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Find What Touches Customers

hotel-lucia-rooms-newJason Fried over at SVN writes about hotel Pillow Menus.

At Hotel Lucia in Portland they have a “pillow menu” where you can select from soft, firm, firmer, and hypoallergenic. At the Sheraton in Seattle they have 7 pillows on a queen sized bed. What’s with the new infatuation with pillow options? I suppose it’s probably a good idea, but I just find a little humor in a “pillow menu” and 7 pillows on a single queen bed. One thing I have noticed, however, is that the quality of beds at hotels is improving.[link]
What's remarkable here is the opportunity hotels have to track this information about their customer's preference and stock the room with their preferred pillow selection on the customer's return visit.

Hotels are discovering that the greatest touchpoint a guest has with their business experience is the head/bed interface. Great attention is being paid to this interface-the pillow. In your own business are you actively identifying and tracking the greatest customer touchpoint? Perhaps it's the relationship with the sales staff person or the way your product is packed for shipping or the value add of the industry knowledge and education your company shares with customers. Whatever it is you need to find the "pillow" or what Seth Godin calls the Free Prize for your business. Not what you think is the most valuable touchpoint for your customers but what your customers consider to be the most valuable touchpoint for them. Once you find it, polish it and make it remarkable. Seven pillows on a queen sized bed was enough to start Jason Fried talking.

So what is it? What is the "pillow" in your business? Share with us in the comments what you have found is the single greatest customer touchpoint between your business and your customers.

July 22, 2004 in Blog Outsourcing, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building Customer Community, Business Marketing, Business newsletter | Permalink

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Comments

What a fascinating approach. Certaintly, it is a worthwhile exercise to note our touchpoints and develop quantifiable information about customer preferences over these touchpoints. Of course, the person-to-person interface is the most critical touchpoint between company and customer.
It would be interesting to know if any company has developed a way to categorize customer service reps (chatty, to-the-point, etc.) and match them to appropriate customers.

Posted by: Susan | Jul 27, 2004 12:32:16 PM