What makes some companies dominate their industry, while other just get by?  And how can this be a powerful opportunity for you to get better and more profitable accounts?

The Hospitality Industry Is A Major Opportunity For You To Add Value
First, let’s talk a little about the lack of excellence and one great place to find that is the hospitality industry. The hotel and motel industry is, in my opinion, the most screwed up, poorly managed, insensitive, uncaring industry there is.

As you know, I travel a lot and I’m in media rooms and convention space in hotels all across the country. Almost all of them rate between poor and awful and in terms of valuing the customer and most have no understanding of this customer value whatsoever.

The exceptions are so notable that I can actually remember the details. The big mistake – most of the hotel executives and employees dealing with meetings and conventions think business is based on the facilities, the brass railings, the marble in the bathrooms, the rates and their financial statements.  They forget that their business is customers and customer service.  As a plantscaper, you have an opportunity to remind them how important fresh plants can be to their service experience.  You can then make some creative suggestions.  Here’s an example.

At the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee they give gold guitar shaped lapel pins to the guests who are running meetings. Every hotel employee is taught that a guest wearing one of these pins is a valued, important client with special needs under the pressure of running a meeting. The hotel employees are taught to respond quickly to these pin wearing VIP’s. Why don’t all hotels copy this idea? It’s simple, they don’t really understand the business they’re in.

What if you were to suggest to you hotel accounts that providing a fresh lapel flower to the meeting organizer would be a way to provide better service (and make the meeting organizer feel special) this enhancing their repeat business. 

Also checkout the hotel’s Top 10 Reasons To Stay With Us.  Notice how they list plantscape environments as the fourth reason…

FEDEX is In The Relationship Business Not The Delivery Business
Federal places a priority on it’s relationships with its customers. Example, Federal sends new information, literature, brochures to its customers frequently. Example, Federal’s employees, those who pick up and deliver and those in the offices, are simply great.

They’re friendly, courteous, helpful, they listen and don’t interrupt and they react calmly to even bizarre problems and questions and they sell Federal. The driver who regularly comes to our office often passes on some new piece of information about Federal’s statistics, new services or products or expansion. This kind of service does not happen by accident.

Being Indispensable To The Customer
Company number two Omaha Steaks. What an incredible company this is. Omaha Steaks sells food by mail order including the best corn fed beef you’ll ever eat. Frankly their products are expensive but the product quality warrants the price.

However, the steps beyond product quality are what make this company a superior performer. Here’s just one example of the obvious value and importance they place on the customer.

From time to time, over the years I call Omaha to send different assortments of their products to certain clients as thank you gifts. Last year shortly before Christmas we received in the mail from Omaha a list of all the people we had sent gifts to in the past, what we had sent them, when we sent it and what we had spent. If we wanted to send the same gifts again to the same person it was as easy as checking off a box and returning the form.

This is a prime example of a brilliant marketing strategy that is also a true service to the customer and that’s a real key marketing idea. How can we market our products or services and at the same time provide a meaningful service to the customer?

How can you provide your accounts with the convenience, value and service that Omaha Steaks provides to theirs?  Can you simplify your billing.  Can you mail or -e-mail design suggestions or other prepackaged information that can make your clients selection of your services faster and easier?