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Leaders are facing a thorny business landscape. We’re no longer just competing for customers; we’re also trying to get messages heard through increasingly fractured marketing channels while working hard to attract and retain employees who are more distracted than ever before. But there is one winning formula that can help businesses rise up, stand out, and secure enviable loyalty and effort.
Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld
That formula is the combination of innovation and hospitality.
Innovation is essential for any enterprise that hopes for long-term viability. It is the fundamental tool that enables us to identify new opportunities and meet evolving needs. When we embrace innovation, we discover new ways to solve problems, streamline processes, and differentiate ourselves from the competition.
Hospitality places the customer at the center of a company’s operations and decision-making processes. It provides a meaningful human connection that goes beyond the transactional nature of business. By creating memorable experiences, hospitality builds trust and loyalty and leaves a lasting positive impression.
Earlier this year, we read Will Guidara’s inspirational book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, and were struck by the power of these two concepts working in tandem. When you combine innovation and hospitality — especially the “unreasonable” kind — you truly create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Ben Rosenthal
First, let’s break down what Guidara means by “unreasonable hospitality” and why it’s different from ordinary customer service. Customer service is about fulfilling an expected transaction. Great customer service is about fulfilling that transaction flawlessly. But unreasonable hospitality is something else. It’s about going above and beyond to imagine the very best way a customer might feel about a transaction and then making that happen, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
When you combine innovation with that idea of unreasonable hospitality, you go beyond merely meeting evolving needs. Innovation + hospitality soars into the realm of dreams and aspirations. It pushes boundaries and goes over the top, again and again. It consistently strives to exceed the imagined, surpass the anticipated, and fulfill even the wildest dreams of customers and clients, leaving them awe-inspired and eager for more.
Innovation + hospitality does not ask, “What can I give in the status quo?” It upends the status quo and asks instead, “How big can I dream?”
Of course, Guidara comes from the world of ultra-high-end restaurants, where big dreams and over-the-top hospitality fit comfortably into the culture. But we encourage businesses in any industry, whether customer-facing or not, to consider the benefits of imagining lofty goals and tenaciously going after them.
Remember, every business has essential relationships. Some of those are with customers and clients, but some are with business partners — and many are with employees. When those employees understand that they aren’t just being asked to execute flawless transactions — they are being empowered to make dreams come true — you will be amazed at the success they will achieve and the loyalty you will earn.
As Guidara reminds us, “Hospitality is a selfish pleasure. It feels great to make other people feel good.”
Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld is co-president and Ben Rosenthal is co-president and CEO of Standard Meat Company, a multigenerational protein packaging and portioning company headquartered in Fort Worth since 1935.