How will Capitalizing on Dining Habits Create a Customer for Life?

There was an interesting post on LinkedIn recently that showcased how the Ritz-Carlton Hotel utilizes customer insights and dining habits to cater to its loyal customers. Here is an excerpt:

"One time at a Ritz-Carlton hotel I called downstairs for a pizza, then resumed working on my laptop until the knock on the door came about 30 minutes later. Only then did I realize I’d forgotten to request red pepper flakes with my pizza. I love red pepper flakes on a pizza. In any case, I opened the door and the waiter wheeled in the room-service table with my pizza, a soda, some utensils, and…a small dish of red pepper flakes!"

"Hooray, I thought. I signed the bill and as the waiter was about to leave, I asked him whether they served red pepper flakes with all their pizzas. “No,” he said, glancing down quickly to check his pad, “but you like them, don’t you?” I had completely forgotten that this was not my first room-service pizza at a Ritz-Carlton, and they had already noted my preferences."

Wow! What an outstanding example of how businesses are using customer insights to retain loyal customers. When you can meet a customer’s personal needs, that customer will likely remain loyal for life. You have suddenly made it very convenient for the customer to continue doing business with you. More importantly, you made the customer feel special. You established a memorable relationship with that customer. The time and effort that it took the Ritz-Carlton to add red pepper flakes to one room service order instantly equated to a long-term emotional customer connection….and future room reservations.

Every business should have a loyalty software system in place that can gather and analyze customer data, habits and patterns. The ability to act on that information will put your business in an excellent position to generate immense customer loyalty.