Dit is een interessant onderwerp: hoe kun je gelegenheden zoals verjaardagen, trouwdagen en jubilea personaliseren? Het begint allemaal met het begrijpen van en inleven in je klant. Wat zijn de verwachtingen?
Ik had een goed gesprek met mijn vriend Raymond Brunyanszki, de bedrijfseigenaar van Camden Harbor Inn in de VS. Een hotel en restaurant van Relais & Chateaux, waar luxe en persoonlijke aandacht centraal staan om gasten terug te laten komen. Hij vertelde me dat zij hun klanten om speciale dagen vragen. Ze hebben een manier gevonden om de verwachtingen te systematiseren en deze vervolgens te vertalen naar oplossingen in de bedrijfsvoering.
Dit is wat ik de CX-leider van het Waldorf Astoria zou aanraden:
Bepaal in de CX-strategie hoe belangrijk bijzondere momenten en afstemming op de gastenwensen eigenlijk zijn. Naar mijn mening is het in het luxe segment extreem belangrijk. Want lekker eten of een fijne welness, dat kan alleen met persoonlijke aandacht. Dus duidelijkheid in strategie is de sleutel.
Vraag gasten tijdens het boeken of er speciale dagen of wensen zijn. Zodat het personeel dit op voorhand weet. Zo kunnen zij anticiperen op deze momenten en een aantal memorabele ervaringen organiseren.
Zorg ervoor dat het CRM-systeem deze bijzondere dagen herkent. Ik ben een Hilton Honors-lid en zij weten mijn geboortedatum. Dus op de dag zelf had het systeem een bepaalde vermelding kunnen geven, dat de medewerker tenminste tijdens het uitchecken zou hebben gezien dat het mijn verjaardag was en me had kunnen feliciteren.
Zorg dat je een aantal branded geschenken en een manuscript klaar hebt liggen, met daarin: wat je wanneer moet doen. Zo kunnen medewerkers eenvoudig een cadeautje en een kaartje uit het schap pakken en aan de klant presenteren. Branded, want als de klant een foto deelt op social media is het ook mooie marketing voor jou als organisatie.
Train je personeel in het oppikken van signalen, wanneer zich speciale momenten voordoen. Maak ze alert.
Bespreek ‘s morgens speciale momenten bij het opstarten van de teams op de werkvloer. Hebben we gasten met speciale momenten, die vandaag extra aandacht nodig hebben? Als er aandacht in het team is en er misschien zelfs wat spelelementen worden toegevoegd, wordt het een sport om de verwachtingen van de gasten te overtreffen.
Wat als je het doel hebt gemist? Het gebeurt. Vraag niet alleen bij het uitchecken: “Heeft u een prettig verblijf gehad?” Bijna iedereen zegt ja, en zo krijg je geen waardevolle informatie. Vraag in plaats daarvan: “Wat hadden we beter kunnen doen, wat zou uw verblijf nog aangenamer hebben gemaakt?” Dat is oprechte nieuwsgierigheid en helpt je echt te leren waar je je als organisatie kunt verbeteren.
Dus genoeg om hiervan te leren. En… misschien zie je zelfs nog meer CX pro-suggesties. Deel ze alsjeblieft!
Voor mijn 50e verjaardag boekte ik een kamer voor twee nachten in het Waldorf Astoria in Rome. Omdat ik mezelf wilde trakteren, maar ook omdat ik van mijn 50ste verjaardag een bijzondere ervaring wilde maken. Het is een heel groot hotel, dus ik had mijzelf zelfs een upgrade gegeven naar de Imperial Floor. Grotere kamers, een bijzondere lounge met drankjes en hapjes, maar ook – dacht ik – meer persoonlijke aandacht.
Was het een chique hotel? JA.
Had het een geweldige spa? JA.
Had het een prachtig buitenzwembad met zachte badlakens? JA.
Had het een uitstekend ontbijt? JA.
‘Product wise’ was het allemaal heel goed.
Maar had het hotel persoonlijke aandacht met betrekking tot mijn 50e verjaardag? NEE.
Het was een teleurstelling. Een van mijn vrienden uit Nederland had een fles prosecco, een doos chocolaatjes en een persoonlijk briefje voor mij geregeld, die op mijn kamer werden afgeleverd op mijn laatste avond als 49-jarige. Ik noemde mijn verjaardag ook nog in de lounge (omdat ik weet dat de meeste CRM-systemen falen). Maar de ochtend van mijn 50e verjaardag ontving ik geen enkele felicitatie vanuit het hotel. Niet op mijn kamer, niet bij het ontbijt, niet in de lounge, niet bij de check-out. Niets. Ook al hadden ze het kunnen weten…
Ik begon me af te vragen of luxe vijfsterrenhotels ‘commodity’ zijn geworden? Ik weet het niet, maar ik weet wel dat als je een luxe merk bent dat een bepaald niveau van persoonlijke service belooft, dit een grote miskleun is. Ik deelde dit verhaal ook op Linkedin, waar velen het erover eens waren dat het hotel de plank missloeg. Maar sommigen noemden het een mogelijke cultuurkloof. Dat kan en misschien geldt dit voor Italiaanse verjaardagen, maar de gasten in het Waldorf (die ik zag) waren vooral Amerikanen of Engelssprekende gasten. En ik weet hoe belangrijk verjaardagen zijn voor Amerikanen! Nog meer dan voor mij als Nederlander.
