ANGUILLA PRIDE™: BUILDING PROSPERITY THROUGH PERSONAL PERSUASION

As we once again reflect on ways to build prosperity through the highest standards of professionalism characterised by ANGUILLA PRIDE service qualities, this discussion expands on the “E” for Excellent Endings. Specifically, inviting customers back again provides the continuity from today’s transactions to tomorrow’s growth. It isn’t just something to say as an arbitrary job standard. We need customers to come again after serving them so well that they also bring their friends when they do.

However, a customer relationship is a two-way street. We cannot passively assume any customer will be steadfast without earning their business and asking them to return. Two examples from the arts come to mind: You may have heard the expression “Waiting for Godot” (with a silent T.) It is the title of an absurdist play in which the characters intermittently fritter time; then they actively await Godot’s arrival, only to have their hopes repeatedly dashed. Godot never comes. They not only had obviously failed to establish a previous relationship with Godot, but they also kept assuming he would come, no matter what they did. And from a film, some seem to believe, “If we build it, he will come” and that we need merely to have a job or business, hotel, or restaurant to derive customer loyalty. While the character in Field of Dreams managed to bring back the dearly departed by ascribing to that belief, the rest of us need to connect with real customers with real needs to grow our enterprises!

As customers, even the most courteous among us have gotten the feeling we were an annoying interruption to management and a bother to staff when seeking services in some establishments in the first place, much less imagining we would be welcome to return. In fact, we are reminded that nearly 70% of lost business is due to the perception of indifference, not problems, price or products. How often do we hear, “Thank you for your business” and “Please come again” upon departing any shop, restaurant, office, or property today? Employees too often disappear or turn to the next customer after dropping our receipt in the bag or the credit card slip on the table before we take our leave. And, while sometimes directed to a competitor down the road, we’ve all been simply turned away when we’ve asked for something unavailable, without a suggested alternative, much less an invitation to come again.

So as managers and service providers, how can we ensure Excellent Endings that demonstrate a sincere desire for customers and visitors to return? After telling them we hope they’ll come again with a flawless, fond farewell upon parting, we need to personally persuade them to do so with reminders and invitations after they’re gone and when they are likely to consider our offerings once more.

One of my most unforgettable service experiences came after staying at a hotel in Anguilla long ago. Following a delightful vacation at a beautiful property, an elegantly written letter arrived in the mail a few months later. The manager said they appreciated our business and hoped we would choose that property for our next trip. Among dozens of services, merchants, and places we stayed for business and pleasure throughout the world, none were smart enough to make a similar gesture before or since. The letter made us feel special, appreciated, and welcome to come again (even though we were “ordinary” guests choosing standard accommodations, not a penthouse or wedding party, etc.) It worked. We went back, because they genuinely appreciated our business.

We might also consider the importance of planning, with invitations linked to holidays and local festivities. Perhaps we would have come sooner or stayed longer if that same message tied more closely to our interests or available time for travel. We can add value by planning sales, seasonal items, or menus, and highlighting special events in Anguilla. Do you know what day of the week Christmas is this year? The dates for Moonsplash, Easter and Summer Festival 2012? Whether Labour Day is the same in the US, UK and Canada? US and Canadian Thanksgiving dates? Spring breaks? Thoughtful timing can further personalize our notes of appreciation, especially combined with offerings of greatest appeal to customers that are made when they would be most likely to accept our invitations.

But at the end of the day, the success of any business is achieved one customer at a time. Reichheld, bestselling author of The Loyalty Effect, summed this up when he said, “The growth of any organization is simply the accumulated growth of the individual relationships that constitute it.” That brings us to personal persuasion.

To grow tourism, indeed to grow every business in Anguilla, our prosperity depends on inspiring repeat business, one customer at a time. Each day, let us practice fond farewells with today’s customers, and let us lift a pen or click a key to send at least one note of appreciation, inviting at least one customer to return tomorrow! In time, every business, every hotel would grow, and Anguilla would prosper from countless renewed relationships throughout the economy.