Le blog de Nestore

Retail or hotels, the problem is the same: the customer relationship! It is based on two founding pillars: a competent sales staff, attentive, motivated, and a powerful CRM tool.

At Plaza Athénée, the first step in our customer relationship management was to invest in a powerful CRM tool adapted to our sector of activity. And once the investment has been made, to go feed it beforehand, at the time of booking our customers - or for retail, ordering - to update their profiles. This is the core of all our activity: to be attentive, ultra-personalized, we need extremely advanced knowledge.

The pillars of customer relationships

A customer relationship that is worked on beforehand and in the field

Customer knowledge is therefore the first brick of a lasting relationship. In the hotel industry, upstream “profiling” is used to know who we are talking to, and can be used as a conversation base for an initial approach. However, we don't stop at a simple hello when the customer arrives at our place. Today, a customer expects a lot more. ‍

The click & collect is a good way to get ready to receive the customer. Depending on your online purchase, it is possible to offer additional products with the corresponding size upon arrival in the store. It is also a time to discuss with the customer: how he discovered this product (social media, directly on the site, specific research), if it is a gift...

In the field, when teams have little or no knowledge about the customer, and each interaction is a real source of information. Based on a few key characteristics that we observe about the person or that they reveal to us, we can adapt our discourse. Without falling into the cliché, a customer who wears eco-responsible sneakers will surely be sensitive to ethical products. In the conversation with the customer, we will be able to validate this information, or not, and it will be integrated into the CRM later.

But above all, the customer must have the feeling that they are being listened to. In the hotel industry, there are concierges who are both proactive and available to the customer for any request. They are aware of their program during their stay.

Without having a role as advanced as a concierge, the customer's interlocutor in a store must be curious about him. We can be informed of a few things about his day. If the latter is on a shopping day we can suggest that he keep his bags in the shop so as not to clutter up. Anticipating customer requests before they even think about them proves the availability and attentiveness of the seller.

The data already stored thanks to the first interactions with the customer will be supplemented by the new information collected during the journey.

Segmenting your customers and adapting

Do ultra-personalization yes, but how? Of course, following each customer one by one by collecting and remembering enough information to create unique experiences is impossible. Even with a very powerful CRM tool! That is why it is important to segment its consumers.

It will then be necessary to identify the potential brand spokespersons. First, those who have a Power of nuisance on one's image and that may result in the loss of other potential customers. It is also those who have a influence on the media, all media combined. That is why it is necessary to succeed in identify brand prescribers which can later become ambassadors.

Finally, you have to feed the customers who carry the brand in their hearts, Loyal customers who come back often. Affection will develop towards these customers, you must know how to reward them, and therefore be attentive to their arrival. And above all, never take them for granted.

However, not all customers appreciate the same attention. Some will be in a hurry and will want the service to be fast. In this case, it will be necessary to put aside all the frills and respond to their requests quickly. It is ultra-personalization, the tailor-made product. However, there is a balance to be found. The brand's imprint should not be completely erased in favor of the customer's identity. The cursor of this balance is made through analysis.

The importance of team mobilization

Every contact between the customer and a team member affects whether or not they will come back. All actors in the company participate in the customer experience. ”Customer relationship service should not be a separate department, it should transpire throughout the company”, Tony Hsieh, co-founder of Zappos. It is therefore necessary to set up an organization that exudes this obsession with the perfect experience.

First of all, this involves an incentive system. We invite staff to do good deeds, to create memorable attention that will make a difference to the customer during their experience. We record the various actions and elect the best ones with the congratulations of the director.

This also involves, and above all, Communication. There are a lot of briefings to take a step back in order to create bridges between each department. Professionals in the hotel and restaurant industry are busy with their hectic daily lives, which sometimes leads to a lack of communication between departments. They are thus missing essential information that could improve the service it delivers. As we need to be attentive to customers, so as not to lose any information and avoid repetitive requests, we strive to communicate and maintain information in a centralized tool so that everyone can access it.

The perfect experience is when the customer is not aware of the entire team behind them to make their stay memorable. There must be a fluidity in the use of the information collected so that each service is coordinated, without it being visible.

And it's the same in a store or online. Ask customers for the size several times, their contact details at the time of checkout... All this information that has already been said the first time. We can also make a link with multi-brands such as Sézane et Octobre or Les Petits Raffineurs et les Raffineurs who could link customer files to avoid asking for the same information.

And there is still a lot of progress to be made to have digital tools that fully meet these different needs.

Creating a lasting customer relationship

Managing friction points

Any customer journey, the hotel industry is not exempt, has “points of friction” that hinder the relationship. Take the arrival at a hotel, the “check-in” and the checkout, the “check-out”, how do you erase these points of tension?

First, there is internal work to remove this very formal vocabulary. For example, we transformed the”Check-in” by”The arrival of the customer”.

Then, we all know that moment when we ask customers for a lot of information: their email address, their postal code, their loyalty card, the famous “won't it be a card?” ... All typed cheerfully on a computer. These are elements that degrade the user experience and slow down the customer journey.

The Hôtel de Crillon has transformed the traditional reception desk into an office format. So we have the impression of talking to the receptionist rather than going to the cash register.

Transforming the checkout process into a friendly moment of exchange in a store is possible. We are seeing “lounge” corners appearing in shops, why not use them to precisely communicate with the customer and process the payment. This is also one of the challenges of boutique apartments. A recent phenomenon, these places are designed to live, but here, everything is for sale. Real immersive power, boutique apartments gladly erase points of friction.

‍La Conciergerie Sézane is a great example of managing points of friction. Rather than picking up your cardboard package in the form of click & collect with no difference compared to a Mondial Relay, Sezane offers an experience just like in store. The product is in a shopping bag and the Conciergerie offers other services (sending mail, phone recharging, coffee, a quick visit to the store...).

Seizing every opportunity to get to know your customer better, a.k.a. deal with the complaint

A customer complaint related to dissatisfaction during the buying process is something common in every sector. In the hotel industry, we see incidents as opportunities to deepen customer relationships:

1. First of all, it is a way to identify the person and to know their expectations.
2. It is also one of the ways to adapt the level of personalization that the customer needs.
3. The complaint also allows you to get in touch with customers with whom you did not have time to discuss. It's another way to approach the customer, to take the time to listen and get more feedback.
   

The key is knowing how to close these incidents.. At the end of the stay, it is important to ask him if the resolution of his problem was up to his expectations. It is a form of follow-up appreciated by the customer.

A return of a package following a malfunction, we can easily ensure in a personalized email that the customer is happy with the solution provided.

And in the event of a major dispute, do not hesitate to offer a suitable gift. It can be an additional accessory to the outfit to turn a discontent into a thank you. The consumer will certainly not forget the dispute, but the brand's effort and excuses make it possible to: put an end to a negative experience and start again on a good footing.

Conclusion

We must not forget that the customer relationship does not end at the purchase process, The link is maintained afterwards by marking the highlights. It can of course be birthdays, but not only that. During lockdown, for example, we took the time to find out about our customers on various media. Do not simply communicate about the company and its employees but ask for news from our customers and prospects.

Some loyal customers even have our phone number so they can contact us whenever they want for specific requests. The luxury hotel industry always favors a lasting relationship with a single interlocutor, his “referent”, to promote a stronger bond with the customer. The referent varies from client to client, but must always be the person with whom there was a good understanding, regardless of his hierarchy. This obviously raises the question of human resources, and the longevity of employees in teams. Besides, isn't it said that a brand's first customers are its employees? To meditate...