I am standing in line once again at my local coffee place. The guy in front of me gets to the counter and the barista says, “Your usual?” The guy nods and hands her his coffee debit card and then moved to the end of the counter to wait for his “usual”
While I was waiting in line I was perusing the menu list and noticed several new seasonal offerings. When I got to the front of the line and it was my turn to order the barista asked me if I would like to try the Pumpkin Spice latte or the new Carmel Apple offering. I went for the Carmel Apple. I paid my tab and then moved down to the end of the counter to wait for my new taste sensation to be concocted.
As I slowly sucked down my coffee drink I began to think about both transactions. Mine resulted in a verypleasurable experience with my new got-to-have another one seasonal special versus the guy in front of me that was not offered the special at all. He seemed OK with the whole thing. I think he probably would not have bought a seasonal special in place of his “usual.” Actually, I probably would not have purchased the seasonal special if I was not asked if I wanted one.
So, why was I asked and he was not? Was he slighted? Or was I because the barista did not recognize me from my numerous prior purchases?
Then I realized the real loser here was the coffee house owner. Why? Simple. The seasonal special was $2.00 more that just a cup of coffee. If the business served 400 customers per day and 10% were like me and responded to the suggestive selling the result would be an additional $29,200 per year.
Knowing your customers buying preferences is crucial to growing a profitable business. Knowing who is a regular and what they generally want and having it ready for them even before they ask can be a shinning example of terrific customer service. But, as you can see from my example in this case extraordinary customer service may stifle growth if you are making assumptions for your customer. Can you think of examples like this in your own business? Do you have situations where you are not asking for the order? Do you have regular customers that you continue to fill their orders and do not suggest new products or promotions?
All too often we confuse customer service with the sales process, or emphasis one over the other. To grow a profitable business you need both. Without an active sales process there would not be any customers to provide extraordinary customer service for. And without execution of an extraordinary customer service program there would be fewer and fewer customers to sell to.
Do not miss the opportunity to make additional sales to your existing customer base. This is the quickest and most effective way to build sales. And often your customer will thank you for your attention. Give it a try!
