More Than an Invoice Number

A friend of mine recently lost his father. Being that my friend is an only child and his dad was divorced, he was left the entirety of his dad’s estate. Going through the loss of a parent is obviously tough, but the thing they don’t prepare you for is how much the transactional nature of the service industry will hurt during a  time of grief.

My friend and I discussed how the people that were helping him were treating his situation as just another transaction. They wanted to provide their services and move on with their lives. without exception, they come across as being ambivalent to his suffering.  All my friend wants is for someone to recognize that he just lost the man who took him to all his hockey games, the guy who taught him how to fish, and the man who was there for him during his times of greatest need.

This is obviously an extreme case, but it brings up a problem that most businesses face - in most businesses, everything is transactional. The experts would say, “well that’s just business, what do you expect?” but does it have to be that way? Do customers have to spend their money with you?

Today's tidbit is about looking beyond the invoice number and getting the story of how the sale came to be before the transaction was even completed. As a consultant, I teach this to help business owners understand and appreciate where their clientele comes from. The higher the ticket value, the more of a connection the customer needs.

For example if a customer is purchasing a cup of coffee, they obviously didn't save up for years just to afford that one cup. Just because it is a small purchase, however, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still deserve a special touch. On a grander scale, though, if you sell houses, who knows how long the customer has been waiting to buy that dream house. In this instance, the customer/vendor relationship is crucial to make the buyer feel like they’re not just another invoice number.

The lesson here is that there is always a story behind every purchase. Finding out that story and using it to deliver a world-class experience will develop your brand beyond anything else. To see this in action, you don’t have to look far. Have you ever heard of a company called Disney? What about a company called Ferrari? Southwest Airlines? The list goes on (as do the accolades of world-class customer service).

So here is the take away: why do your customers buy from you? What makes them come to you? Do you know their story? How long did it take for them to be able to afford your services? Think through these questions. Find ways to add little touches to your services that really drive your business to the next level by letting your customers know, “Hey - we hear you. We see you. You and your story matter to us”.