My wife asked me the other day why I thought employees at resorts and travel destinations are always so nice and courteous even though they will never see you again. She contrasted this with the treatment you receive at places or services you frequent, like the pharmacy, grocery store, or phone company. These routine experiences are often lacking quality customer service and can frequently leave bad tastes in our mouths.

Will You See Your Customers Again?

My wife’s question was about travel destinations. They are nice to you because first, they want you to come back, and secondly, they want you to tell all your friends what a great trip you had.

You may not be a travel destination, but your business needs to consider two similar factors in how you treat your customers:

Will you see this customer again?

Do you want to see this customer’s friends and family?

Customer Experience

The customer experience directly influences if a person will want to come back and do business with you again. “Being nice” is foundational to establishing a relationship with your customers. It is easier for your employees to be nice if they are happy employees.

Word of Mouth

Very few businesses don’t want any repeat customers. Even one-time services like a mortuary can lead to referral business by friends and family.

So why treat a customer nicely if you’ll never see them again? Word of mouth has great influence on repeat and prospective customers.

Your customers may arrive at the point of sale without knowing they could be getting a better deal. This can pose a dilemma. Do you tell them they can get it cheaper, or do you remain silent and pocket the difference?

This is a tough question to answer. It challenges your ideals and moral compass as you balance doing the right thing with making a profit.

Inform the Customer

Every few weeks we’ll pick up a pizza at Papa Murphy’s. One time when I called to place my order, the employee listened patiently and then told me they a had a sale for a larger pizza for a lower price than the one I’d ordered.

I was pleasantly surprised. I could very well have ordered the smaller pizza at the higher price and been none the wiser. However, this employee shared “the secret” with me.

Secret Deals

When you let the customer in on “the secret” (in this case an unknown sale price), it strengthens the relationship with the customer. This open communication builds trust and goodwill between your customers and your business. Interactions like these give customers the perception that your business is a trusted friend that is always looking out for them.

This relationship of trust is foundational to driving repeat business. Although on the surface, proactively offering a discount may not make business sense, the long-term benefits of customer loyalty it fosters will prove a strong return on investment.

Your boss may be the one that signs your paycheck but the reality is that your customers are your ultimate boss.

Last weekend, my family and I ordered a pizza from Papa Murphy’s. They are a pizza chain where you pick up the pizza and take it home and bake it yourself.

I called up the store to place my order. The employee answering said, “What can I get for you, boss?”

I don’t remember being called that before during a retail experience and thought it was noteworthy.

After I placed my order, he said, “You got it, boss.”

Although some may say his tone was too casual, this Papa Murphy’s employee was right: the customer is the boss. Here is why:

You Serve the Customer’s Needs

In customer-business interactions, the business provides something of value to the customer in exchange for payment. If you don’t provide what the customers want, they will go somewhere else.

In my example, the employee got right to the point and asked what I wanted. Asking customers that open-ended question is a great way to start the conversation. You don’t have to guess what they want, they will give you something to start with.

You Do What the Customer Wants

You’d do what your boss told you to do. Your job may very well depend on it. The same is true with your customers. Your business exists to meet the needs of customers.

Give Customers the Title

In your next interaction with customers, think of them as “the boss.” You don’t have to call them that, but it will help put your relationship in perspective and will help foster a customer-focused culture.

In Purple Cow, author Seth Godin talks about how mass marketing is dead. Blasting out your message to the masses is no longer effective.

Does this mean all is lost? Should you give up advertising?

No! You can go local.

Even in this internet age, you can still reach potential customers through traditional, mass media channels. For example:

During the last college bowl game season, I watched a bowl game interestingly titled “San Diego County Credit Union.” This game featured the University of Utah vs. Navy and was held in San Diego, California.

While the majority of people watching the game on ESPN probably don’t have a local San Diego County Credit Union, a lot of the people at the game did.

San Diego is full of US Military personnel and families, particularly the US Navy. So while the sponsorship of this football game seemed a little out of place, it was an extremely local advertisement. Very clever.

When you choose your mass marketing channel, choose wisely. Choose local.

The United States celebrates its independence this July 4th. Thomas Jefferson, the third US president, and main author of the Declaration of Independence has also shared some thoughts that can directly improve the way you do business.

Get to Work

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

Improving your business requires that you don’t get stuck in a routine or rut. If you get too comfortable, odds are that you can improve something that would help your customers and drive your business forward.

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

Your business can’t rely on luck to be successful. Be an individual and company that creates its own luck through hard work.

When to be Late

Delay is preferable to error

Jefferson speaks here of the trade off between accuracy and timeliness. If you need to slow down a little to guarantee accuracy in your fulfillment, go for it. Take this opportunity to refine your process to ensure timely fulfillment of your customers’ orders.

Stick to Your Values

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

The core of your company shouldn’t change with the whims of the day. Naturally, you’ll need to shift some practices or strategies to adjust to your customer segments but don’t sell yourself short by giving up your core principles for any short-term gains.

Financial Responsibility

Never spend your money before you have earned it.

This is a beneficial principle to employ in both your business and your personal affairs. If your cash flow can fund your day-to-day operations, you won’t have to worry about debts to others and the associated restrictions that brings.

Happy Independence Day!

Thomas Jefferson quotes courtesy of Brainy Quote.