There is no excuse not to know your customer.
Or at least, that’s the belief behind the extraordinary service at Eleven Madison Park, a Three Michelin Star restaurant located in the heart of New York City.
Eleven Madison Park is not ashamed to say that they Google every single guest before he or she steps into the restaurant for a meal. This process reveals to the waitstaff how food-savvy their guests are, where they’re from, and what their interests are.
Instead of waiting for their guests to arrive, take a seat, and hoping they hit it off with the waiter assigned to their table, Eleven Madison Park takes the gamble out of their customer service, ensuring that every single person has a customized and intimate experience that makes them feel like a VIP.
The internet is a limitless pit of information. It can suck you in, waste your time, and distract you from what’s really important.
But it can also give you a wealth of knowledge that, when used correctly, could turn your one-star business into a five-star brand. If you could spend 10 minutes Googling every client before a meeting or conference call and knew it would improve your likelihood of you closing the deal, why wouldn’t you do it?
Market research can be useful, but if you’re not using the internet to gather information that will help you make your business more customer-centered to provide each client with an experience tailored to their needs, then you are wasting your time. Even worse, you’re wasting your clients’ time by asking them questions you should have found the answer to already on your own.
I once spoke to over 300 McDonald’s owner/operators and managers. After my program, one of the managers said that he thought I had worked for the McDonald’s company for years, based on my knowledge of their brand. In reality, I have never worked at or for McDonald’s, but I did do several hours worth of internet searching about McDonald’s culture, history, and their current challenges, as well as doing several conference calls prior to my appearance.
By over-preparing, you can over-deliver and be an overwhelming success like Eleven Madison Park.
Are you using Google to improve, change and grow your brand?
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.
