Remember the old motels where you drive up and park in front of your room? A few years ago, my wife and I had the pleasure of staying in one of these because the nice, new hotel we had planned to stay in had lost our reservation.
The first thing that caught my attention at this motel was their sign:
“Cleanest rooms in town. Guaranteed”
This made me wonder why they would feel the need to brag about clean rooms. It seems to me clean rooms should be a given. (I guess my standards are not everyone’s standards.) Either way it gave me a little cause for concern.
When we settled into our room I was pleasantly surprised to find the rooms were, in fact, very clean. I had no way to determine if they were the “cleanest in town”. But that didn’t matter because they were as clean as any I had ever stayed in.
Plus, even though the motel was old, it was well maintained. Everything worked well. The furniture and carpeting were up to date. Best of all, the high-speed wireless Internet worked perfectly (which is more than I can say for the big chain hotel we stayed at the following night).
So, even though this little motel was not our first choice, we were happy with it. Overall they had a nice property and they took good care of their guests.
They did several things well and it paid off:
A. They focused on their strengths and used them to set themselves apart from their competition.
B. They created a simple, yet effective message that their target market would respond to.
C. They backed it up with flawless execution.
No glitz, no glamor. No flash. Just the basics. Clean, well maintained rooms. Friendly service. Convenient location. Competitive prices. They put their stake in the ground and they stood by it. Well done!
Other articles you might like:
- Don’t skimp on your service recovery
- Welcome to a Lousy Stay
- Lie to Your Customers
- Foolish Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Poor Service
- Lessons From the Mouse (Mickey, That Is)
