{"id":288,"date":"2015-08-05T10:12:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T10:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/expogroup\/2015\/08\/05\/how-to-foster-word-of-mouth-advertising\/"},"modified":"2018-12-09T23:46:06","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T23:46:06","slug":"how-to-foster-word-of-mouth-advertising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/theexpogroup.com\/how-to-foster-word-of-mouth-advertising\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Foster Word-of-Mouth Advertising"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This guest post by Jason Judy, Director of Marketing & Creative Services at\u00a0IAVM,\u00a0\u00a0originally appeared on the IAVM Blog, Front Row News<\/a> in March of 2015.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When you create memories, you get people talking.<\/p>\n

This was the launchpad for\u00a0the 2015\u00a0 GuestX<\/a>\u00a0session on memorable customer service from Jennifer Blackmon, corporate director with\u00a0the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Institute. Blackmon shared\u00a0amazing examples of service that have become synonymous with the Ritz-Carlton brand,\u00a0and then\u00a0took attendees\u00a0behind the scenes to discuss building the\u00a0right processes to\u00a0make those remarkable acts possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing busy is the archenemy of great customer service,\u201d Blackmon said.\u00a0\u201cIf my team is busy with\u00a0redundant tasks that could take less time with a better process, then we are missing opportunities to provide memorable, personal service with that extra time.\u201d<\/p>\n

A simple example was having water ready at the\u00a0porte-coch\u00e8re. Having cold water\u00a0immediately accessible to hand to an arriving guest means that hotel\u00a0staff is not on the phone placing an order\u00a0with another staff member or disappearing into a corridor to fulfill the request. This small\u00a0process of stocking water ahead of time sounds insignificant, but it protects that brief exchange\u00a0between frontline staff and the guest from being consumed by a redundant task\u2014and that is where\u00a0something memorable can\u00a0happen.<\/p>\n

The challenge\u2014detailed by Blackmon in the session\u2014is that memorable, word-of-mouth-inducing experiences are personal, surprising, and individual. They are above and beyond the\u00a0expected<\/em>\u00a0(cleanliness, service, ambiance), and they even transcend the\u00a0requested<\/em>\u00a0(helpfulness, responsiveness). They are in the rare, elusive,\u00a0delighted\u00a0<\/em>category. Experiences that will always be remembered\u2014surprising acts that we are compelled to\u00a0share with friends and family when\u00a0we find ourselves to be the lucky recipients. It\u2019s that frontline staff member casually learning that the\u00a0guest actually prefers tea instead of water when she\u00a0arrives back at\u00a0the hotel, and\u00a0having the time and support needed to anticipate that\u00a0desire and meet\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do not have a process for wowing people, I guarantee it will not happen,\u201d said\u00a0Blackmon, as she went on to describe the importance of building memorable guest service one step at a time. For venue managers\u00a0attending GuestX, it was a great opportunity to evaluate\u00a0how to better equip frontline staff to be consistent and efficient with theexpected<\/em>, and to feel empowered and motivated to aim for\u00a0delighted<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur business model at Ritz-Carlton is to work on our employees, not our customers,\u201d Blackmon said.\u00a0\u201cIf we get the employees right, we get the customers right.\u201d<\/p>\n

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