Entrepreneurship. Rhonda Abrams
they do it? Research! When the U.S. Department of Commerce selected Ritz-Carlton for the award, it cited the premium hotel chain’s extraordinarily detailed understanding of its customers and operations as a primary reason for giving the award.1
“What we get from data is essential,” said John Timmerman, former vice president of operations for the luxury hotel chain.2 But the Ritz isn’t interested in numbers for numbers’ sake. It wants to turn the numbers into actionable behaviors that improve the customer experience. “To be agile in any marketplace, especially one that changes as rapidly as ours, means being a learning organization,” said Timmerman. “If you can’t define it, you can’t control it, you can’t measure it, and you can’t improve it.”3
Ritz-Carlton is fanatically detail-oriented, so the data it collects is broad and deep. It identifies and documents procedures for quality improvement (QA) and problem solving, makes sure that experts review all its methods of data collection and analysis, and establishes high standards for success. It uses three types of comparative data: 1) comparisons to its industry and foremost competitors, 2) benchmarks established by the industry, and 3) benchmarks established within the company.4
One of its ongoing research tasks is to identify problems before they occur. According to its application for the Baldrige Award, by 1999, the Ritz had identified no fewer than 970 potential problems that could arise during interactions with overnight guests and 1,071 potential issues that might occur during interactions with meeting-event planners. Each potential issue is flagged, a solution is created, and all employees are trained how to handle the situation should the potential ever become actual.
Even the most subjective data is collected and used—data that other businesses would ignore as too subjective. For example, subtle reactions of guests to specific decor, services, or entertainment are noted and fed into the river of data that is used to establish business priorities. “As a result, the hotel can pick up on information that might have been easily missed,” said Timmerman.5
Sometimes, the results of its research contradict conventional wisdom. In a Forbes.com interview, former Ritz-Carlton President Simon F. Cooper said, “A breakthrough in our thinking was understanding that we are not a hotel brand but a lifestyle brand.”6 This was a hugely inspirational realization for Ritz-Carlton, because, for a hotel company, growth relies on developing new properties in new places. That puts limits on growth. But as a lifestyle brand, former Ritz-Carlton can offer any number of products and services. Suddenly the possibilities were endless—and as researching the lifestyles of its customers was something it had been doing for years, it had amassed a wealth of data to back up new strategies. So it launched vacation packages, spa “experiences,” and executive gifts and incentives.
Of course, many if not most companies make some attempt to research their markets, survey customer satisfaction, and measure employee engagement. But where Ritz-Carlton truly excels is not merely in the amount of data it acquires, but also in how it disseminates results throughout the organization in ways that actually drive the business forward. Data isn’t just kept in reports on some executive’s desk. Instead, Ritz-Carlton analyzes the ocean of data and incorporates its understanding of changing customer and market requirements into business decisions—and then involves the entire workforce to take action. This information is disseminated in a variety of ways: through formal classes, electronic communications, and printed materials, but most commonly through face-to-face interactions.
For example, at the Ritz, every employee in every location participates in a daily preshift meeting in which the top priorities and goals are presented and discussed. Result: Everyone is always informed, and on board, with the latest strategy. Most important, all employees understand the particular ways that they, personally, contribute to reaching the goals.
Through research, the Ritz-Carlton clearly leaves little to chance. By knowing its customers, its industry, and its markets, it ensures that it maintains a competitive edge. ■
1. “1999 Baldrige Award Recipient, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.,” Oct. 5, 2010. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
2. “How the Ritz-Carlton Manages the Mystique,” by Jennifer Robinson, Dec. 11, 2008. Gallup Management Journal.
3. Ibid.
4. http://patapsco.nist.gov/Award_Recipients/PDF_Files/RCHC_Application_Summary.pdf.
5. Ibid.
6. “How Ritz-Carlton Stays at the Top,” by Robert Reiss, Oct. 30, 2009, Forbes.com.
questions
1. What types of information do you think would be most useful to a luxury hotel company to improve its performance and profitability?
2. How does research for an existing company differ from the kind of research needed for a prelaunch venture?
3. Why is it important that the results of research be shared throughout a company?
4. Can you think of examples of other companies at which doing research on customers’ lifestyles might affect their choice of product offerings?
EXERCISE: critical thinking
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Goal:
Think through the type of information you’ll need to help you plan your business.
What to do:
In this exercise, identify the types of questions you’ll need answered in order to help you plan a successful venture.
Here’s the situation: You have an idea for a new business. It’s a high-end travel service, specializing in luxury active adventures. Your trips will combine first-class accommodations and food with active pastimes, such as scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, bicycling in France, or hiking in Yellowstone National Park.
What do you need to know to gauge whether this will be successful? What information will help you better plan your new business? In this exercise, you will not conduct actual research, but just will list the kind of questions you need answered.
For each aspect of your potential new luxury adventure travel business, write two questions you should research and answer to help you plan a successful venture:
1. Your competition
2. Potential target market
3. The travel industry
4. The operations and human resources part of your business
5. Money
CHAPTER
4
Business Planning