Het interessante was dat de medewerker bij het uitchecken vroeg of mijn verblijf aangenaam was geweest. En dat was zo, dus dat gaf ik ook aan. Dit is ook waar ze tekortschoten in het vragen van feedback. (Lees vooral ook de CX lens blog waarin ik mijn suggestie voor hen deel!) En… ik heb geen enquête ontvangen. Het personeel van het Waldorf kan dus alleen op LinkedIn nu mijn ervaring lezen (of in dit blog).
Waarom plaatste ik een bericht op LinkedIn? Niet omdat ik dit wilde oplossen. Want als ik dat gewild had, had ik het hotel gebeld, of een ‘klacht’ gestuurd. Nee, het is meer een vraag voor ons als CX-professionals. Wat doe je met deze bijzondere dagen? Vooral in de vrijetijdsindustrie. Verwachtte ik als gast misschien te veel? Ik heb dit bericht geplaatst om te delen, te leren en het gesprek op gang te brengen.
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
Ik heb een nieuwe auto gekocht. Echt waar. Mijn allereerste splinternieuwe auto. Zelf bij elkaar gewerkt. Na lang wikken en wegen, hakte ik de knoop door. Er kwam een elektrische auto. Een prachtige Volvo XC40. Ik verheugde me al weken op de aflevering op 5 januari.
Door corona kon er helaas niks leuks qua aflevering, werd me telefonisch verteld. Ik nam de trein en wachtte achter het station op de verkoper. Het regende hard. Daar kwam mijn auto aan. Van alles schoot er door me heen: wat een gave auto, wat een bak, wat had ik een goede beslissing genomen. De verkoper stapte uit, ik liep op hem af en hij overhandigde mij de sleutel. Mijn hart maakte een dansje.
Of ik nog even het formulier wilde tekenen voor aflevering. Was het okay als ik dat in de auto deed, gezien de stromende regen? Tuurlijk, alleen mocht hij er niet naast komen zitten. Corona, hè?! Tuurlijk. Ik tekende, gaf hem het formulier en hij wilde weglopen.
Ho, ho. Wil je me een paar dingen uitleggen? Want ik zat ineens in een soort cockpit met een groot scherm en had geen idee. Ja, dat kon. Maar hij moest wel buiten blijven staan. Corona, hè?!
Hij wees op het scherm. Liet me op het touchscreen wat functies onderzoeken en vijf minuten later stapte hij bij zijn collega in de auto en reed het parkeerterrein af.
Daar zat ik dan. Voor het eerst in een elektrische auto. Totaal overrompeld door alle toeters en bellen. Dus heb ik eerst maar een half uur functionaliteiten onderzocht via de boardcomputer. Ineens realiseerde ik me: dit is niet hoe ik deze aflevering had bedacht. Natuurlijk verwachtte ik geen spannende onthulling met een groot laken (door corona en regen), maar gewoon een sleutel overhandigen en je dan uit de voeten maken?! Misschien lag er in de achterbak een cadeautje; had ik vast over het hoofd gezien.
Eerst op zoek naar de knop om de achterbak te openen. Door de regen rende ik snel naar de achterkant van de auto om daar… een oplaadsnoer en gevarendriehoek te vinden.
Alles functioneel. Niks leuks.
Tuurlijk: door corona mocht er weinig. Maar aan deze aflevering was helemaal niets feestelijks. Ik zette de auto in Drive en reed de tochtige parkeerplaats af.
Wat jij hiermee kan? Ik heb de slogan ‘door corona kunnen x en y natuurlijk niet’ iets te veel gehoord. Laat corona geen excuus zijn om er niets van te maken naar je klanten. Maak een feestje van dat wat wél kan. Doe een beroep op je creativiteit en geloof me; DAT onthouden je klanten.
Uit dit blog heb ik een aantal CX-lessen gedestilleerd. Nieuwsgierig? Lees ze hier!
*****
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
We begeven ons op een camping, in een huisje. En dat is niet zomaar een camping, maar zo-een die hip is en daarmee snel uitverkocht is. Het boeken vond vorig jaar november al plaats, met in het achterhoofd dat ik de hele maand juni in het buitenland zou zijn voor prachtige spreekopdrachten en CX-masterclasses. Maar ja… Daar was ineens corona. En net als iedereen, ben ik sinds half maart permanent in ons mooie Nederland.
Het goede nieuws was dat we een geweldig vakantieadres hadden gevonden. Deze camping werd door velen aanbevolen: misschien wat groot, maar supertof. Dichtbij het strand, tegen de duinen aan. Veel speelmogelijkheden voor kinderen met zand en water. De recensies waren bijna té lovend. Ik moet eerlijk zijn: ik word dan sceptisch. Ik wil eerst met eigen ogen zien of de beloftes worden waargemaakt. En hoe is het dan met de klantbeleving? Ook dat wil ik zelf aan den lijve ondervinden.
