Products expire, experiences do not

Today Afternoon, I have decided to meet up my friends at a restaurant named Kritunga at Madhapur, Hyderabad. Even after ten minutes none of the waiters has appeared at us. We are eagerly waiting for the cashier to hint any of his staff about our arrival. Even after looking at us, he is busy with Swiggy's (Food ordering app) delivery associates.

Now, Who is really important for this Cashier/In-charge/Owner or whoever! A guest who intentionally came to his place for his service or a customer ordering through a mobile app (His restaurants are one from many listed and a mobile user would have unintentionally landed and opted a takeaway from his one). Restaurants are there to provide experiences. the general courtesy with an attention on arrival, a theme based ambience with warm lighting and music(optional) and providing/offering a variety of foods from on one or more regions in particular. If the basics aren’t met, people won’t care. There wouldn’t be any different from a roadside food stall.

I can relate this to many other businesses, with the digital era owners have gently started neglecting the guests are heavily dependent on business through apps. Upon one’s choice, a customer will always opt to travel down to a place just to feel completely satisfied with one of their favourite items from the list your brand is selling. Having a personal chat on their requirements, what are all the variety of items available, what are their specifications, benefits, suggesting which one suits them and which one to try, acts a very significant role in brand’s success apart from just the quality of your product. It creates an impact and chance of any customer repeatedly visiting them will raise. A personal connection is very important which will build a longlasting relationship or break your brand’s reputation at that instant.

Leading brands today, which are well known in their domains always accept ‘The Guest first'. I would also like to put this in my way, ‘’every call Unattended/Missed/Unaddressed properly without courtesy a good business opportunity is lost’’, Decision makers should realise this and make changes by providing adequate training to their staff accordingly. 80% of your business comes from your 20% of your existing customers. That implicates, you should never neglect 20% of your existing customers whatsoever is the provided circumstance. An app may develop an error or stops displaying your business name for some time or your competitor may provide better discounts for the same item you are providing (which can be easily found out while comparing side by side) or anything else unexpected can happen for that matter. But, a good gesture of service when your customer/guest while he is physically present at your place, will have a longer impact on his customer satisfaction levels and boosts your revenue multi-fold, than that of the business you create through an app.

All E-commerce apps are just an another medium of selling your business, they aren’t your business. Don’t limit yourself just by selling a product/Item, focus on selling an experience. Your products won't last forever but, the experience you created does.

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