend.)

6.  About 500 of those people had come by our office and REALLY expressed interest/granted permission.

7.  We had about 45 cocktail parties for those people, about 15 at a time, at a restaurant in our neighborhood.  In essence, we invited them in for drinks.  We brought no collateral.  No models.  Instead, we just spent time with them.  Answered their questions.  Filled them in on the details that mattered to them.

8.  Then we created a private website for those people who had expressed interest answering the most common questions we had heard in our cocktail parties.

9.  From there, using a system that met some pretty stringent real estate law requirements, we offered those people who had expressed the most interest in Glass House an opportunity to purchase.

10.  We're moving the first people in and are completely bought out - 389 residences before the completion of construction in a market that is decidedly not booming.  (Don't get me wrong, this was a good building priced well in a great location.  But, our marketing was the x factor in making it work.)

If you're thinking of opening a hotel, restaurant or anything for that matter...you would do well to incorporate the permission and relationship building tactics from this model into your pre-opening approach. Or, if you're just trying to jump start your business, perhaps for a traditionally off-period, consider how much more effective building a relationship with a small group of interested people (your current customers) might be as opposed to attracting new ones.

I found a bonus when I went to the Glass House Denver website...notice how they aren't concerned about telling you everything about themselves on the first page. This is a further testament to the connecting approach...it's obvious they're expecting people they already know or those who already have a pretty good idea what's going on inside.



If you are opening a hotel, this

Over Supply

Hugh wrote this as part of a list of random thoughts on being an entrepreneur....

"In a world of over-supply and commodification, you are no longer paid to supply. You're being paid to deliver something else. What that is exactly, is not always obvious."

Like the rest of his list, this can also be applied to being a hotelier, manager, supervisor, developer, doorperson or steward.

Ask yourself this every day...What am I doing to be different?

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Leadership and Parenting

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For all the bosses out there...

This is boiled down from a string of posts and comments at Tom Peters...and from my own Vanished manifesto (the short version):

Successful leaders are a lot like successful parents...they care for their team like children. Here's a brief list of what resonates for parents...and, as it turns-out, leaders:

  • encourage (try new things and to make mistakes)
  • teach (right and wrong)
  • discipline
  • learn (from them)
  • support (during good and bad)
  • have fun
  • color outside the lines
  • give (no return expected)
  • invest (time, money, emotion and energy)
  • play
  • patience
  • search (for the good)
  • understand
  • pray
  • love

...and, take the time to watch them dance.

I'm sure you know a few more...send them over.

Five Excellent Suggestions To Improve The Customer Service Experience

Excellent article by John Fareed about what we need to do to improve our industry...mirrors what I riff, rant and rave about almost constantly...getting people to think differently about hospitality marketing and to commit some serious resources, passion and energy into developing what guests want, unique and memorable experiences...centered around them, not us.

Oh, I noticed John has a blog too...check it out.

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Art of Listening

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Listening

Seth used waitering as an example in a recent post about the importance of listening to what customers tell you. A timely follow-up to my last post defining hospitality...you can't give people what they want if you don't listen to them. And, here's the really important part...you can't deliver what they want in a meaningful way if you don't understand why they want it...which is the key point to listening. You can't improvise, exceed expectation or anticipate the next request if you don't listen to understand.

Too often, service providors get caught-up in the process (bringing water to the table in Seth's example) instead of the art of what they are doing (understanding why the person asked for "no ice"). The best chance to be different, to perform beyond expectation and to do something meaningful is when you hear the odd request, a challenge to one of your rules or even a complaint. These moments are the real golden nuggets. But, you have to want to hear them first... 

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Why Do We Get Bad Service?

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Cvs

This photo (of a CVS worker taking a personal call) accompanies Seth's post related to customer service...or, the lack of it.

The best reason I can give as to why people don't provide great customer service is because they don't want to. The roots are of course much deeper than that. You can find those here. But, on the surface, it's really simple...you either want to care for someone and are interested in how they feel...or, you're not.

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Branding

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There's been quite a bit written and said about branding recently. Jim Butler and Thomas Engel give us some great insight on Jim's Hotel Law blog, Tom Peters riffs about Time's Person of The Year and his Brand You message, and we batted around the Why Go Independent? subject on last week's indieHotelier...to name a few.

Here are my own key points on the subject of branding:

  1. Like marketing, branding is not something you stick on your product or service after the fact to get people to recognize it.
  2. Rather, it 's everything you do from the the moment the idea surfaces to the point you take it off the shelf...and everything in between.
  3. Branding is not just a name or a logo.
  4. Branding happens to everything and everyone...it's a never ending process.
  5. The person who interacts with you defines your brand in their terms...and owns it.The most common mistake in branding is not understanding my first point.
  6. The power of a brand has very little to do with having a lot of something and advertising the heck out of it.
  7. The power of a brand has everything to do with being different and being the best at something.
  8. Most companies, including almost all of the hotel chains, have no clue what that something is.
  9. And, most don't have the passion or the patience to be the best at any one thing....they try to appeal to everyone. And, they try to do it fast.
  10. The key to successful branding is not growth...or, to focus on growing.
  11. The key to successful branding is to develop something meaningful and remarkable...and to share it with people who want it.

Overall, I think Donald Trump sums it up best (thanks again to Jim Butler for the pointer)...

