For the young and young-at-heart among us, Santa Claus is a beloved mascot of Christmas. Not only does Santa deliver gifts, he delivers joy and a sense of wonder to children all over the world. Santa is more than a jolly man in a red suit; for many, Santa creates their first experience with true customer service excellence. With his world-class support team of workshop elves and delivery reindeer, Santa never fails to execute a seamless customer experience year after year. Under exceptional time constraints, no less! How does he do it? Here are 5 Ways Santa Claus delivers customer experience excellence:
1. He Optimizes Each Customer Touchpoint
We know he sees you when you’re sleeping, and knows when you’re awake. But Santa is also a master of multi-channel communications! Eager children (and their parents!) can find and interact with Santa in several ways. Santa is available for live meet-and-greets in shopping malls across North America leading up to the holiday season. (Did you know that Santa School is located in SPLICE's hometown of Calgary??). Santa encourages letter-writing, and even responds personally. You can also get a phone call from Santa, or track his yearly journey on the web. And he keeps up with technology; you can now even track Santa via Amazon Alexa or Google Home! It all leads up to his signature customer touchpoint—in-home delivery on Christmas Eve!
2. He Generates Anticipation
No one builds hype like Santa! Due to a reputation of brand satisfaction that runs several generations deep, Santa relies heavily on word-of-mouth. Tales of Santa’s feats have been transcribed to books, movies and TV specials throughout the years. It makes sense that Santa has created eager brand ambassadors out of many parents—promoting Santa is mutually beneficial. The more a child is focused on staying on the Nice List, the better behavior parents will experience leading up to Christmas!
3. He Creates an Authentic Brand Experience
There is no doubt it’s overwhelming to meet Santa for the first time. We have all seen children cry on Santa’s lap. He’s larger than life! Luckily, Santa is a master of first impressions, and he knows how to set the stage for memorable, in-person exchanges. Though shopping malls across North America will differ, the experience with Santa’s brand is the same. Visitors are ushered by workshop elves through a scenic (albeit indoor) winter wonderland. Then greeted heartily by the big man himself—usually by name! Genuine, in-person exchanges result in lasting, lifelong impressions. Authenticity is everything, and Santa delivers.
4. He Personalizes to Each Client
Not only does Santa personalize the in-person experience with first names, but he carefully disseminates letters and actively listens to wishes, year-round. This is how Santa never fails to give the most desired gifts to those on the Nice List! Santa and the workshop elves have your preference data, and they utilize it to customize gifts and prepare for Christmas Eve by flawlessly matching gifts to the corresponding home address for each child.
5. He Creates Delight with Impeccable Service
Delight occurs when service exceeds expectations. On Christmas Eve, expectations are high! Kids and parents alike have come to rely on Santa and his reindeer delivery team. With a one-night delivery window, Santa works with an impossibly tight timeline. And though reliable, a fleet of eight reindeer (or nine, depending on which are counted) is a small team to execute the volume of deliveries required. The odds are against them! Yet year-over-year, Santa and his reindeer infallibly make it happen.
You can’t achieve customer service excellence alone; the potential of your team is greater than that of its parts. And no one knows this better than Santa! He is proof that each team member—be it elf or reindeer—plays an integral role in the success of Christmas Eve. We at SPLICE wish you and your family a holiday season filled with love, laughter… and teamwork!
Want to learn more about how to achieve customer service excellence? Contact SPLICE at 1-855-777-5423.