Dus. Daar gingen we. De eerste week van de bouwvak. De drukste week van het hoogseizoen in 2020. Ik moest eerst nog maar eens zien hoe deze camping die geweldige klantbeleving ging waarmaken.
We werden perfect ontvangen. Snel, vriendelijk en duidelijk. We kwamen aan in het huisje, zo mooi dat het onze verwachtingen overtrof. Met goede bedden en een perfecte ligging: tussen de duinen, met een eigen veranda en zo’n mooi tentdoek als overkapping. We waren er beduusd van.
De eerste fles wijn ging open, de kleine vertrok richting speelplek met veel zand en wij zaten vorstelijk in de relaxmodus. Eerst maar eens het boekje doornemen, met plattegrond en tips, inclusief activiteitenplanning.
De dagen daarna hadden we de leukste gesprekken met personeelsleden van de camping. Zij reden regelmatig voorbij in elektrische karretjes. We werden vrolijk begroet, we wisten dat ze Luuk, Gerard of Daan heetten en er werden kleine wensen ingelost. Zo was ik mijn yogamat vergeten en binnen een halve dag had ik er eentje in ons huisje. Elke ochtend ontvingen we een krant, begeleid door een vrolijk ‘Goedemorgen!’. In zo’n geval lukt het me niet meer om alleen ‘gast’ te zijn. Direct steekt ook mijn beroepsdeformatie de kop op. Hoe is dit geregeld? Welke processen en afspraken worden er met het personeel gemaakt? Ik kon mijn nieuwsgierigheid niet bedwingen en vroeg het Daan. Hij legde gelijk hun concept uit. Hoe zij samen, met al het personeel de laatste pagina van de brochure inkleuren. De pagina die je niet kan beschrijven, maar die je moet ervaren.
Hoe wow is dat? Niet alleen het bedenken ervan, maar dat je dit ook waarmaakt midden in het hoogseizoen. Met processen, afspraken en vooral: in concreet gedrag. Mij hebben ze als klant ingepakt. Verwend met een hele fijne vakantieklantbeleving. Chapeau camping. Chapeau personeel. Wij hebben alvast geboekt voor 2021.
Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 22 september 2020
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
Emotions you really need to recognize when interacting with customers and employees. For all in in customer experience, marketing, sales and operations.
The last couple of days my feelings are deeper than a month ago. I feel sad when I see awful images on ICU’s and when I hear stories of loss. I feel disgust of companies that just keep sending their stupid sales newsletters through email, like nothing is going on. I experienced fear while my fiance had corona. I experienced anger seeing people that were just out in the streets, pretending the world was still normal and they could go to the beach or the park, putting lives in danger. But also, I experience joy while watching funny video’s, that I receive through WhatsApp. I felt relieved my fiance recovered from corona. I felt surprised when receiving a thoughtful handwritten card with caring words in my mailbox.
Somehow, my emotions are deeper. Are more on the surface and are more intense. Which actually not only happens in my emotional world. It also happens also in yours, your family, community, actually in the world of most humans that are now affected by corona. This requires that we, Customer Experience Professionals, people working in marketing, sales and operations, need to be aware of the intensity of emotions of our employees and customers.
We definitely need to recognize and learn how to deal with emotions to help our customers and employees in the best way.
To help you out to understand emotions and the range of emotions, I share the knowledge by Professor Robert Plutchick and his wheel of emotions. If you understand this, please use it in scripts, customer journeys, emails, campaigns, conversations, and probably many more situations. So, here we go….
The basics:
Plutchik considers there are eight primary emotions; anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipaation, trust and joy. Plutchik argues for the primacy of these emotions by showing each to be the trigger of behaviour with high survival value, such as the way fear inspires the fight or flight response (info wikipedia).
How are the eight emotions related:
As you can see in the emotion wheel, each primary emotion has an opposite; joy is the opposite of sadness, trust is the opposite of distrust, fear the opposite of anger, surprise is the opposite of anticipation
The emotions in between the eight basic emotions, are the combined emotions. So disgust plus anger, gives the emotion contempt. Or fear plus surprise, gives awe. As emotions are complex, this way of looking at emotions helps to understand where these emotions come from.
The intensity of emotions:
The emotions I feel in these times of corona, feel deeper, like they are more intense. That is what Plutchik visualizes by the brightness of the colors in the wheel. The deeper the color, the more intense the motion is felt. When looking in the yellow column, the lightest emotion is serenity, more deeper is joy and the emotion in the most intense way is ecstasy.
Plutchik’s wheel of emotions provides a perfect framework for understanding emotions
Now what?
It is important for all of us, to dive deeper in emotions of our customers and employees. To understand what the emotions are they are experiencing. Because these emotions need to be taken seriously. As I learned on a mindfulness course, you can compare not taking your emotions seriously, like pushing a cork underwater deeper and deeper. In the end it will pop out faster than ever before. Remember my example of the company that just keeps sending me sales-oriented newsletters, that are in my view, not appropriate right now. I canceled their newsletter. As I explained the reason for my un-subscription, they reacted; “thank you so much. We value your opinion” Which I know for certain is a standardized email, so they are not listening at all. Now I am really done with them, since I will remember this for a long time.
