What Santa Claus Can Teach You About Customer Experience

Why are kids unable to sleep the night before Christmas? Well, besides being filled with adrenaline at the thought of presents, it’s also because of the allure surrounding the large white-haired man known as Santa Claus that will be coming down their chimney.

Whether you love him or begrudgingly accept him, there’s one thing you can’t deny. Santa Claus has created a hall-of-fame worthy customer experience over the years. By reputation alone, Santa is in a class with the likes of Napoleon, the Dalai Lama, and the Tooth Fairy. The type of reputational tier where one might even find it difficult to separate fact from fiction. However, unlike anyone else Santa delivers an experience that makes him an expert at attracting and retaining customers, and this article will explain why. 

Know your customer 

The 1934 Christmas classic “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” goes:

He sees you when you're sleepin', 
He knows when you're awake, 
he knows if you've been bad or good, 
So be good for goodness sake.

If that isn’t an indication of a leader driven to understand their customer base, I’m not sure what else is.  

While most businesses can’t go to the lengths Santa does when tracking customers, it is critical for organizations in 2023 to leverage the latest tools in data analytics to extract insights from their customer base. With data analytics technologies at their disposal, businesses might not learn a customer's sleep routing, but they can learn critical information such as customer demographics, purchasing behaviors and history, customer journey mapping, and much more.

Santa accepts feedback 

You know those letters every kid writes to Santa this time of year? Well, they aren’t just an opportunity for Santa to see what a child wants for Christmas, they are also a way for Santa to learn what the customer thought of past Christmases. By opening those letters Santa is willfully accepting any feedback or criticism that might come his way, yet he continues to do it because he is determined to give customers the experience they deserve.

How often are you collecting feedback from your customers? Yes, you might be pushing out surveys, but how much of your customer base is actually engaging with them? In today’s business landscape organizations must go a step further and leverage the latest AI tools to gather customer feedback and sentiments that ensure every customer’s feelings are taken into account. 

Customer advocacy

One way to grow a brand's reputation for having a meaningful CX is word-of-mouth, and Santa and his team of elves are experts at word-of-mouth marketing. How often do you see Santa’s Workshop promoting its brand? Probably never because they don’t have to. Instead, Santa relies on his already existing customer base to spread the word, and because he has already provided a strong CX to these customers, they are willing to do so.

The lesson here is that when you deliver to your existing customer base, you not only will be able to retain customers, but can also receive some free marketing to help grow. 

A loyal customer base

Receiving a visit from Santa means a lot to every child that follows him. A gift from him means you were a good child over the past year, thus incentivizing children to continue that good behavior so they can get a visit again the next year.

This tactic deployed by Santa is what makes the CX at Santa’s Workshop so rewarding. The organization is structured to make children (customers) feel special at each turn, and in return those children come back every year. 

Santa is inclusive

Traveling across the world to deliver presents to millions of children in just one night is no small task, but Santa does it because he does not discriminate. According to Santa, every child is worthy of the joy he brings regardless of their background.

Businesses can develop customer loyalty by embracing diversity and practicing inclusive marketing. Representing a diverse range of customers in marketing materials and promotions helps create a sense of belonging for all customers.

If you want to learn more about the latest trends in CX, be sure to register for the CX and Service Management in Shared Services digital event on December 12.