How Small Things Can Make a Big Difference

I was getting some carry out from one of the chain BBQ restaurants recently. While I was waiting for my food, I witnessed this very thing in action. As some of the customers were leaving, one of them said, “oh, no mints, well you used to have mints, shame on you.� Though it would seem like something as small and insignificant as not having mints for your customers when they leave wouldn’t make much of a difference, it does, especially if you have a loyal customer base. Even though it may not keep them from returning, that little inconsistency will sit in the back of their mind and might make them wonder where else you might have made a compromise.

Early in Scott Bedbury’s work with making the Starbucks brand what it is today, someone who thought it might not make a difference, suggested that they (Starbucks) change their toilet paper from the more tactile kind to that of the more wholesale variety. Fortunately, while this might have saved a few pennies, someone else suggested that even thought it came cheaper and in bulk, the fact that it was thinner than the nicer tp, meant that consumers would probably use twice as much of it meaning that there really wasn’t going to be much cost savings, not to mention that their customers were already used to the nicer kind. (From Scott’s book, A New Brand World.)

What it all comes down to is that your customers will notice if you take away even the little things that actually add to their experience with your brand. The more things you consider insignificant, the more significant they probably are considered by your customer.
Posted on September 21st, 2006 in Stay Connected by Stefan | Permalink