Page 11 - GBC Spring 2019 ENG

“Tim Hortons has a drive through window to save you time, they have multiple staff members at the counter and they value price their offerings by bundling up products and offering a discount.”
“Compare their approach with Starbucks, who focuses on creating memorable, personal and engaging experiences for their clients.”
round, you have commoditized the offering. When you become a commodity, your guests will only be concerned about price. For a business, becoming commoditized is the kiss of death. You are now competing on price.
When a business is focused on a strategy of improving service, then understandably everything is focused on improving the product, which is the game itself, and how to make it easier to buy and enjoy.
But, when you consider customer experience, your focus will shift to the golfer, not the game.
CREATE TIME WELL SPENT
Everything about improving customer service is focused on saving customers time and money. But easy access, beautiful fairways and greens, pretty owers and a great clubhouse doesn’t equal memorable.
And yet, this is what businesses do. They create value for their clients by commoditizing their products and services, otherwise known as trying to win the race to the bottom. The obvious problem
with this strategy is that you can only cut so much before there are no pro ts left.
Now, let’s consider customer experience. If service is about saving your customers time and money, experience is the opposite. Improving customer experience is about creating time well spent. I am suggesting that you do not try to make it quicker, easier and cheaper. I am suggesting instead that you create an experience that is personal and engaging and that encourages your guests to stay longer.
TIM HORTONS VS STARBUCKS
Consider for a moment the difference between Tim Hortons coffee shops and Starbucks. Both businesses sell the same products: coffee, beverages and food. However, Tim Hortons is focused on service, making things quicker and cheaper. Tim Hortons has a drive through window to save you time, they have multiple staff members at the counter and they value price their offerings by bundling up products and offering a discount.
Compare their approach with Starbucks, who focuses on creating memorable, personal and engaging experiences for their clients. Starbucks has created a nicer, more upscale environment; they offer more possible combinations of coffee drinks so that their customers get exactly what they want, they use escapist language (would you like a venti?) and they encourage their guests to stay in the store, to work or read or even just look out the window. When placing an order at Starbucks, the barista asks for your name for the order, to further personalize your experience.
People go to Tim Hortons for a coffee, but Starbucks customers go for something else, speci cally connection, community and consis- tency. What guests at Starbucks pay for is the experience, the coffee itself is almost memorabilia. It is a tangible reminder of your Starbucks experience, not too dissimilar from buying a refrig- erator magnet, or a T-shirt in a gift shop at the airport before you y home from vacation. Your coffee is a little memento of time well spent.
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