“I’ve worked hard to make sure the Trump name is found only on buildings of the highest caliber and products of the finest quality. I won’t even consider giving my approval to anything unless I know it’s the top of the line because when people see or hear “Trump,” they expect the best. That’s just basic marketing and good business.”

Please share your thoughts on this important...and highly debatable subject.


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Fire Your Franchisor

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In his recent article, Craig gives us some things to ponder when evaluating the benefits of a franchise. He puts forth some interesting analysis culminating in a comparison of fees...the results may surprise you.

I concur with Craig that both the economies and the marketing leverage franchises once enjoyed are waning, especially with more and more one-of-a-kind properties being fed into the supply chain to meet the desires of a quickly emerging  customer base squarely focused on a customized and personalized guest experience.

Craig's view coincides nicely with last week's indieHotelier topic...Why Go Independent?

Execution, Flavor and Technique

Ideasinfood

From my friends at Ideas and Food, a great riff about what makes a great chef. The key takeaway for me...

"Every meal does not have to be comprised of something new and different. There's something to be said for execution, flavor, and technique, for without these base skills to stand on, why bother cooking in a restaurant at all? Strong technique, a great palate--which results in the ability to create amazing flavors, and the ability to teach your staff to execute them both to your standards, are the building blocks that make restaurant chefs great, regardless of the kind of cuisine that they choose to create."

These same concepts can and should be applied to hospitality. Being the best requires flawless execution and attention to the smallest of details. And, the art of delivery, or technique, must be born from passion. If it doesn't come from the heart and soul, you're probably relegated to mediocrity...and in the wrong business.

Incidentally, Aki and Alex have a new book out, "Ideas In Food, The Photographs, Book 1". I was forunate enough to get a look recently...wow, the photography is incredible. Worth every penny...go get a copy...I just did.

Room For Pilots?

Airplane

Seth writes a nice riff about pilots and how the need for a person with these skills is rapidly diminishing. He's right, especially in the business of care and relationships.

Piloting and other life preserving occupations like heart surgery depend on precision and order to get the job done right. 20 feet or 5 millimeters might do someone in. And, the middle of a landing approach is no time to think about taking chances and doing it a different way. But, there really aren't many jobs out there that require this sort of discipline...never were.  Companies were just hung up on the command and control  way of doing things...management was in charge, management was smart and management knows best. Well, that's all changed, hasn't it.

The art of building relationships and caring for people relies on, no requires, you to take chances, to step out of bounds and to improvise. That's what people want...to feel important, like the world revolves around them, at least for the day.

Occasionally, we need piloting skills to get us through the day. Accuracy requires focus and discipline...that's what pilots are good at. I should know...I am one. But, in terms of caring for our guest and being the best at what we do, we should looking for ways to turn things upside down and to change the rules. Being 20 feet off course in our business isn't going to hurt anyone. In fact, it might just lead to a new and better way of doing things.

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Brand You

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I've been catching-up on my Tom Peters reading...really enjoyed his Thanksgiving post, A Tribute to Brand Yous. My favorite takeaway comes from a Sally Field quote...

"The only thing you have power over is to get good at what you do. That's all there is; there ain't no more."

Thanks Tom for keeping me inspired...and believing in all of us who are out there on our own striving to be the best at what we do.

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Money Isn't Everything

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Ken_diane

Ken and Diane Hendricks

Money isn't everything. But for most, it's a big part of the report card, especially in business. Spending money is how we demonstrate action. And, action is always louder than words.

Many, many companies claim they are the "employer of choice" and brag about how well they take care of employees. I'm certain I'm not the first person to tell you that most organizations fall short of their  mission statements....sometimes way short.

Ken Hendricks of ABC Supply seems to have figured out how to put his money where his mouth is. Haven't heard of Ken? He's only number 107 on this year's Forbes richest Americans list....worth $2.6 billion. There's a great article about Ken and his business philosophy in this month's issue of Inc. magazine (starts on page 108). It's well worth the read. But, in my opinion here's the most important part...

"wasting people is a sin. Repeatedly, he rails against "sick" cultures that don't nurture employees, or that simply discard workers. ABC, by contrast, invests $15 million each year (.5 percent of sales) in training and employee development and returns 51 percent of after-tax net income to the workforce in bonuses. Close to half of the company's managers making an average of $100,000 or more started out as roof loaders, warehouse workers or truck drivers."

How many companies do you know that return 51% of after tax income to its people...not the execs...the people?

The foundation of any company rests on how well it takes care of its own...and its customers. Often, that's measured in dollars.

What do your grades look like?

Small, Good Ideas

Another nugget out of Fast Company...this time from fashion designer, Karen Walker.

"We never have been interested in being the Next Big Thing, though.  Our philosophy has been to grow a small, good idea rather than an average, big one. In all this time, in all these markets, we've never adjusted our style of work. Rather, we adjusted which markets we selected to fit the work we were interested in doing. We didn't get into the fashion business to make a product we weren't passionate about."

This pretty much captures the essence of doing something extraordinary...or, at least, how to get started.

No Strings Attached

There's no better way to earn trust than to show someone you care...with no strings attached. As Seth points out, following-up with your customer is hard, especially when there's no agenda like selling some more, or asking for a referral. Calling someone just to see if everything is okay seems awkward, unless, of course, it's a friend. Then it's almost natural.

And, isn't that what our business of hospitality is about? Trust and friendship?

So, do something hard...talk to and do some things for your customers with no strings attached. Incidentally, this approach works extremely well with your employees too.