When was the last time you had experienced personal touches from your favorite store or business?
Last week, I was queuing to order a drink from one of my favorite tea stores in my local town called “Gong Cha”. When it was my turn to order, the person behind the counter asked if I wanted my usual and keyed my order in before I could answer her. Guess what? I told my friends about it.
A few weeks ago, I received an email from one of our subscribers. Heather subscribed to our email newsletters at Binkd and she emailed to ask a few questions. After responding to Heather, she wrote back saying:
“Thanks, appreciate you following up with a response.
I am in the process of setting up a Binkd contest, thanks to your service. I was looking at other software, and wasn’t sure which one to choose, but a bit of personal service and attention always wins!”
As you can tell, I’m a huge advocate of personal touches. I talk a lot about what people can do to add personal touches for their customers on a shoestring budget.
Some marketers would argue that it isn’t scalable and therefore it shouldn’t be done. I believe it could be done if the company wants to. It just needs a little creativity and EFFORT.
Excellent story on how Poppin gets personal.
Poppin, a company that offers beautifully colored office supplies would write personal hand-written notes to thank their first-time shoppers. The notes would be personalized based on what the customers ordered.
image credit @byMIGUEZ
Touched by this gesture, customers would post it on Instagram, tweet about it, post on their Facebook wall, and even went to Poppin’s Facebook page to thank them for the beautifully hand written notes.
By simply adding this personal touch for first time customers, Poppin was not only able to increase the awareness of their product, but it encourages their customers to share and recommend their products to their friends. I actually stumbled upon Poppin after a friend saw the post on their Facebook newsfeed and he decided to show me.
As you can see, it’s the simple personal touches and little things that makes a big difference. Sure technology has made it easier for us to do business online, but never let it forget we’re after all … human.
What are some of your favorite examples of companies that adds personal touches to their business? Have you experienced any?
Image credit: by Nina Matthews Photography (creative commons)
I’m a HUGE believer in the personal touch. I still send snail mail cards, I’ve painted little pictures to send on special occasions, I believe in saying “thank you” and expressing appreciation in personalized ways. Especially in this digital world we live in, taking a few moments for that little extra touch means a lot. Cheers! Kaarina
Big believer in this too and I don’t think this is limited to small businesses. Big brands can do the same thing with motivated employees becoming brand advocates.
You know what. I have a couple of examples.. I just started going to this puerto rican restaurant a couple of months ago.. I’ve only been maybe 2 times after… anyways about a month later one of the owners recognized me and already had in the back of his mind what I wanted, but to make sure he wanted to know if I wanted something different….
Also there was another restaurant I use to go to all the time, then i stopped going as much. After a year, the waitress that use to wait on me still remember what I always ordered. Couldn’t believe it! This definitely makes the customer feel special… Thanks for sharing!
Sherman’s absolutely right about restaurants – it’s not just the food and execution – it’s all the personal touches that make such a difference.
Hey Aaron,
Couldn’t agree with you more. Making things personal shows your customers that you make the effort to go the extra mile.
I like the fact that you pointed out that we’re still human. I think too many businesses and bloggers unintentionally think of their readers in terms of numbers and forget that they are real people.
Anyway, awesome post as always.
– Mark T.
Business is not business first. Business is human relationship first. That’s what I choose to believe and strive to practice. I disagree that it’s not scalable. I think that’s a limiting perspective grounded in the dollar and not the heart. Money is important, yes, but I think at the end of our lives, we want to know we connected, and not merely transacted.
I agree! i too disagree with some that isn’t not scalable, i believe if they really put some effort, it will can definitely be pulled off.
I love how you approach your business as i do the same too.
Thank you for your comment Mark. I appreciate it. Hoping to see more businesses approach their business this way too. Would definitely separate themselves and humanize their business.
I agree! Sherman’s story is amazing! if i was living there, i would definitely visit that restaurant.
Hi Sherman, thank you so much for sharing your story! its an amazing story! Do share the name of the restaurant too so we can share with others.
Again, thank you for sharing your story with us. Such a pleasure.
I agree Jason, i believe three companies that really does this well is KLM, Pretzel Crisps and Four Seasons Hotel.
Hi Kaarina, thank you for your comment, WOW! i love what you’re doing, are you doing them for your business? If yes, do share the photos with us so that can feature them in the future.
I definitely agree. Personal touches can create brand salience and fill the gap in mandatory promotional approaches. When I promote my brand, that’s good and it helps people LIKE it. But when I add personal tailored touches, it’s one huge step over the core competencies and helps people LOVE me!It creates more emotional brand benefits. People want to receive caress from my brand as they spend money and time on it and they are willing to give it back again as emotional attaches and brand loyalty. Thanks for sharing Aaron!
The interesting is (as mentioned in the article), such personal caring and touches can be done at almost zero cost. A Little bit of passion and creativity is all you need to change your satisfied customers into your enthusiastic loyal lawyers.
That’s right Majid. The cost and the result are both noticeable compared to common
promotional activities. The competitive advantage is also unique as we usually do not think about it this way.
tanks for your website Thanks for
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