By ALI CUDBY
“I don’t like being talked down to, you know?”
Shannon was my seat-mate on a flight, and we got to chatting about wood flooring, of all things.
Her war story? She had gone to the “fancy” wood flooring store in town for a home renovation, and the sales guy, “kept telling me I had to do this and had to do that. He was obnoxious, and he was treating me like I was some dumb woman who couldn’t understand anything. I do NOT need that attitude. And I didn’t like the way he disrespected me. So I left,” shared Shannon.
Shannon ended up at a “little dump of a place, which turned out to be a wholesaler business. I liked the folks there – I liked the way they treated me.” At the first store, the salesperson crossed Shannon’s line from educating to condescending. She purchased in the second store because she liked the salesman, “but what won me over was the owner. You know, the day we had our work done, he came over to the house to check on us? To make sure we were happy with the work. That’s so rare these days!”
The little things make a big difference when it comes to the customer experience. You can create a sincere connection with customers that advertising can’t buy.
“I felt better about that business because that owner dropped by. It seemed like he cared about his customers and his employees. It set a tone.”
“Customer service can be so lousy these days. Even small touches really stand out. I appreciated it so much. I’ve referred a bunch of business their way. You know, it’s just the little things.”
Whether it’s wood flooring or lingerie, what Shannon saw as a “little thing” is really an act of empowerment by a business leader. The owner empowered Shannon to feel confident in her decision and in her purchase. Then he followed up, personally, which reinforced her choice and deepened her sense of connection.
Knowing how to harness the power of your customer’s decisions can make a huge difference for you, your team and ultimately your customers. It can save your business time, energy, effort – and ultimately money. Most of all, it allows you to grow your business by serving customers at a deeper level.
How do you tap into making those decisions more consciously to allow your customers to feel empowered? That’s the challenge – figure that out and you can serve deeper AND increase your revenue without doing a single thing. When customers feel empowered they send business right to you.
I’ll be digging into serving at a deeper level in a free webinar next week, where I’ll be taking Live Q&A. You’re invited! You can REGISTER NOW to save your seat.
