Survey Says...

Any Family Feud fans out there? Good ole' Richard Dawson! I used to watch that show a lot. But this post really has nothing to do with that so I will get to it...

How many of you are members of a loyalty program? I collect miles on every airline, I participate with every major hotel chain, the grocery store, Sephora, Eddie Bauer, the corner convenience store (fountain soda punch card anyone?) and any other company who asks me to become a member so I can receive great perks and valuable discounts. I am a sucker. But I also pony up so I can see how they market their programs and reward their loyal customers.

It should start coming together for you now!!!

So, as I have mentioned before, I am as faithful to Hilton properties as I can afford to be. They let you double dip (so for each stay I get airline miles and HiltonHonor points!) and they are everywhere!!! Mostly I stay with the Hampton Inn properties...that's my price point!

I have mentioned the new Hampton Inn near the MarketMatch headquarters to you in the past...remember the remarkable customer service I received from Jason a few months back (go back and read the blog from September!). Well, he did it again.

Every few stays at a Hilton property, I receive an email asking me for 10 minutes to complete a survey to evaluate the quality of my most recent stay. I finish the survey every time they ask because the way I see it, if they didn't want to know, they wouldn't ask. This has been going on for YEARS. The more I do it, the less I think the information actually goes anywhere.

So, I filled out the survey for my most recent stay at the Hampton Inn near the Dayton Airport...They scored a perfect score on nearly everything. Toward the end of the survey, they asked questions about the sundry shop in the lobby of the hotel...this was not a perfect score for me. Hilton is notoriously faithful to Pepsi products, and I have been a faithful Coke-a-Cola girl my whole life. So, when they asked an open ended question about how they could make the sundry shop better, I replied with, "I wish they carried Coke products...Diet Coke to be specific," and left it at that. A few more questions and the survey was over.

The next morning, I was in my office checking email, and imagine my surprise when I had a new message from Jason, the General Manager of the Hampton Inn near the Dayton Airport...His message simply said, "If you wanted Diet Coke, you should have asked...I stock the cooler myself and try to keep a good mix, but for our loyal guests we want to make sure to have what they want. I will have Diet Coke for you when you return in November."

HOLY CATFISH! They actually share that information with the general managers? I had no idea!!! I am so glad to hear that those surveys don't go into the survey abyss!!!

So, what's my point? I have more than one...

1. Do you reward your loyal customers? You should. It doesn't have to be costly, but it does have to be warm and fuzzy.

2. Do you ask your customers about their recent experiences? WHY NOT?!?!?! You should be.

3. If you are asking what your customers think, do you take the feedback seriously?
3.5 Do your customers KNOW you are taking the feedback seriously?

4. How do you communicate the changes you will implement?

My grocery store has teamed up with United Airlines and for every $250 I spend at the grocery store, I get 125 United Airline Miles. You need to reward loyalty and give your customers a reason to not shop on price. There is a Super Wal Mart two blocks away from my grocery store...they carry the same products at a much lower price, but I really like to travel so those miles mean more to me than a few bucks at the grocery store.

Creative loyalty rewards can be what makes you different...What makes you different is NOT your customer service or the fact that you are a community bank...everyone says that.

No great reward comes without great risk. Dare to be different!! Reward your customers creatively!

Jenna