There are four ways in which companies can differentiate themselves behaviorally: operational, interpersonal, exceptional, and symbolic. The workhorse of these types is operational, which occurs when companies implement policies, procedures, or processes that result in superior customer behavior as part of their normal, ongoing operations. When companies create standard practices that result in positively differentiating behavior, they set a new standard, as Disney has with Disneyland and its other theme parks. The company has gone to extraordinary lengths to hire the right people as park employees (called “cast members”) and train them to provide a magical experience for all park guests.³ Disney’s customer service procedures raised the bar on service throughout the entertainment and hospitality industry. Similarly, Anontus Engineering Group’s alliance manager concept, which it uses for all key, multinational clients, has raised the bar on customer relationship management throughout the engineering and construction industry.
One of the most powerful and lasting ways to compete is not to just go head-to-head with your competitors. When you have powerful, competent competitors, that’s a tough way to win. Instead, compete by raising your customer’s and the market’s expectations. When you behave in ways that they—customers and markets—value, they will expect all companies in your industry to behave the same way. When your rivals don’t, you have raised the bar and differentiated yourself successfully by outbehaving the competition.
Interpersonal BD is based on individual employees’ emotional intelligence and relational skills with others. Some people are naturally outgoing and empathetic and are disposed to treat others warmly and respectfully. These people often distinguish themselves with customers because their personal interactions are so warm and engaging. Other people are naturally sour, disengaged, unempathetic, and inclined to be discourteous. They generally create a negative behavioral impression and are the types of employees you either don’t want in your company or don’t want in positions with significant customer contact. Despite people’s personalities and predispositions, everyone can learn to behave in ways that are more interpersonally engaging, and the smartest companies therefore teach people how to interact with customers and manage those interactions carefully. Clearly, the best of both worlds is to hire people who are already inclined to be friendly and helpful, who have a service mind-set and disposition, and then to establish operational norms and training that result in positive behaviors with customers, and this is what the smartest companies do. Southwest Airlines, Ritz-Carlton, Nordstrom, Hall Kinion, and other companies that excel at BD hire people for their attitudes and inherent interpersonal skill and then train them in the other skills they need for their jobs.
Exceptional BD occurs when employees “break the rules” and do something for customers that is clearly beyond what customers would normally expect and beyond what the company normally does for customers. Companies promote this kind of behavior by encouraging employees to “break the rules.” In other words, they reward exceptional treatment of customers by “relaxing” the rules that normally govern the kind of service customers receive and by giving employees the latitude and responsibility to decide for themselves when the rules should be broken. Jane, for example, might spend $1,800 and fly halfway across the country to hand deliver a product sample a customer needs for a meeting the next day. Her company would probably not encourage her to do this as a rule but would forgive her doing it (indeed, expect her to do it) on those occasions when an extraordinary gesture is the right thing to do. The cliché about “going the extra mile” applies to exceptional BD, and customers recognize when someone has clearly gone out of his or her way to do something special. The return on your investment when you do something exceptional for customers is incalculable in terms of customer loyalty, repeat business, and positive word of mouth as customers tell other potential customers or other people in their company what you did for them.
Finally, symbolic BD occurs when companies behave in ways that reflect either their own value proposition and product/service image or those of their customers. Harley-Davidson claims to be in the experience business, for instance, and the company supports the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) as a way of expressing and reinforcing that experience. It also sponsors numerous bike rallies and other events that capitalize on the image and spirit of one of America’s best-known brands. More than half of Harley-Davidson employees own a Harley motorcycle, and many of them, including the executives, show up at Harley rallies wearing their black “leathers.” The company’s designers, marketers, executives, and other employees understand that their product is not a motorcycle but a lifestyle, and their behavior as a corporation reflects that lifestyle.
The four types of BD often work together to produce a cumulative effect that delights customers. Ritz-Carlton, for example, has numerous procedures and guidelines for making guests’ experiences delightful, and this is operational BD. It also hires people who are likely to have good interpersonal skills and be outgoing and accommodating by nature. Consequently, in its hiring and training programs, it is creating the likelihood that Ritz-Carlton employees will behave in ways that differentiate them interpersonally from employees of other hotels. The company also empowers employees to “break the rules” whenever guests have problems or need help, which encourages employees to behave in exceptional ways. Finally, the hotel is very self-conscious about the image it conveys. Everything in a Ritz-Carlton hotel is intended to convey elegance, good taste, and refined breeding, including the Ritz-Carlton motto: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”⁴