Testing Customer Experience Resilience Through Business Continuity Planning
Unexpectedly, I found myself witnessing a real-life business continuity test this week from my hotel window in Santiago. As the city plunged into darkness due to the worst power outage in over a decade, affecting millions, it was business as usual at the Mandarin Oriental Santiago.
The hotel quickly restored power, ensuring events went on without a hitch, the restaurant remained bustling, and staff kept their excellent service levels. With backup generators in place and a thorough plan, the Mandarin Oriental demonstrated true customer commitment by weathering the storm.
Navigating the Predictable Unpredictable
When it comes to optimizing customer experiences, companies often invest heavily in smooth operations. However, they often overlook preparing for the inevitable disruptions, referred to as the "predictable unpredictable." These events, while not entirely unexpected, include power outages, internet failures, key personnel losses, and weather events.
When these disruptions occur, they create a unique moment of truth in customer experience, either strengthening loyalty or driving customers away. By being prepared for these events, companies reveal their true commitment to customers.
The Hidden Costs of Lack of Preparation
The high expense often cited as a reason for neglecting robust continuity planning overlooks the substantial hidden ROI in being prepared. In the case of the Mandarin Oriental, during Chile's power outage, they:
Developed Immediate Revenue: By not losing any bookings and attracting additional customers to packed restaurants, they saw immediate revenue growth.
Demonstrated Value: With superior preparation, the premium price point was justified, demonstrating the superior value to guests.
worst power outage in more than ten years had swept across Chile, affecting millions of people and businesses. From my vantage point, the cityscape was mostly black—only scattered buildings with backup generators remained illuminated in the darkness.
Created Brand Advocates: Customers like me shared our experiences, creating brand advocates and potentially attracting more customers in the future.
Established Competitive Differentiators: The hotel became the preferred choice for returning guests, establishing a competitive differentiation.
The ROI picture changes significantly when the potential lifetime value of customers gained during disruptions and the reputational damage avoided by maintaining service levels are considered.
Building Disruption-Resistant Customer Experiences
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So, how can organizations prepare for the predictable unpredictable? Consider the following strategies:
1. Map Your Vulnerabilities
Identify your critical service components and potential failure points, and develop mitigation strategies for each vulnerability.
2. Design for Degraded Conditions
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Create processes that can operate effectively at reduced capacity rather than failing completely.
3. Train for Disaster Response
Regular simulations and role-playing exercises help teams develop the necessary skills to maintain composure during disruptions.
4. Communicate Transparently
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Crisis communication, emphasizing clarity and honesty, can prevent customer confusion and maintain their trust during disruptions.
5. Create Redundancy in Critical Systems
Building redundancy around critical systems can help ensure service continuity during disruptions.
6. Look Beyond Your Customers
systems outage in December 2022, they stranded millions of passengers partly because their IT systems weren't designed to recover elegantly from failure. Design processes that can operate at reduced capacity rather than failing completely.
Supporting the community during disruptions can help build brand recognition and customer loyalty.
Business Continuity: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
In the current era of volatile customer experiences, being resilient to disruptions offers an overlooked competitive advantage. When others falter, businesses that can maintain services gain loyalty. By prioritizing disaster preparedness, organizations position themselves to outperform competitors during challenging times.
- The Mandarin Oriental in Santiago had a seat at the table during Chile's worst power outage in over a decade, proving their stylesheet for business continuity was well-designed with mitigation strategies in place.
- Companies often overlook externallink newsletter_signup_article about the "predictable unpredictable" disruptions, but the Mandarin Oriental in Santiago demonstrated how preparing for power outages, internet failures, and weather events can lead to hidden costs savings and brand advocacy.
- When creating redundancy in critical systems, it's important to remember that businesses can benefit from mitigation strategies, as the Mandarin Oriental in Santiago successfully demonstrated during Chile's blackout.
