Saturday, October 15, 2005
Happy Birthday and a $2 Coupon
Today is my wife, Joanne's, birthday. So I want to start out by wishing the wonderful woman who has put up with me for all these years a great one!
But, of course, as I prepared for her birthday, my mind connected those preparations with business strategy as I stopped by the local DQ for an ice-cream cake.
We almost never stop at DQ otherwise, but we've gotten in the habit of getting a cake there for any celebration at home.
You see, one time we decided to do something special and buy an ice-cream cake there. Printed at the top of the receipt was a message wishing us well on whatever we were celebrating and offering $2 off the purchase of our next cake.
It was a pleasant surprise to find this on the receipt, so—unlike we usually do with the discount coupons we get in the mail, we kept this one. We put it up on our refrigerator to remind us that we had $2 coming to us. And the next time we had a special occasion, we eagerly used the discount.
Next cake, the same thing. Same message, same $2 discount. So we saved it again.
Before long, what had started out as a one-time, special treat became an every-celebration tradition. All because they surprised us by presenting their coupon to us in a way we didn't expect. They could have sent us $2 coupons in the mail or newspaper every week and we would have tossed them in the trash. But seeing it on the sales receipt with warm wishes for our event got our attention.
That simple expression of appreciation turned their coupon into more than just a coupon. It caused us to see that DQ owner as someone who cared about the special events in our lives and enjoyed helping us celebrate them. And we've been back to give them a chance to help us celebrate ever since.
Sure, we're paying $20 to use that $2 "savings." But it's about more than just the money. It's about being appreciated, about being made to feel special.
What are you doing to surprise your customers? Something they don't expect will always get their attention, whether it's lousy service or a special touch that makes them feel appreciated. Surprise them in a positive way and you'll be surprised at the loyalty you can build.
Jeff
Today is my wife, Joanne's, birthday. So I want to start out by wishing the wonderful woman who has put up with me for all these years a great one!
But, of course, as I prepared for her birthday, my mind connected those preparations with business strategy as I stopped by the local DQ for an ice-cream cake.
We almost never stop at DQ otherwise, but we've gotten in the habit of getting a cake there for any celebration at home.
You see, one time we decided to do something special and buy an ice-cream cake there. Printed at the top of the receipt was a message wishing us well on whatever we were celebrating and offering $2 off the purchase of our next cake.
It was a pleasant surprise to find this on the receipt, so—unlike we usually do with the discount coupons we get in the mail, we kept this one. We put it up on our refrigerator to remind us that we had $2 coming to us. And the next time we had a special occasion, we eagerly used the discount.
Next cake, the same thing. Same message, same $2 discount. So we saved it again.
Before long, what had started out as a one-time, special treat became an every-celebration tradition. All because they surprised us by presenting their coupon to us in a way we didn't expect. They could have sent us $2 coupons in the mail or newspaper every week and we would have tossed them in the trash. But seeing it on the sales receipt with warm wishes for our event got our attention.
That simple expression of appreciation turned their coupon into more than just a coupon. It caused us to see that DQ owner as someone who cared about the special events in our lives and enjoyed helping us celebrate them. And we've been back to give them a chance to help us celebrate ever since.
Sure, we're paying $20 to use that $2 "savings." But it's about more than just the money. It's about being appreciated, about being made to feel special.
What are you doing to surprise your customers? Something they don't expect will always get their attention, whether it's lousy service or a special touch that makes them feel appreciated. Surprise them in a positive way and you'll be surprised at the loyalty you can build.
Jeff
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