Three suggestions how to apply the knowledge of emotions:
1. In customer contact – Acknowledge emotions when you have conversations with customers. Or train your staff to acknowledge emotions. It is proven, that the more you ignore the more red/purple emotions, the more they will intensify. This also means that in these uncertain times, customer contact with regards to health, money and other uncertain topics, will take more time. So take that into account in average handle times.
2. In customer / employee communication – Examine what your customer or employee is feeling and experiencing right know. Describe and acknowledge these situations and emotions, so people will read/watch on. Make sure that when you show video’s, that the person in the video, is honest and also shows emotion. A best practice, is the video of Arne Sorenson CEO of Marriott, who explains the impact of covid-19 on Marriott for the associates.
3. In Customer journey mapping sessions – Too often I see that Happy, Neutral and Unhappy are used to map emotions. You just read there are many more emotions and it will help you to diversify the emotions of customers. What are they really feeling right now and also, how do you want them to feel in the To-Be journey. Use the wheel in your design thinking processes. This more detailed wheel with described emotions might come in handy. It shows the diversity of emotions. Praise given to Danny Peters that uses this wheel in his customer journey mapping teaching sessions.
I hope this knowledge helps you to understand your customers and employees emotions better. Maybe even the emotions of yourself and the people close to you. Our emotions have deepened, maybe we even feel different emotions. So it is now even more important to be aware and pay the right attention.
Let’s get active; share your thoughts in the comments.
Was this article useful? Please let me know. And even more important, how could you apply or have your applied this knowledge? Please share in the comments. Let’s grow our understanding of emotions and the impact on our CX work even more. Thank you and since it is important for all of us, a little personal note; stay safe.
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
https://www.nienkebloem.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2020/11/Crash-course-in-human-emotions.jpeg400400Nienke Bloemhttps://cluster.swstatic.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2021/03/Nienke-Bloem-Logo1.pngNienke Bloem2020-04-03 11:21:492024-09-30 14:44:02Crash course in human emotions
Wat vind jij? Een ja of een nee? Ik ben benieuwd. Maar voordat ik mijn opinie in de rondte strooi, neem ik je mee in een experiment.
Stel. Je wordt wakker en bent vrolijk. Je springt fris en fruitig uit je bed. Want je hebt er zin in. Je gaat vol passie aan de slag. Je loopt de keuken van de McDonalds in, groet je collega’s en start (na je handen te hebben gewassen; natuurlijk!) met een bestelling van een BigMac. Wat doe je?
Je hebt dit al zo vaak gedaan, dat je niet meer naar het plaatje van deze hamburger hoeft te kijken. Maar je weet precies hoe de opbouw is. Broodje, saus, sla, tomaat, augurk, twee hamburgers, een plakje kaas en nog meer saus (voor de echte kenners, ik hoop dat ik het goed heb). Dus je bouwt de hamburger zoals die hoort, stopt hem in het doosje en hopsa; klaar om gegeten te worden.
Of
Vandaag ga je out of the box. Je hebt iets gehoord van je manager over autonomie en je gaat deze hamburger nóg lekkerder maken. Beetje meer saus, beetje minder vlees. Want ja, dat is niet goed voor het milieu. Misschien is drie plakjes tomaat wel een goed idee. Gewoon even jouw passie erin en klaar is Klara. Hamburger in het doosje en hopsa; klaar om gegeten te worden.
Wat doe je: 1 of 2? Ik hoop scenario 1, want dat is precies wat de klant verwacht. Hopelijk wordt de hamburger met een grote glimlach aan de klant overhandigd en is het ook qua customer service op orde.
Want dat is waar de klant centraal over gaat. Over dat de klant een product of dienst in een bepaalde mate van consistentie verwacht en krijgt. Dat vergt kaders. Waar moet die consistentie voor jouw bedrijf aan voldoen? Is dit een bepaalde snelheid, kwaliteit, tone-of-voice, of opbouw van de hamburger? Ja, natuurlijk kun je net dat beetje meer geven, qua service of een extraatje. Maar de basis is die hamburger, dat product.
Dus nee. De klant centraal is niet van ons allemaal. Het fundament van de klant centraal is van die personen die het fundament ontwerpen. Dat kan het customer experience team zijn. Of bijvoorbeeld marketing, of het klantcontactcenter. Zij zetten kaders op waar je je aan kan en wil houden. En als je dan net dat beetje extra weet te geven als medewerker… Die glimlach. Die service. Die briljante BigMac. Dat echte klantcontact. Dan heb je het gemaakt. En staat de klant centraal. Daar mag je dan hartstikke trots op zijn.
Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 16 oktober 2019
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
https://www.nienkebloem.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2020/11/De-klant-centraal-is-van-ons-allemaal.jpeg400400Nienke Bloemhttps://cluster.swstatic.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2021/03/Nienke-Bloem-Logo1.pngNienke Bloem2019-10-21 07:00:532024-06-07 14:13:40De klant centraal, is van ons allemaal
Maybe you know, maybe you don’t. But me wearing a blue dress when I perform and speak, has a start. I call it the birth of my personal brand. Let me share the story with you.
It was Sunday March 29th 2015. I was invited to my first Professional Speaker Association event, not only to learn, but also to speak. Imagine this: I had just quit my job 3 months earlier, was in the early days of my speaking career and the second bunch of people I spoke for, were all speakers. I was so terrified and excited at the same time, and worked vigorously to create a brilliant story. Where CX meets a speaker’s business. I did try outs, worked on my slides, and worked on my body, since I wanted to look my best. Ever.
Besides yoga I ran twice a week (I jogged to be honest). Two days before D-day, when I was running in the city of Utrecht, I sprained my calf. It hurt like crazy and the most awful part was, that I couldn’t walk. Should I cancel my PSA event? From a body’s point of view: yes. I couldn’t walk and had to keep my leg up, to give it rest. But there was no issue with my mouth and voice, so I decided to go anyway. And with crutches, I could make my way around the event.
There was just one issue. I had planned to wear a red dress, but I had blue crutches and that was not a beautiful match. So, I dug deep in my closet and found the perfect dress. A dress that matched my crutches. A blue dress. And I tailored my story more to the blue theme. I used the blue bear as a metaphor, the big blue bear that is an art work outside the Denver Convention Center. My metaphor for staying curious and yes, blue again. So, the day came, where I delivered my keynote speech. I was nervous, and yes it felt a little strange to not stand up and walk while speaking. I delivered my keynote on a barstool, but hey, I did it!
It went great and I got a big round of applause of all my new speaker friends. After my speech, a colleague of a speaker bureau came up to me and asked if I was interested in speaking for their agency. As the speaker in the blue dress.
That is where it all began. And since then, I almost always speak in a blue dress. As it has grown to be my personal brand. To be an authentic part of me doing what I love to do. Helping my customers to make the world more beautiful for their customers and employees. I get many questions about my blue dress thing and thought it would be handy to create a FAQ for you.
The FAQ of the blue dress
Do you have funny stories about you in your blue dress?
The best story of me and my blue dress, is one that happened at Schiphol Airport. I ordered a cappuccino when I was on my way to fly to London. The barista gave me my cappuccino and said; “that is one euro 60”. I looked up in amazement, because cappuccino’s in airports are normally triple that price. She saw my surprise and said: “Employee discount.” She thought I was an employee of KLM ?. So up to now I have saved at least three euro’s doing my blue dress thing.
How many blue dresses do you have?
It is more than four years ago and since then, my collection of blue dresses has grown. Every time I walk into a department store or boutique, my Blue-dress-radar starts immediately. I am always on the lookout for a new edition to add to my blue dress collection ?. In my closet, I have designers’ dresses, La-Dresses, a ball gown, sleeveless dresses, V-neck dresses, short and longer dresses. I just counted them for you, and I dare to share that I have 17 blue dresses in the colors cobalt/royal blue.
Do you have any other color dresses?
Yes I have other colors, but I must admit, my blue collection takes half of my closet. I treasure my royal blue ones, but I also have a collection of darker blue. And of course, other shades, some with flowers. But know that I almost never wear them when I deliver a presentation or when I teach a masterclass: those moments I’ll stick to my vivid blue ones. O well, I give you an idea what my wardrobe looks like.
Do you ever wear trousers?
Yes, I do. When I go to the gym I always wear trousers. That is twice a week. And that is enough for me… I have some jeans in my closet. But I rarely wear them. I love the simplicity of a dress. One piece, no hassle and I look feminine instantly.
Do you ever speak in another colored dress?
Especially when I speak abroad, I bring two dresses of different colors. The blue one and most often an orange or red one. The reason I do this, is because when the stage is all blue, me in my blue dress will fade away against the background. And I don’t want that. So sometimes I have to decide to let the personal brand go and choose for client delivery. A logical choice, because when you can’t see the speaker that well, I have not done a great job.
Did you ever go to Denver and see the blue bear for yourself?
Yes, I did. You have to know, that in 2015 when I started with the blue bear in my stories, I made a pledge to myself that I wanted to see that blue bear with my own eyes. In 2016 I went to a training of a speaker colleague to learn all about marketing and sales for speakers. In DENVER. Yiha! So, I got to meet the blue bear, the immense art work that is almost 13 meters high.
Do you also have a blue car, blue nails, blue everything?
No. I just wear a blue dress. That is my image, my personal brand. In my logo I have blue as a color, but that is about it. I don’t want to be a blue lady and identify with Smurfette, although I really think she is adorable. So, just a blue dress. Now you know everything about the origin of that!
