No matter the industry, no matter the product or service, at the heart of every business is a relationship with a customer. These days, customers have more options than ever. Goods can be purchased from around the world. Online reviews can encourage — or discourage — selection of a service provider.

As the relationship between business and customer has shifted, those companies who do well have clearly emerged. Many of them routinely win awards for their solid customer service initiatives. Along the way, they build customers into brand advocates who extol the virtues of their company to friends and on social media sites.

While the size or sector may be vastly different, looking more deeply into how these companies operate can reveal ideas that we can adopt and strategies to deploy.

Hilton Worldwide

As a hotel chain with 10 distinct nameplates, Hilton Worldwide has mastered customer segmentation. It has the hotel to appeal to the luxury traveler (Waldorf Astoria) and something for the traveler looking for free Internet and breakfast (Hampton). Then there’s something for the person who doesn’t want a chain hotel (Curio). Even the extended-stay category differentiates between upscale (Homewood Suites) and more moderately priced (Home2 Suites).

Except for the traveler concerned with amassing points through the HiltonHonors reward program, most may not pay attention to the fact that all of these hotels share the same owner. But that fact ties in with what customers are demanding: services tailored specifically to their needs, even if that “need” is a warm cookie upon check-in (DoubleTree) or local wine and beer tastings (Canopy).

These days, hotel-goers aren’t the only customers demanding what they want when — and how — they want it. Offering one product for the masses might not be as successful as services aimed at customer segments. Some customers are willing to pay more for the experience while others are focused solely on price. Serving both types of customer well can lead to success.

Amazon

This company is a perennial winner and typically tops every list for customer service in both the U.S. and the U.K. It should be noted that it not only typically tops among Internet retailers, but it also scores pretty high among all retailers.

There are many things Amazon does right, but what sets them up as a model for others to follow is that customer service runs throughout the organization — starting at the top. Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos is keenly focused on the customer. According to company lore, when Amazon was first founded, Bezos would pull an empty chair into each meeting. He would tell the assembled executives that the empty chair represented the customer — the most important person in the room. When Amazon was created the Kindle, it did so based on what the customer said it wanted, not what engineers could dream up.

And finally, hundreds of Amazon managers—Bezos included—spend two days each year working in the customer call center. With more than 244 million active users, Amazon is clearly on to something. And Bezos’ philosophy that customer service is the job of everyone—including the top executive—is worth heeding.

Frost Bank

A bank is a bank, right? Texas-based Frost Bank doesn’t see it that way. Its branches are designed to eliminate barriers — such as a desk or window — and allow conversations to happen naturally while transactions are occurring. Even its décor is designed to simulate a living room where customers can access their online accounts. Creating the right atmosphere allows customers to feel engaged on a personal level with the bank and its employees.

That is crucial as regulatory pressures have changed the ways banks to do business. Free or low-cost checking accounts are demanded by many price-sensitive customers. Frost focuses on helping its customers understand the value in what it calls a “square deal.”

If there is anything that can be learned from Frost’s approach, it is that a little goes a long way. By strongly identifying with the community through its décor, and by building relationships with customers, those same customers are willing to pay a bit more especially when they perceive value in the transaction.

Publix

When the slogan is ‘Where shopping is a pleasure,’ there had better be emphasis on making sure that is lived out every day. As an employee-owned grocery store, the chain helps create that pleasing environment by hiring the right employees and treating them well. In addition to its winning customer service, it also frequently tops the lists of best places to work. Those two clearly go hand in hand.

The company’s founder, George Jenkins, routinely told his store associates Publix would be better — or worse — that day depending upon how they performed. The idea of each employee having a stake in the company’s success was well-ingrained. These days, those employees are the largest shareholders and also participate in a profit-sharing plan. That deepens the employees’ vested in interest in how the store performs.

While profit-sharing or joint ownership does not make sense for every business, there is a lesson in the Publix culture: Customer service will live or die by employees. And those who are made to feel appreciated will in turn work just a bit harder.

David Weekley Home Builders

The nation’s largest privately held home builder, David Weekley Homes has seen the home building — and buying — process shift dramatically since it was founded in 1976. Potential home buyers no longer walk into a model home on a Sunday afternoon. They start their buying process online. Each of the 18 markets in which Weekley Homes are built has a dedicated Internet customer service representative who is available to quickly respond whenever someone emails for assistance.

There is no denying that the home building market took a big hit during the recent economic downturn. And while Weekley was not immune, it made a significant investment in Internet customer service during this time. As home building picks up again, it’s proven to be a worthwhile investment for Weekley. Weekley is proof that knowing how customers seek your services is vital, and making it easier for them to do business the way that works best for them pays off.

Taken as a whole, these six winners provide another lesson: Good customer service takes effort, but it is one that pays off in the end.

RHP

The London rental market is a cutthroat game with soaring rents and tight availability. It might seem that the property owner holds all the cards. But RHP, a London-based housing agency with more than 10,000 properties, uses that power for good. Its agents are empowered to solve customer issues almost immediately. And when an issue does take a bit longer, the company might be accused of over-communicating. For instance, if a unit needs a repair, the RHP customer service agent will keep the renter apprised of the process each step along the way.

That communication is hardly one-way, either. The agency routinely assesses what it important to its renters and publishes a quarterly report detailing how they are stacking up against what matters most.

RHP proves that even when a service is in high demand, customer engagement can’t be overlooked.

Hilton’s Curio brand aims at customers who prefer a boutique hotel like the
Sam Houston Hotel in Houston.

Grocery chain Publix focuses its customer service efforts on hiring, training and supporting its employees.