I went to a Christmas bazaar and there was a table full of jewelry goodies. In fact, there were a couple of tables with jewelry goodies. But I stopped at this one because of the woman’s smile. She was engaging without being sales-y: she asked about me, whether or not I was ready for Christmas and what brought me to the bazaar. The jewelry was over-priced, but I was impressed with her and I ordered two bracelets. That was November 21st.
4 weeks and 5 days later, I received the bracelets.
- She did not tell me when the bracelets would come in.
- She did not call me to make sure I received my order.
- I did not receive a phone call, Tweet, Facebook message or email thanking me for my order.
- My bracelets were delivered by a mutual friend, not by her.
It Is Not That Hard To Be Extraordinary
I have clients ask me, “Alicia, what can I do to really impress my clients?” Both the answer and the execution are simple: “Take care of your customers.”
Business Owner, please hear me: You don’t have to set aside massive budget dollars or create a strategic plan to make a grand impression. Why? Because most of your competition is marginal. They are order takers just like this “business owner” who don’t have the drive to secure my long term business with a personal follow up.
I’m not suggesting that your target service level should be slightly above marginal, but it’s a good place to start. Simply doing these two things will set you apart from your competition:
- Thank your clients. Send them a thank you note or pick up the phone. If you really want to be daring, send them a small thank you gift.
- Follow up with your clients. When was the last time you checked in with your customers? Ask them about their experience with you or your employees. Ask them if they are satisfied with what they purchased.
You’ve worked hard to build your business and bring in sales. Why lose the opportunity to make a fantastic impression by stopping there?
Photo Courtesy of psd.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
This post was great! I have spent many years in Retail Management, and HR/Training. Companies, and business owners must realize this.. What I am noticing in my area, is the complete absence of customer service and follow up. It takes seconds to gain a customer for life, and seconds to lose one FOREVER.. Personally, I have very high expectations of companies, stores, and business. Word of mouth will either make or break a company.
In this economy, companies are really going to ramp up the customer setvice, and follow up. A phone call, or a letter.
Alicia, thanks for this reminder. I’ve been thinking about how to thank my clients who’ve made this an extraordinary year for me. You reminded me how simple and easy it can be to say thank you and provide just that extra bit of attention and customer service. It goes a long way. Happy holidays!
It would have been so easy to make that one extra step to be extraordinary in your eyes. I think those hand written thank you notes make a very special difference.
Great post, Alicia. It is a little sad, though, that the reason it’s “easy” to be extraordinary is that so many fail on some very simple, basic things! This is a great reminder to us all that doing just a little bit more can pay huge dividends. Thanks for reminding me to go off & “touch” my clients today!
Thanks for the reminder Alicia! As a retail manager for both public and privately held companies for many years, I’ve been fortunate to be trained by great leaders and mentors.
We utilize all of our resources to make sure that our guests leave with a memorable experience while at our organizations. Our philosophy is: If you take care of your employees/team, the team will in return take care of their guests. More importantly, as a leader, I take the time to give sincere, positive feedback and appreciate their efforts each and every day to our team.
Whether a guest makes a purchase or not, we encourage them to submit their names, phone numbers and email addresses so we can notify them of sales and/or promotions. We also call the guests a few days after the sale and ask them if everything is fine with their transaction.
We never lose touch that our guests are the ones that write our checks. In fact, our store increased sales by 25 % from the previous year and continued the positive trend the subsequent years.
Shennee – I agree. Word of mouth will make or break a company, especially considering the impact social media has on influencing a brand.
Colleen – Thanks for the comment! I asked three of my clients to send out 10 thank you cards in one week and their results were amazing – one even received a phone call telling her how touched she was by the card.
Pattie – There is something about it being hand-written isn’t there? I would have even appreciated a phone call.
Beth – I love what you said, “doing just a little bit more can pay huge dividends!” Thanks!
Jessie – Thank you for the personal testimony. A 25% increase in sales is substantial. Sonia Simone said in one of my favorite blogs posts “Your employees will treat your customers only as well you treat them.”
What’s encouraging is how little competition there is for outstanding customer service. I read recently that the trend for 2010 is that customer service IS the new Marketing Department. By being responsive, engaging our customers in dialogue, and implementing their suggestions, we will be selling our brand even more. It’s not an option.
Steve – Thank you for your comment. That’s interesting – “customer service IS the new Marketing Department.” I’m reading a fantastic book you might enjoy. It’s an oldie (1999) but goody: The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore.
Love your style. Honest, gutsy, straight, no crap.
Bookmarked your site awhile back and just took another look tonight.
This post reminds that there is an audience for people looking for the truth and not a bunch of great theory.
Happy New Year. jeff
Jeff, I can’t imagine a nicer compliment. Thank you. This definitely is a “crap-free” zone!
maybe that the reason I have no return customers. Thanks! I need to work on being more friendly
Happy New Year!
Yeah for Alicia-follow-up and the simple words of Thank You can enhance an aleady existing positive relationship. Both e-mail and handwritten notes has given serious job seekers the competitive edge.
Thank you Barbara! Of course, you are a master of the personal touch! You set a great example for others. Thank you for joining our conversation and Happy New Year!