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
https://www.nienkebloem.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2020/11/The-story-behind-the-blue-dress.jpeg400400Nienke Bloemhttps://cluster.swstatic.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2021/03/Nienke-Bloem-Logo1.pngNienke Bloem2019-07-16 14:57:562024-09-30 14:47:44The story behind the blue dress
… why you are getting it all wrong when it comes to the visual revolution
We are in the age of the visual revolution. Sorry? What? Yes, visuals are the bomb. Not just a little bit, but all over the place. Where Instagram is growing like crazy, YouTube is the second largest search engine and even LinkedIn is growing when it comes to images and video.
A real big chance for everybody. Not only telling how good your products and services are, but also showing it with images. Because images speak louder than words; right?
Let’s dive a little deeper where it tends to get ugly when it comes to visuals.
Let’s go on a cruise
This April I went on a cruise. In 2016 we cruised with Carnival Cruises, which was a big eye opener and fun and brilliant customer experience (on which I blogged). So in 2019 we wanted to push it a little, go on a longer cruise and see more islands. We changed to Celebrity Cruises, because their ships were newer, the destinations fitted and the whole look and feel of the website, matched with what I was longing for.
This is where it all went wrong. Please take a look on their website: I am curious what you see and what impression you get? Well I got the impression of modern luxury (which is also what they promise, as one of the guest relations officers told me) and the website shows guests like me.
The Stereotype Exercise
Now, let’s do a small exercise that I learned at Disney Institute. The Stereotype exercise. When you think of cruising and the typical customer. What things come to mind? Before I type any further, you could pick up pen and paper, but you can also keep reading. I will join you in your mind.
When I stereotype cruising and their guests, I think of an older population, a little grey-haired to be honest. Pensioners, who love jewelry and play bridge. They are grandparents, children moved out of the home. Who want to experience luxury and comfort and want to dine with captain Stubing (little joke).
Our experience in 2016 was really different. Carnival is known for their fun and they attract a young crowd. That is also what their website shows when it comes to visuals. Now let’s switch back to Celebrity. When I glance at their visuals on the website or their Instagram, I see people like me. Young, okay, this is debatable ?, but between 40 and 55. Young, right?! A young crowd who enjoys life, who likes to explore and have new adventures. This is what they market, this is what they sell on their website.
Different expectations
So imagine entering the boarding area in Fort Lauderdale, where the first impression was… An old peoples home. The stereotype we just imagined. Yes, we saw canes, walking racks and wheelchairs. That is not any issue, but I booked this holiday with a different expectation. Praise the lord there were younger people aboard, but they were scarce. And that was a real pity for my daughter of twenty, who I brought along. Yes, we had a great holiday, but thinking back of the Carnival Cruise and the fun we had with most of the guests; I wish we booked with them.
During the cruise, we shared tables with many people and for example had a chat with a couple (in their 70s) who were on their tenth cruise with Celebrity. Yes, they admitted Celebrity is known for a little older crowd. That is what they liked and why they came back. Again and again. And we had many more chats like that.
Disappointment
The fourth day of the cruise, I decided to have a conversation with guest relations. Because it somehow itched that the cruise was marketed in a way, which wasn’t delivered. I explained my disappointment and the lady behind the desk spoke these words “Yes, we have an older population on board. If you would have liked a younger cruise, you should have booked Royal Caribbean.” What?! Really?!
While I am writing this, I feel the same emotions again. Those of frustration and disappointment. You sell me a cruise with a certain expectation, I book online, I have to let you know who I travel with (a twenty-year-old), you give no advice and then a little twat behind the desk tells me this. My oh my.
Where did it go wrong from an organizational customer experience point of view?
Honor your clients
I think the marketeers of Celebrity Cruises are all pretty young and hip. Chances are they hire other hip website builders, travelers and influencers to create visuals and tell stories. Probably the board wants to rejuvenate their passengers. Marketing most certainly works with personas, but I don’t think the older traveler is in there. They aim for young, as shows their website and Instagram.
Now comes the truth and nothing but the truth. Be happy with your clients. Give them the credits they deserve. Because these older guests are filling your pockets. Make sure you show reality in your visuals. Not just polishing it up with models and stock photo’s you use now. Show your real customers in your visuals. Give them the place they deserve on your website, Instagram and Facebook.
Because what happened with me, is not an N=1 (just one traveler) situation. We had a conversation with over ten other young guests, and they had the same experience as we had. They were also not coming back on Celebrity. At least not in the next twenty years ?, as at that age we fit their age group in a better way.
My dear marketeers, when you show pictures that are too far from the truth, you are the reason why customers get disappointed. Guest relations can’t fix it down the line. They can only fix it with some extra’s, but you are two steps behind.
Be real
Does this only happen in the travel industry? NO. This is the hard truth in many areas of visual marketing. For example, have a look at websites of golf courses. The pictures are beautiful. The sun is rising. Greens look so green. Bunkers are all raked meticulously. And the most surprising thing; almost never do you see any people golfing. It could be a very young and slim couple, but most often these golf courses are photographed at moments of total ‘nobodyness’.
Reality is different. Most golf courses host many flights of golfers. There are PEOPLE on a golf course. Not models, but people like me, my mom and dad. Normal people.
Of course, you want to look your best on a website. You want to show things on a sunny day. Literally and metaphorically. But don’t overdo it. Make sure it looks great, but also real. Because if you don’t: reality will hit and create disappointment down the line.
