Thermoforming Report

Relentless Pursuit

I saw an article come across my LinkedIn feed a couple of weeks ago on Chick-fil-A.  It highlighted a new drive-thru concept for the fast-food company.  Though the technology and efficiency that this new store offers are pretty cool, what really got my attention is the customer-centric approach that is central to this concept. 

This concept of creating, fostering, and nourishing a ‘customer-centric approach’ definitely challenges my own notion of how and why I want to be treated as a customer in all of my interactions, be it at a fast-food joint, a grocery store, or a gas station… or as a small business owner working with a variety of service providers.  And even more importantly, it caused me to pause and take stock of how we are servicing our customers at Siena Group… and how we should work to continue to develop and continuously improve.

As a bit of background, especially for those that may not have access to one of the 3,059 restaurant locations, Chick-fil-A seems to always push the envelope when it comes to its level of service.  It is quite a different positive experience when you interact with the Chick-Fil-A team than with most other fast-food establishments – and even some nice dining restaurants.  And they are always striving to make things better. 

In this case, Jonathan Reed, the Executive Director of design for Chick-fil-A, shared that “It all goes back to relentlessly pursuing the customer—understanding what their desires are and how they want to interact with the brand.”

It is this idea of ‘relentlessly pursuing the customer‘ that causes me to pause and consider how we can relate this to recruiting.

Predicting the Future

So how does this apply to recruiting?  Good question! 

The short answer is that customer service and delivered product better be good, or customers will seek another provider; that applies to pretty much every company – big or small.  The long answer is, well, much longer and harder to articulate!

Back on the Chick-fil-A article, Reed also stated, “’OK, what’s the high watermark? Where is the customer going to take us? Because that’s where we need to be.’  The notion of accelerating the guest experience while keeping human interaction at the forefront was a guiding principle throughout the design process,” he says.  Again, that applies to pretty much every type of company providing a service, right?!?

Where is the customer going to take us? Understand what their desires are and how they want to interact with the brand. Both of those statements are essentially working to predict the future. It is not easy to do. Big companies have big resources and are more readily able to invest the time to think through these things in a lot of detail and in a lot of different ways.  Small companies… well, we tend to have to keep our heads down and just focus on getting the job done!

Retaining Customers

It also is critical to retain those customers that were hard fought for and won.  A great article from Medium.com (June 11.2024) “Understanding Customer Retention” made some wise conclusions:

“When the pursuit of customer loyalty is as critical as acquiring new clients, mastering customer retention emerges as a strategic imperative.”

“At the heart of sustained business success lies the cultivation of a loyal customer base. Repeat customers not only bolster revenue streams but also serve as brand advocates, contributing to word-of-mouth referrals.”

They also go on to highlight a short list of great ‘Effective Retention Strategies’:

• Customer Support Excellence: Address customer issues promptly, turning potential complaints into opportunities for building loyalty.
• Personalization Magic: Surprise and delight your customers with personalized gestures, such as small gifts or handwritten notes, fostering a unique connection.
• Email Marketing Brilliance: Utilize email marketing wisely. Well-timed, value-added emails can maintain customer relationships without overwhelming them.
• Strategic Discounts and Loyalty Programs: Thoughtful discounting and well-structured loyalty programs can motivate customers to make more frequent purchases, creating a win-win scenario.
• Measuring Success: To gauge the effectiveness of your retention strategies, focus on two key metrics:
  • Returning Customer Rate: Calculate by dividing the number of customers with more than one purchase by the total unique customers, considering the last year.
  • Average Order Value (AOV): Monitor AOV to ensure that your marketing and retention efforts align with your business goals. A higher AOV maximizes the impact of your retention strategy.

“Mastering customer retention transcends being a business luxury; it’s a strategic imperative for sustained growth and success. By understanding the unique dynamics of your business, implementing tailored strategies, and measuring success through key metrics, you can elevate your customer retention game and secure a prosperous future for your brand.”

Wrapping Up?

So… back to talent management! Since we are out of room in our Thermoforming Report, we’ll have to kick this one to our upcoming September blog post!

Questions for consideration:

• What are the trends in finding and retaining talent? 
• How do we retain our customer base and leverage that talent we’ve invested in?
• How do we create an actionable plan that allows us to ‘relentlessly pursue a customer-centric approach‘?

As your Thermoforming Talent Partner, we represent clients AND candidates! We’re here to help in any and every way possible! We provide hiring strategies, priority candidate searches, job searches, client & candidate introductions, interview tips, résumé facelifts, resignation strategies, and much much more. LET’S STRENGTHEN YOUR SEARCH!