Is a delighted customer as good as it gets? Some employees are so good at what they do and how they make their customer feel that their customers actually give them a hug in appreciation for what they have done. The “Hug Factor” creates a type of loyalty that can trump all other levels of customer satisfaction. But can the Hug Factor be taught? 

Consider the following example: Jackie worked as a makeup artist, selling an expensive brand of cosmetics at a well-known department store. Her customers were routinely so pleased with the results that they wanted to give her a hug.

Why did Jackie receive hugs? Jackie created a customer experience that organically sold more than just the product. For instance, when given the space, many customers would say that they didn’t feel comfortable applying makeup or picking colors. Jackie recognized their concerns and assured them that many people complained of the same thing.

By communicating with the customer she was able to remove negative emotions, such as feeling awkward, uncomfortable, or foolish, and replace them with positive feelings. Women left feeling happy, confident, and youthful, but it wasn't the product that generated all these feelings. Jackie listened to the customers and educated them. She treated each customer like a best friend. Jackie received great satisfaction by wowing the customer and she encouraged the women to come back with questions or call if needed. Jackie took the fear out of change and her customers were very appreciative. 

How did Jackie’s hug factor impact business results? That’s what most managers want to know. Who did each satisfied customer tell? Did they talk about it at work or to friends? Did they frequent the store more often? It is highly likely that a customer who was happy enough to hug Jackie after just meeting her would tell everyone why she had a smile from ear to ear. This same person would also feel great loyalty to Jackie and want to repay her in some way, and the best thing she could do for Jackie was send more customers. This is exactly what happened. 

So, how can your organization reproduce the Hug Factor? As detailed in Act Now or Fail!, the following elements are critical: 

• Continuous process improvement. By identifying why customers gave hugs to Jackie, the store now had new data on how to improve. The store would miss out on this opportunity if they did not practice continuous process improvement. 

• Product development. By capturing data on how Jackie handled each customer, the service desired by customers was identified. It must be remembered that customer satisfaction is not based on just the product. Service received can easily change perception.

• Continuous employee development. Once the opportunity is discovered and documented, employees can be trained so every customer is treated better. In addition, new criteria could be established for hiring sales staff.

• Partner satisfaction. Happy employees lead to happy customers and this can only be accomplished with positive feeling. The requirements in the Organization Bill of Rights provide two critical outcomes. The actions are positive for the company and customer but they also increase employee satisfaction which motivated the employee and continues the positive domino effect. Happier customers return more frequently. Higher sales equates to higher commissions and higher returns for investors. Jackie was definitely more satisfied when she made a customer happy enough to hug her. All partners can win.

• Effective planning. None of these changes can take place without planning. Planning to evaluate results, planning to find why certain results occurred, planning to document changes, and planning to have all employees trained, including in other stores.

• Team environment. Jackie can’t change the store by herself. A team of employees need to work together to collect the data and implement the necessary changes. If Jackie wasn’t a team player, she might not share what she does to get such good results. Companies don’t need employees who only look out for themselves. Only the leader can create an infrastructure to ensure a team environment.

• Name/brand recognition. By implementing these improvements, the department store and the products they sell have a much better overall perception that highly impacts quality and sales. Failure to recognize and implement these opportunities can easily cause name or brand recognition to be reduced.

• Organization results. More customers with better perception equated to higher sales. Also by educating the customer on a product’s value, they in turn will be willing to pay more for the product. 

• Effective leadership. None of this would take place without leadership driving the program. Leadership that feels there is no value in implementing these elements will never maximize results. An organization may get lucky and have one or two great employees like Jackie, but how would results differ if each employee was trained to treat customers just right? Could other good employees become great employees and receive hugs too?

These elements were applied to the example with Jackie, but the leader is responsible for implementing throughout the organization. When an organization has a desire to continuously improve in these areas and exceed customer expectations, great things can happen. While you can’t guarantee that all customer interactions will end with a hug, you can train and empower your employees to provide the best customer experience possible.