So, my plea is: do the reality check. Take a look at your website and other social channels where you use visuals like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Are you telling the truth, or should you take it down a notch? Me and my fellow customers would appreciate the real story. Thank you.
Don’t want to miss any of my blogs? Then subscribe to my weekly CX Greetz!
*****
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
Disney – we all know the brand, and I have visited their theme parks several times. Both in Paris as well as in Orlando. But how do they consistently deliver their Disney Magic? This year I decided to invest in myself and learn more and follow one of Disney Insitute’s courses. A separate company, dedicated to spreading Disney’s knowledge through training and advice.
I followed a One-Day course at Anaheim, the Disneyland location. The very first location of all Disney parks, where Walt Disney himself had his vision and where he put it in practice.
The whole day was well organized, starting very early with breakfast at 7:30 AM. From the moment I entered the training room, the Disney touch was there, including plenty of Mickey shaped confetti on the table. There was a workbook for all participants and a refillable Disney water bottle.
This program was focused on how to consistently deliver quality service to your clients, based on your own brand. This is exactly how I envisage my A.C.E. Strategy that I speak and write about:
Authentic experiences from your unique brand perspective, consistently delivered during the customer journey, by Employee Ambassadors who understand and can deliver the service to customers.
It was fabulous to see how Disney puts that into practice and together with 47 other participants, I learned all about this at Disney Institute. Besides the theoretical part, we also went into the park itself (although short) to see and experience the theory ourselves (also known as a Customer Safari).
I have written about ten pages full of insights, quotes and memorable stories. As you are probably not waiting for all of my notes, here are the three major insights I got from the course:
1. Purpose over Task
At Disney everybody is educated by the spirit of Walt Disney and learns about the common purpose of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts: “We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere” in short “Creating Happiness for Others”
It was interesting to learn the origin of this purpose, with a big role of new person to me: Van France, Founder and Professor Emeritus of Disney Universities. What was even more interesting, was that in the Disney Philosophy, every employee has the freedom to create happiness for guests. That means that in a service moment, where the guidelines are clear for a specific task, there is room to make an exception. The employee may decide to follow his/her gut and go for happiness instead. To be “off task” and “on purpose”.
They gave an example about a girl called Alice who visited the park. The Disney employee asked why she was sad, as she had a birthday pin on. So she told them that yes, it was her birthday, but all her friends had to cancel, because of illness and other appointments. But she decided to go to Disney anyway. The employee did all she could to create a special moment in a restaurant, where characters of Alice in Wonderland (see the alignment ?) were present and celebrated with her. Because, in Disney there are always friends and a birthday should always be celebrated.
Should the member of staff do this all the time? No. But was it appropriate at this moment and she had every reason to be “off task” (which was providing service at an attraction) and “on purpose” to go out of her way and arrange a perfect birthday celebration for Alice. Of course, Alice still visits Disney often, made new friends, and is an ambassador forever.
So the lesson here is: What is the purpose of your company and which are situations where your employees go the extra mile? Do you have such brilliant stories within your company; those everlasting customer stories that make you feel proud and cause a smile on everybody’s face?
2. Prioritize Quality Standards
When I am visiting companies, I am always interested in what they want to deliver to their customers. Often, we are creating a customer compass or a customer charter. With three to five (up to seven, but that is exceptional) customer promises or brand values that are specific for the brand and that align all employees towards the same customer experiences.
In Disney they have four Quality Standards, also known as “The Four Keys”. Courtesy, Safety, Show and Efficiency. A very interesting assignment during the course, was to prioritize these four keys. Because, in the way Disney teaches their employees, they need to know what is important to make consistent decisions. So each of these standards is equally important (don’t ever say the fourth is least important… ?), but there is a logical Disney order. And that is
Safety
Courtesy
Show
Efficiency
This sounds so logical to apply a prioritization, but I have never done it this way. So from now on, prioritization will be added as an option to the Nienke Bloem CX toolkit.
3. Seriously organize your service recovery
Things can go wrong. Even at Disney things go wrong, but they make it their task to recover what needs to be recovered. I like the description: “Service Recovery is an event that occurs when the customer’s expectations are not met.”
For Disney it is important to pursue the relationship with the customer, which has great impact on their view of service recovery, or as I see it named in companies’ “Complaints” procedures. At Disney they don’t want to just resolve the issue, but they want to reconciliate the relationship.
Because guests are likely to care just as much – if not more – about how they are treated following the service failure as they care about the outcome of a service recovery itself.
So what Disney has done is to put processes and systems in place on service recovery. Of course they also have the outer loop and are continuously improving their operations and systems, but as they pursue the same consistency in service recovery as in their daily service, they have thought about everything.
On this topic we had a guest speaker who told so many compelling service recovery stories, that really proved that Disney has this under control. And she closed off with the following: “Things can go wrong, they might not be our fault, but they are our problem.”
The ownership of service issues, of things that went wrong, that is where Disney steps up and makes the difference.
