7 Lessons Emily in Paris Can Teach Us About Customer Experience & Business

Bonjour! We’re taking inspiration from Emily in Paris today. Those that are active on social media or Netflix may already know what I’m talking about ;)

Emily in Paris is a television series about a young, ambitious American girl from Chicago, who relocates to Paris for a one-year placement with a French marketing agency as a last-minute replacement after learning that her employer is expecting.

She was expecting to advise the French company on their social media strategy, but she discovers that they are not open to her ”American” suggestions. While she’s trying to navigate her way, there are some important lessons we can apply in the real business world - specifically, customer experience.

There was a scene where she is given the responsibility of promoting a luxury hostel and its services to implicit guests. This is the part where the importance of building and maintaining good relationships with customers and clients was shown. She needed to get to know the clients and understand their requirements and preferences as well as effectively communicate with her client. Throughout the series, you will see how she goes above and beyond to exceed customer expectations.

So here’s abit of a fun blog and reminder for us all to always be customer experience-driven ;)

Without further ado, let’s begin!

#1 Personal connections in customer relationships

Emily is able to strengthen her relationships with them by getting to know her clients personally and establishing connections with them. As a marketing executive, Emily is responsible for designing campaigns that meet the needs and preferences of specific clients. She shows a genuine desire to assist them in succeeding or taking an interest in their lives throughout the series and it was definitely not gone unnoticed. This level personalisation helped her create a more positive and meaningful customer experience - for her clients and the end users.

#2 Networking and building relationships

Emily meets and makes connections with a wide range of fashion industry individuals throughout the show, including customers, coworkers, and rivals. Her professional and personal success is largely due to these connections and relationships.

She can put together an entire event in just a day depending solely on her connections from the food catering, entertainment, props and everything you can think of. Of course, it’s a not real life - but you get the point.

#3 Strong communication skills

The key to developing lasting relationships with her clients is Emily's ability to communicate effectively. Being able to clearly articulate your own ideas and proposals, being able to respond to their requests, and being able to listen to what they have to say are all part of this. 

Emily communicates with clients, coworkers, and superiors throughout the show to ensure everyone is on the same page. A positive customer experience and the prevention of misunderstandings are both made possible by effective communication. Emily thinks beyond the usual presentation to deliver her ideas - she uses real-life experiences (setting up the bed scene in the middle of Paris to inspire people with her “under the stars” idea, the infamous spray champagne idea and an out-there fashion show for Pierre Cadault, a top client of Saviour).

#4 Empathy

This is absolutely key in business, in marketing, in sales. Emily is able to connect with her clients and Understand their points of view, which helps her gain their trust and credibility. Empathy and understanding for your customers can go a long way toward establishing long-term relationships. 

Throughout the show, Emily demonstrates empathy for her clients and coworkers by understanding their feelings and putting herself in their shoes. With this, she is able to develop a deeper understanding of the business’ goals, audience and messaging and help create out-of-the-box creative solutions. 

#5 The power of adaptability

Being in a foreign country with a new role… sounds like a dream, right? Ah! Not quite. In order for Emily to succeed in her new position as a marketing executive in Paris, she had to adapt quickly to succeed. 

This demonstrates the importance of flexibility and being open to change to meet the needs of your customers and stay relevant in today's fast-paced, digital and global  business environment.

Because if you don’t, you’re at risk of losing them.

#6 Creativity and innovation

Emily distinguishes herself from her coworkers and helps her stand out in the industry by bringing a fresh perspective and novel concepts to her marketing campaigns. Innovation and creativity is essential to business success.

One of her clients testing the waters with perfume, accidentally produced a wrong one. The scent was similar but the mix was a little wrong. That is a huge problem since a lot of money was spent in production. She came up with the idea of selling them for a limited edition since that’s not the supposed scent but close enough. That way, her client is still able to get ROI and won’t lose the capital.

Or one of my other favourite scenes is the champagne client. Everyone was thinking about the typical champagne marketing campaigns but it was not working for the “lower” quality champagne. So she thought about bringing champagne to the party scene - different positioning, different messaging, different audience. Brilliant!

#7 Be where your customers are

To deliver excellent customer experience, you need to understand customer journey and personas. Then figuring out what your customers are about they care about, how they find information and be where your customers are. Ensure you have a good mix of online and offline marketing channels. After all, the customer experience is far from linear and require at least 8 touch points before they convert.

Emily used social media mainly during the show as a way of communicating with her clients but she also incorporates events, road tours, PR stunts, magazines and more.

So, are you planning some ambitious customer experience goals for the year ahead? Here’s our free Revenue Operations checklist to help you out. It’s crucial for building a positive and happy customer experience. and embrace the Emily in you ;)

Till then, Au revoir!