In today’s competitive market, here’s a good question to ask—no matter WHAT size business you have:
“What unique touch can we create that will make our customers/clients/patrons feel like they belong, like they have a home here?”
Last week, I was in Portland, Oregon and stumbled upon two small businesses that had unique ways of making people feel welcome.
(1) The first: Pazzoria—an exceptional bakery, cafe.
While it no doubt already has a feeling of intimacy, what struck me is that at the counter, there’s an index card box—essentially, a rolodex.
I asked Kevin, the young man behind the counter, what this was all about.
He said that customers can get a punch card and after 10 cups of coffee, the 11th is free.
What’s UNIQUE is that patrons don’t have to carry their cards around with them.
It’s always here.
Kevin explained that sometimes out-of-state visitors will return to Pazzoria and will be stunned (and thrilled) to find their card still sitting there.
And wouldn’t YOU come back again if you knew your card was there? Or even return just the first time to see, “Wow, do they REALLY keep my card?” I imagine we would all return not so much to add another punch to our ticket, but really, because we would feel we had a place…a home.
With recognition and respect comes pride, and in this one small way, Pazzoria is recognizing and honoring their customers…and increasing business & sales.
(2) Another example: Also in Portland – or just outside – is Dean’s Homestyle Cafe.
It literally looks like a house…so creating a homey feel isn’t that hard…
Except Dean’s goes the extra mile.
Along the ceiling beams are mugs, labeled with patrons’ names.
As a patron, you can purchase a mug and have your name painted right onto it…so whenever you return, your mug is there.
Pretty cool.
Pretty unique.
So…what can YOUR business do so that when your customers/clients show up, something of theirs is already there?
It doesn’t have to take up a lot of space…think of Pazzoria’s rolodex.
But what’s special is that there’s a sense of ownership the customer. This isn’t some document which you or your office manager/admin assistant pulls out like a legal or medical file.
It’s actually the customer who retrieves his/her personal item when they arrive.
They don’t need to carry it around like proof, like ID, like a membership card.
They already know they belong.
And you honor that by keeping a bit of them with you, even if they don’t show up for months.
The difference is subtle, but profound.