My question for you, is how are service recovery processes organized in your company? Do you have the same drive for service recovery and do people take ownership? Is the How(the way) just as important or maybe even more so than the What (the solution)? If you can answer: “Yes!”, hurray for you, as you joined Disney in customer obsession. If you have to answer: “No”, you’ve got work to do!
These were my three major insights and I will take them along and incorporate them in my consulting, writing, presenting and teaching practices. So, you can expect more on Disney and my findings in the common months.
Disney rocks! They want to differentiate themselves from the market. They are a premium brand and strive for consistent delivery of their four quality standards every day. I want to challenge you to go the Disney way. Is there one of these three insights, that spark your imagination and make you ambitious enough to step up the customer experience in your company? Reach out to me or please share in the comments which of the three insights it is for you, so I also learn which appeals the most.
Don’t want to miss any of my blogs? Then subscribe to my weekly CX Greetz!
*****
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
https://www.nienkebloem.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2020/11/What-did-I-learn-at-Disney-Institute.jpeg400400Nienke Bloemhttps://cluster.swstatic.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2021/03/Nienke-Bloem-Logo1.pngNienke Bloem2019-02-18 11:58:232024-09-30 14:54:26What I learned at Disney Institute: my three major insights of graduating the course ‘Disney’s Approach to Quality Service’
“Goedemorgen mevrouw, heeft u zin om met ons naar Nederland te vliegen?” Een grote glimlach op zijn gezicht verraadt dat hij er lol in heeft. Zijn vrouwelijke collega achter hem, kijkt met een strak gezicht naar een punt ergens 20 centimeter boven mijn hoofd en negeert mijn ‘Goedemorgen deze morgen’. Terwijl ik mijn stoel – 2F – opzoek, zie ik een derde stewardess die vooral druk bezig is met het organiseren van bagage. Want daar hebben wij als reizigers weinig kaas van gegeten, zegt haar gezichtsuitdrukking.
Voor het opstijgen krijgen we de uitleg over de veiligheidsprocedure. Glimlachend zie ik de blije eikel twee rijen voor me. Hij voert zijn routine uit, met veel energie en oogcontact met de verschillende passagiers. Van veiligheidsgordel tot zwemvest, hem krijgen ze vandaag niet uit zijn goede humeur. Achter hem staat de purser van de vlucht haar riedeltje op te dreunen. Ze zucht er nog net niet bij, maar deze norse kastanje heeft er duidelijk weinig zin in.
We vliegen weg en al snel is het tijd voor de hapjes en drankjes. Bij deze maatschappij betaal je voor je eten en drinken en ineens besef ik dat mijn portemonnee in het bagagerek boven mijn hoofd ligt. Toch wil ik een noedelsoep (guilty pleasure, ik geef het toe). De blije eikel neemt de bestelling aan, zegt dat dit ook één van zijn favorieten is en geeft de norse kastanje de opdracht om een ‘noedelsoep voor de knappe mevrouw op 2F’ te maken. Vervolgens beken ik dat mijn portemonnee nog boven me ligt. “Geen enkel probleem mevrouw, dat kan de beste overkomen”, zegt hij enthousiast. De norse kastanje zucht hoorbaar en draait zich om naar het keukentje om mijn noedelsoep te maken. Mijn rugzak komt tevoorschijn, hij maakt nog een grap dat roze ook zijn favoriete kleur is en alle rijen lachen ondertussen mee.
Wat heeft deze man een pret in zijn werk, echt geweldig. Ik weet zeker dat dit de tweede vlucht van zijn werkdag is en dat hij meer dan vroeg zijn bed uit is gekomen. Net als de norse kastanje trouwens, die er ondertussen echt geen zin meer in heeft. De noedelsoep is ze vergeten, en als ik ernaar vraag snauwt ze nog net niet terug.
Twee maanden en vier vluchten met andere airlines verder, herinner ik me nog steeds die ene vlucht, met de puffende purser en de aanstekelijke energie van de vrolijke steward. Die blije eikel die iedereen en dus ook mij een goed gevoel gaf. Dankjewel en ik hoop dat ik snel weer met jou mag vliegen.
Dit blog werd geschreven voor CustomerFirst en gepubliceerd op 28 maart 2018
Nienke Bloem is often called the Customer Experience speaker in the blue dress.
She’s a global CX thought leader, educator and a global keynote speaker who inspires audiences with best practices and proven methodologies. She leads a speaking practice, a CX game company and a training business; she breathes Customer Experiences and is author of two CX books.
Her two-day Customer Experience Masterclass is known as the best program to prepare for your CCXP and she is the go-to person voor CX leaders who want to advance their leadership and bring direct results from their Customer Experience transformation programs. Since 2020, she hosts a CX Leadership Masterminds program and helps leaders spice up their leadership and deliver an engaging CX Story including a solid CX Strategy. Besides, she is a modern-day pilgrim and found the parallel with leading customer centric transformations.
With her over 20 years corporate experience, she speaks the business language. Her keynotes and education programs in Customer Experience are inspiring and hands-on. She is one of the few Recognized Training Partners of the CXPA and it is her mission to Make Customer Experience Work and help you deliver business results.
