| Coherence between a company's brand and the | | | | but they want perfection slipped into that discount |
| service delivery operational model is critical in the | | | | wrapper. |
| pursuit of extraordinary customer experiences. | | | | A lack of coherence may be evidenced in relatively |
| Coherence is a critical element in the successful design | | | | subtle ways, but these discontinuities are picked up by |
| of any firm's operational model for service delivery. | | | | the consumers, consciously and subconsciously, |
| Two simple examples of "coherence" may clarify the | | | | creating a barely perceptible unease or discomfort |
| concept. | | | | which reduces the customer's propensity for repeat |
| One luxury travel company advertises itself as expert | | | | business. Customer deviations from the norms of loyal |
| in identifying "the best fit" between your vacation | | | | behavior creates, at a minimum, excessive marketing |
| desires and various properties around the world. Yet, | | | | costs, at the extreme, this lack of repeat business |
| when consumers ask about specific details associated | | | | translates into adverse word-of-mouth and the ultimate |
| with a hotel (i.e., how convenient is the hotel to the | | | | collapse of the business. Restaurants, bars and |
| Bilbao Guggenheim?) it rapidly becomes clear that the | | | | nightclubs are the classic canaries in the coal mine for |
| service representatives are not skilled enough, nor | | | | this phenomenon. Without a solid core of repeat |
| familiar enough, with the travel destinations to support | | | | business (or extremely high non-repeating tourist |
| a high-end clientele. There is an obvious coherence | | | | traffic) a restaurant without this word of mouth cannot |
| mismatch between the "luxury" brand identity and the | | | | generate sufficient traffic through advertising alone to |
| experience or training of the service representatives. | | | | stay open. |
| In another case a major credit card company | | | | Consumers easily compartmentalize their expectations |
| advertises its service as world class. However, billing | | | | and are quite comfortable shifting their demands as |
| disputes cannot be resolved over the phone or web, | | | | they enter different expectation frameworks. Parents |
| requiring instead written correspondence with | | | | may eat at The Fat Duck in Bray (selected best |
| supporting evidence gathered by the consumer from | | | | restaurant in the world in 2005) one night and take the |
| the merchant. Truly world class companies handle | | | | family to Outback Steakhouse the next night; still |
| these same requests by phone and intercede on | | | | viewing both of those disparate experiences as |
| behalf of the customer with the merchants; requiring | | | | entirely satisfying. A consumer may drive their |
| the merchant to provide proof rather than the | | | | Maserati Quattroporte to Central Park for a $2 hotdog |
| consumer. As the bar for service has already been | | | | and not sense any dissonance because their |
| set extremely high, a new entrant trying to attract | | | | expectations are bifurcated appropriately. Travelers |
| high-end consumers must match or exceed | | | | can comfortably stay in the Taj, New Delhi, one night |
| competitive offerings. Promising high-end service, then | | | | and camp under the stars in Rajasthan the next. |
| not delivering, has a more deleterious impact on loyalty | | | | Consumers are not, typically, demanding of the utmost |
| than setting expectations low and consistently meeting | | | | in luxury and refinement from each experience they |
| a clear standard. | | | | are simply demanding that each experience fit within |
| Coherence encourages self-selection among potential | | | | an appropriate framework of expectations. |
| customers, increasing the likelihood that investments in | | | | A company's brand identity is one of the most |
| advertising, marketing and sales will payoff in revenue | | | | powerful ways in which that framework of |
| growth. A strong, clear brand identity reduces the cost | | | | expectations is set. The service environment |
| of sales by chasing away the vast pool of | | | | supporting the brand is the other critical factor. If the |
| prospective customers who are unlikely to convert to | | | | brand identity is diffuse or dissonant, and the service |
| paying customers. | | | | standards unaligned, then the consumer is unable to |
| A clear brand identity that is married to a coherent | | | | settle on an expectation framework that fits and they |
| service strategy also establishes an expectation | | | | do not establish a pattern of "loyal" behavior relative to |
| threshold that can dramatically decrease the number | | | | that company. Repeat business is diminished and the |
| and intensity of customer complaints, thereby reducing | | | | consumer does not provide positive feedback to the |
| the cost of exception handling tremendously. | | | | word-of-mouth buzz that is so critical to long-term |
| Consumers who know they are shopping in the | | | | revenue growth. |
| bargain bin at Wal-Mart will have lower expectations | | | | By establishing coherence between the brand identity |
| than the fanatical fashionistas scouring the Manolo | | | | and the service delivery model companies can begin |
| Blahnik seconds at Century 21. Sure, they're only | | | | to establish a strategy that will lead to extraordinary |
| paying $250 for the $725 Tuccio Watersnake Pumps, | | | | customer experiences. |