What can an entrepreneur learn about customer experience from running an underground poker game? Everything, as it turns out.
When Molly Bloom ran the most sought-after underground poker game in Hollywood, she created a culture of exceptional customer experience. Otherwise, her players wouldn’t have come back. When someone came for a night of poker at Molly’s Game (subject of the Oscar-nominated film), they entered an exclusive, untouchable world, where they were treated like James Bond for the night.
Since running her successful poker enterprise, Molly has become a sought-after customer experience expert. Between writing her new book and speaking events, she took time to teach me the four principles your business can use to create a culture of exceptional customer experience.
1) Create loyalty with a “yes culture.”
Saying no to a client is a dream killer. However, each time you say “yes” to a request, or that “you’ll figure it out,” you make your client feel secure and taken care of—creating a loyal customer.
To encourage more loyal poker players, Molly created a “yes culture.” Having the philosophy wasn’t enough, however. Molly said it started with hiring people who had the same philosophy and then treating her employees with the same respect as her clients. If you treat your employees well and create a positive employee experience, it spreads to the client. Her rule was if the client request wasn’t demeaning, morally wrong, or illegal, her staff would make every effort to make it happen.
2) Gain trust by respecting your client’s money.
If you base your decisions on getting the most money out of your client, you won’t have repeat customers. You gain trust by valuing people’s dollars, said Molly. When new players came to her game, Molly would encourage them to start small and not to buy another round of chips if they lost early. She didn’t encourage players to lose all their money in the game.
Molly said she wanted to build long-term relationships. If she encouraged new clients to buy more poker chips when they weren’t playing well, she might have made money in that moment. However, she would have also created a resentful player who wouldn’t have returned to play again. If you want to be successful, being trustworthy is an excellent business strategy.
3) Invest in full-spectrum experiences.
Create an environment that will make customers want to return. Molly’s competition used folding tables in dingy, dark basements. So instead of hosting games in a back room with plastic chairs, Molly hosted her events in five-star hotels. She stocked the rooms with the clients’ favorite alcohol, had the event catered by their favorite restaurants, and employed attractive women to serve the mostly male clientele.
Other successful businesses also create experiences. Starbucks creates the feel of an Italian cafe with its store design and aromas. Disney invites guests into a wonderland where friendly people and characters interact with you at every turn. High-end retail companies and hotels surround you with sensory experiences using nice music, flowers, and scented candles.
The positive sensory stimulation makes you feel nurtured and valued at the same time. Emotionally, you want to return to the environment, Molly said. You enjoy it much more than a bare-bones store that has nothing to cater to your senses.
4) Make people feel seen, heard, and remembered.
It’s important for clients to feel noticed. From the first interaction to the last, Molly said, your clients need to know they are seen, heard, and will be remembered.
When Molly hired her staff to work the game, she trained them how to interact with the players. The key to making her clients feel noticed was to really listen, not be in a hurry, and ask questions to get to know them better.
Ultimately, creating a great customer experience is about being of service. Being of service doesn’t have to take a lot of effort, Molly said. Smiling and saying “hi” is often enough to create a positive experience. So if you want to have a really successful company, make people feel valued and they will return.
Kyle Crocco is the Chief Creative at BigSpeak Speakers Bureau, a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, and the lead singer of Duh Professors. He regularly publishes business book reviews, personal development insights, and thought-leadership articles on Medium, Business 2 Community, and Born 2 Invest.
