Recently, I read an article entitled “How to Reinvent Your Customer Experience,” where the author argued effectively that the goal of any business is to deliver a memorable experience that customers want to repeat.
That experience starts from the storefront, the community front, and the web-based front, and continues into a business’s doors, into the conversation inside the business, and eventually to a total customer experience that delights the customer and entices them to come back. As in all cases, a business’s success in attracting a client back is a win for that business and our community.
Hope has a great opportunity to reinvent our customer’s experience whenever a guest stops to enjoy our downtown, to swim at our pool, to take in the art gallery, theatre, a local event, or to simply fill with gas. Our community also has the opportunity to exceed expectations whenever there is a meeting, a conference, or a workshop held locally.
Last weekend, Grace Baptist Church hosted a regional conference bringing guests and visitors from across B.C., Yukon, and the world. These guests ate at our restaurants, stayed in our motels, and, best of all, were delighted with the hospitality they were shown – give yourself a pat on the back Hope!
The Hope and District Recreation and Cultural Centre works hard to bring meetings, conferences, and events to our community as well. Their new multipurpose room is a sought after facility hosting delegations, workshops, and most recently a zoning bylaw hearing. Chick-fil-A Leadercast, a part of the Chamber of Commerce’s Idea Exchange and presented by Advantage Hope is also coming to Hope on May 4. Of course, the many camps surrounding our town: Camp Hope, Camp Squeah, and Camp Kawkawa as well as other retreats all bring many visitors regularly to our community not only in the summer, but throughout the year.
You, as Hope’s ambassador, can help our community become even a more popular meeting and conference destination whenever you mention the many venues such as the Eagles Hall, Legion Hall, golf course, the 300 plus motel rooms available in our town, and the selection of restaurants and caterers covering many tastes and budgets.
Let’s reinvent our customer’s experience as a community.
Tyler Mattheis is executive director of Advantage Hope, Hope’s economic development agency. He can be reached at 604-860-0930 or info@advantagehope.ca.