Measuring relocating service success beyond 'wows'

Such a great start to an article: “Someone smart (I'm not sure who) once said, ‘Your brand is how you make people feel.’”

Plus Relocation is a company that is very connected to its vision, mission and values. We have held up the mission of "Delivering Delight" for a mighty long time (by the way, we will be turning 50 next year!). Delight is certainly a "feeling" and it is the feeling we want associated with our brand. As much "delight" as we can infuse into the almost-always-stressful process of relocation, the better!

But I really like the point that Jon Harman makes in his recent LinkedIn article, "Why 'Wow' is the wrong measure for relocation service success." His point being that "wow is a moment. Relocation is a drawn-out series of customer touch points."

 He's right in that we are not looking only for that one moment to "knock their socks off" (although when those moments do come, we certainly want to step up), but rather we want to be consistently good so the small gestures accumulate to the point of creating an overall positive experience. We want their overwhelming feeling to be that our concern was their journey and experience before, during and after our opportunity to work and support them.

To Jon's point, "In this distracted service environment, handling routine matters with competence and courtesy can distinguish a service provider and allow them to stand out from the inattentive crowd." This is why our relocation counselors are empowered to do things within and outside of their "action plans" that will make an impact. And it’s why our expense team is trained in customer service techniques that show they are listening, or that they have considered the client’s needs in advance.

Lastly, Jon caps the article off with a well-stated conclusion:

"Doing the little things well day in and day out is not glamorous. It can be a bit of a grind on certain days, and it won't often result in a ’wow!’ But maybe success in relocation services is a bit more subtle than that."

Well said, Jon!