John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing really has a knack for sharing head slapping ideas and insights on business and marketing ... in a down home, "aw shucks", sit around the front porch style. I enjoy reading his blog and actually learning something useful .... without straining my brain to "get it". I think you'll agree. So .... read on .....
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What's Your "Soup To Go" Strategy?
I write about exceeding expectations in business quite often. I happen to think it’s one of the secrets to success in business and life.
The thing is, it’s not really that hard sometimes because people have grown to expect so little. Just giving a little something extra, after the deal has been agreed to, can go a long way towards creating good will and word of mouth.
For example, my wife and I tried out this new restaurant in town. Meal was great, service very cheery, atmosphere appropriate, price in line. All of these things added up to a nice experience that had us agreeing to come back some time. But, when our server brought the check she also brought a pint of soup in a go container and told us to let them know what we thought of it.
Now I’m not just going back, I’m sitting here at my computer telling you about Cafe Augusta. As I said, that soup didn’t set them back much, but I had found memories of my visit the next day over a bowl of warmed up soup.
So, what's your "soup to go" strategy? Can you add something to the box, repair something for no charge, provide a free analysis of other systems, or give free stuff from your strategic partners?
I would love to hear your stories and examples of this concept.
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Here's a point my friend Kurt Schweitzer made about the "soup to go strategy" ...
"Whatever you do needs to be integrated into your product delivery process so that you ALWAYS deliver a little something extra. And note that this ISN'T part of the "sales" process - this is only given to CUSTOMERS who have PAID, not to prospects who MIGHT buy."
I have to drive home another point here too. Do you see how POWERFUL this is? Your customer is impressed with your business, how you go that "little extra", and is reminded of a fantastic experience everytime they "see your soup". Do you think they'll come back? Do you think they'll tell others? So .... does this give you any ideas?