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Serve Your Business Customers with (Lover's) Delight |
By Nance Cheifetz
You meet the lover of your dreams. You are energized beyond belief. Creativity flows effortlessly as your mind races, thinking up ways to surprise and delight each other. The synergy is amazing. You wake up inspired and go to sleep satisfied. Hmmm…heavenly, isn't it?
We all covet that feeling of romance, because one of the many things lovers do is spend time paying attention to each other in significant and meaningful ways.
Each of us has a burning desire to be appreciated. Statistics reveal that the two things that people want most in life are praise and recognition. If you treated your customers like you do your lover, what do you think would happen to your business?
Delighting your customers and staff is the perfect way to create that feeling. When you understand the power of delight and incorporate it as regular practice, the growth in your business will astound you.
Not only does delight not require a budget, it is the single most effective marketing tool there is. With a little creativity and imagination, you can guarantee results. What other vehicle can offer you the same thing at any price?
When I started my sales organization I was much smaller than my competition and could not afford to offer the discounts or terms that they could. I never lost a sale because of it. The reason is because doing business with me was much more fun and memorable than with anyone else. I really cared about my customers, and they knew it. I did some outrageaus and hilarious things, but here are a few of the "tamer" things that catch people's eye:
Treat early morning appointments to bagels and cream cheese along with purchase orders.
Deliver giant chocolate chip cookies at unexpected or difficult times.
Send along good ideas that would work well for their businesses.
Call to share good news or see how clients are doing, not just to ask for business.
Send a thank-you note for their time and consideration even when you don't get their business–this one is a mindblower!
Pitch in when you are on a sales call and they are short-staffed.
How about you? If you are a massage therapist, have you ever thought of taking one day a month as "goodwill time" and showing up at different clients' places of business with your massage chair and a coupon good for a free five-minute chair massage for everyone there? People will not only talk about you, but you will generate the kind of word-of-mouth advertising that cannot be bought.
Financial planner or accountant? Along with planner forms, send clients something fun. How about aromatherapy bath packets imprinted with your logo and the words, "Relax, you are in good hands," with an appointment reminder attached.
If you are a realtor or mortgage broker, why not do something no one else does? Call your clients and invite them to a "Welcome to Your Neighborhood Tour". Personally introduce them to people, merchants and services in the area along with "introductory offers", compliments of you. Take them out for coffee in the neighborhood and treat them to a massage after their move.
What does this cost you? No more than the price of a large plant. What do you get for it? Every referral that this person can muster up. And, you have now gotten to know all the merchants, practitioners and doctors in the area who will now think of you when they go to buy or sell a home.
I've always planned crazy and unexpected surprises. For some new businesses, I've dressed up as a Fairy Godmother, granted wishes and sprinkled fairy dust on the premises for good fortune. Pay attention and be as curious as a lover would be, planning future "delights".
If you think this takes time, think about how much time you will not have to spend getting referrals, cold calling and hammering away at the competition. You are now playing in a league of your own by your own rules. Make a game of it.
Do one nice thing for a customer at random each day. Not only is it great fun, but you could never buy the goodwill you are creating. Your business will become less vulnerable to the competition, and your excellent services will become legendary. You can be in an overcrowded market, be undersold or underbid, but you can never be"out-delighted." This is your competitive edge, and it will win out every time.
Delight works wonders–both for you and for your customers.
Nance Cheifetz, M.Ed, is the author of A Sense of Delight–Living Ordinary Life in an Extraordinary Way. She speaks and trains on customer delight and all topics related to living your life with joy.
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