Sarah-Nicole LeFlore writes on “The Key to Great CX? Balancing Delight and Ease” here:
“Delight has become a customer experience buzzword. A lot of people think that their customers will stick around if they dazzle them with perks and discounts. By contrast, some experts believe that you should forget about delighting your customers and that the best experience is the easiest one. Neither camp is wrong. We say “Do both!” The best customer experience is both easy and delightful…”
All too familiar, no surprises, no new insights here. But the real meat is in the ‘Comments’ section – three of them of significance are summed up here:
Michael Lowenstein talks about – no kidding, he’s serious, giving examples – consciouslyintroducing ‘favorable friction’ in customer experience of course with a deliberate strategy to create the value in the experience rather – exclusivity for example – than friction caused by incompetence or worse, apathy. Read the article here.
Ed Powers avers – it’s included here more for completeness than any newness – it’s a bit more complicated than what it seems. According to the neuroscience, the brain makes goal-directed decisions among alternatives using a value computation weighing six elements: Context, Payoff’s, Costs, Delays, Probabilities and Preferences. The brain views effort as a cost which offsets the payoff, so reducing cost increases value. “Delight” increases preference, which also increases value. But depending on context, how the brain perceives the nature, speed or likelihood of the payoffs between options also affects value perception and their ultimate decision.
The most insightful comes from Chip R. Bell arguing: ‘Delight has been defined as value-added or exceeding the customer’s expectations – that is, taking what the customer expects and adding more. That is a linear approach that risks elevating the customer’s expectations right along with the add. Upgrade me to a better room because I am a loyal guest of your hotel and what am I likely to expect my next visit? And, what happens if you need to sell that upgraded room rather than use it as a perk.’
He introduces a new concept: ‘I recommend value-unique, not value-added. As customers, we are far more attracted by different than we are by more; ingenuity more than generosity. And, there are unlimited ways to be unique and clearly a limit on how far you can push “more” before running out room or going bankrupt. My wife and I have the same brand of car and take both to the same dealership for service maintenance. The service tech always puts a logoed bottle of cold water in the cupholder of the car after an oil change or tire rotation. That is value-added and is very nice. But, they also always make certain my favorite flavored coffee K-cup is at the Keurig coffee machine the day I wait in the waiting area for service (Hazelnut is in my customer profile). And, there is sometimes a long-stemmed flower on the dash to take home to my wife when I drive away…That is a story I am eager to tell all who will listen.’
He further draws support from another experience of his: ‘The line to get in Ellen’s Stardust Diner on Broadway in NYC was three blocks long; the wait was two hours and in the rain. The food was okay, the seats were uncomfortable, the diner was packed. But, the magic of watching waiters perform Broadway songs was magical and worth the un-ease we endured.’
My two – actually three – bits:
a. I like the concept of value-unique. But over time, even the K-cup coffee and the long-stemmed flower would be reduced to value-added. It only means it requires a constant refresh.
b. Value-unique does not stay unique for long if it is material based as observed in a. Can be replicated. However, hard to copy if the uniqueness is in the service delivery. Example: Ellen’s Stardust Diner.
c. As Ed says different strokes for different people. Me thinks it’s useful to segment the market into Basic/Utility/Essentials buying, Comfort/Brag-orthy/Indulgence (giving oneself a treat) buying and Luxury buying. The value-unique (experience-unique) concept seems to go well with Indulgence buying – the burgeonng middle where many companies play and hence desrving closer look. So also ‘favorable friction’ mooted by Michael. Needless to add the concept is carried far beyond reason in Luxury buying. While it may be all costs with Basic buying. At times the driving forces do get mixed up across segments.
Rounding off with one more value-unique experience:
The “Le Petit Chef (Little Chef)” restaurant in France, came up with an original way to entertain guests while waiting for their order by using an overhead 3D projector on the ceiling. The animation is on the table and your plate. There is a small chef who appears on your plate, and that’s only the beginning.
Watch one of the several clips available here:
Video is available here.
End
Source: The case of Little Chef was brought to notice by C V Anant Padmanabhan