Guestology: Understanding Customer Experience

Guestology

• Guestology is a term coined by Bruce Laval of The Walt Disney Company.
• The concept focuses on treating customers like guests and managing the organization from the guest's point of view (GPOV).
• Dickson (2010) defines guestology as the scientific study of guest behavior, needs, and expectations.
• Klein (2014) states that guestology involves understanding guests' needs, wants, perceptions, and expectations, engaging every individual involved in the service.
• Guestology shifts the focus from maximizing organizational efficiency to maximizing the guest experience.
• The goal is to create and sustain an organization that meets customer expectations while generating profits.
• Guestology aligns the organization's strategy, staff, and systems to meet or exceed customer expectations regarding service product, service setting, and service delivery.

Importance of Guestology

• Implementation of guestology increases guest satisfaction.
• Increased satisfaction leads to more repeat visits.
• Repeat visits drive revenue growth.

Customer Expectations

• Customer expectations encompass behaviors or actions individuals anticipate when interacting with a company.
• Modern customers expect more than basic quality service and fair pricing.
• Contemporary expectations include proactive service, personalized interactions, and connected experiences across digital channels.

Factors Influencing Customer Expectations

• Product or service quality: Customers' expectations are influenced by their previous experiences with the product or service.
• Brand reputation: Customers' perception of your brand, based on their interactions or others' opinions, shape their expectations.
• Price: The price of products or services sets the bar for customer expectations. Higher prices typically lead to higher expectations.
• Fast Customer Service: Prompt resolution of issues is a primary expectation.
• Accurate Self-Service Data: Customers expect readily accessible information without needing frequent customer support interactions.
• Easy-to-Use Websites and Apps: A positive user experience, including rapid loading times and intuitive navigation, is crucial for satisfaction.
• Personalized Experience: Customers value being treated individually and receiving customized service.
• Innovative Product or Service: Customers expect constant improvement and innovative offerings beyond functional products or services.

The Concept of Strategy

• Strategy is a course of action taken by managers to achieve organizational goals.
• It represents a general direction for the company to achieve its desired future state.
• Strategy focuses on integrating organizational activities and allocating resources to meet objectives.
• It serves as a blueprint outlining objectives, key policies, plans for achieving goals, and the nature of the business, organization, and its contribution to stakeholders.

Features of Strategy

• Strategy is significant due to the uncertainty of the future business environment.
• Organizations need to be prepared to navigate unpredictable events.

Porter's Generic Strategies

• Porter's generic strategies offer ways to achieve competitive advantage, differentiating a company from its competitors.
• The three main strategies are:
  • Cost Leadership: Focusing on minimizing cost to deliver products and services.
  • Differentiation: Creating products or services different and more appealing than competitors.
  • Focus: Concentrating on a specific niche market and tailoring products or services to those customers.
• The Focus strategy can be further divided into:
  • Cost Focus: Emphasizing cost-minimization within a specific market.
  • Differentiation Focus: Pursuing differentiation within a focused market.

The Cost Leadership Strategy

• To achieve cost leadership, companies typically:
  • Invest in cost-reducing technology.
  • Employ efficient logistics systems.
  • Maintain a low-cost base for labor, materials, and facilities.
  • Continuously seek opportunities to cut costs below competitors.

The Differentiation Strategy

• Differentiation involves creating distinct products or services by focusing on factors valued by customers. These factors can include:
  • Features, functionality, durability, and support.
  • Brand image and reputation.
• Achieving differentiation requires:
  • Strong research, development, and innovation capabilities.
  • Delivering high-quality products or services.
  • Effective sales and marketing efforts to highlight the differentiation value to customers.

The Focus Strategy

• Companies employing Focus strategies concentrate on a specific niche market.
• They gain an understanding of the market dynamics and customers' unique needs within that niche.
• They develop tailored products or services to meet those unique needs.
• Strong brand loyalty tends to develop within the target niche, making it less attractive to competitors.

SWOT Analysis

• SWOT analysis is a framework used to identify and analyze an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• It is employed in strategic planning to uncover potential opportunities for success and highlight potential threats.
• SWOT analysis can help identify a market niche where a business possesses a competitive advantage.

This quiz explores the concept of guestology, a term introduced by Bruce Laval at The Walt Disney Company. It delves into the scientific study of guest behavior and how organizations can align their strategies to enhance guest satisfaction while improving profitability. Test your knowledge on the principles and importance of guestology!