 In the competitive world of hospitality, every business, whether
it is a restaurant, hotel, school, club or nursing home, must
provide the best culinary offerings and facilities not only to
stay competitive, but also to survive.
Yet statistically, only 30
percent of what customers remember is the food products and
physical facilities themselves and 70 percent is how “human” they
are treated by the business and its staff. Despite these
statistics, less than 10 percent of resources are invested in how
“humanly” they treat their customers.
In the eyes of their
customers, most primary competitors in the hospitality marketplace
offer relatively similar menus and meals, as well as fairly
comparable facilities. As such, the physical products offered are
simply competitive necessities in the marketplace and how
“humanly” a business treats its customers, relative to
competitors, is actually the primary area of opportunity for
competitive advantage.
A 3-year research study recently published in the book Customers
are People...The Human Touch puts the science behind the seemingly
obvious art of the human touch to enable any business to implement
the human touch consistently and unanimously across the entire
business. Several subject areas are discussed in depth, which
reveals new and enlightened “Human Touch” practices used by
cutting-edge businesses. One of the subjects is how to understand
customers as people, rather than merely consumers. Another area of
discussion is the qualities, capabilities and priorities required
to lead a “human” business and the great importance of treating
employees as human beings. These early practitioners have
discovered the human needs that, when fulfilled, compel a customer
to choose one restaurant or hotel over another. These primary
needs are acknowledgment, respect and trust. The book also
discusses how to, best communicate and fulfill these needs, as
well as how to support them with enabling technologies that
humanize rather than dehumanize. The science of creating a human
business involves enacting these competencies as a series of
interactions, as well as addressing them as a distinct process.
30 percent of what customers remember is the food products and
physical facilities themselves and 70 percent is how “human” they
are treated by the business and its staff.
As Horst Schulze, founding president of Ritz-Carlton comments,
“McKean’s compelling book reveals how companies must compete for
customers as ‘people’... and why shareholders will suffer if they
falter.”
The simple truth remains—customers are people—first and
foremost, just as we are all customers. We look for the best
product at the right price and to be treated like a human being in
the process of experiencing them. |
