A Tool You Can Use Today: Service That Sticks!™

In his best-selling book from 2000, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell introduced the concept of The Stickiness Factor. In essence, he identified the qualities that enabled ideas, concepts, products, etc. to be memorable or "sticky."

Seven years later, brothers Chip and Dan Heath devoted an entire book titled Made to Stick to addressing the question: "What makes some ideas stick and others disappear?”

Service That Sticks!™ matches the characteristics of what makes something sticky (or memorable) with customer service behaviors. One or more of these characteristics (i.e., sensory, intensity, outstanding, emotional, personal importance, and unexpected) is evident in each of the seven simple behaviors that make customer service memorable (i.e., express genuine interest; offer a sincere and specific compliment; share unique knowledge; convey authentic enthusiasm; use appropriate humor; provide pleasant surprises; and deliver service heroics).

Here’s one example illustrating the behavior, use appropriate humor:

I know of a bank's voice mail system which concludes a long menu of options by saying, "If you'd like to hear a duck quack, press 7." Now, I've listened to my share of predictable voice mail directories but have never come across something as refreshing as this. I'd call back just to let my preschooler listen to the duck quack!

What makes this sticky (or memorable)? It contains nearly every characteristic of sticky service mentioned above: sensory (the sound of the duck quack); intensity (outrageous!); outstanding (When’s the last time you heard a duck quack—or anything that made you laugh—in a bank’s voice mail directory?); emotional (smile, laughter—very funny!); and unexpected (or were you expecting the duck quack?).

To read the long article describing each of the seven simple service behaviors and providing an example of each, click here.

According to research by Beyond Philosophy, a customer experience consulting firm, 44 percent of consumers described the majority of customer service experiences they have as "bland and uneventful." These experiences are marked by indifference on the part of the service provider whereas sticky service is unique and refreshing.

Steve Curtin is a customer service, training, and public speaking enthusiast based in Denver, CO.

www.stevecurtin.com

The effect of practicing the above seven simple customer service behaviors in the workplace is to connect with customers in a way that is less process-focused and transactional and more customer-focused and memorable!