John (not his real name), a senior executive at a public company, asked me the other day what the company needed to do to strengthen relationships with customers.

The short answer to John’s question is that companies have to go the extra mile, if they want to improve their relationships with customers (and suppliers or employees, for that matter). What does that really mean though? Well, I will give you a real example of two things that I have done in the last couple weeks to build a relationship with one of the outfitters and the customers at The Illahe Lodge.

A couple weeks ago, an outfitter was washing his plastic silverware that is used for lunch as his customers float down the Rogue River. The outfitter mentioned that he was trying to find sturdy plastic forks and all he had found was forks that break. As it happened, I was in town a few days later and looked for forks. Low and behold, I found a package of 1000 sturdy plastic forks for $1 or $2. So, I bought them for the outfitter. It was a small investment on my part. When the outfitter was back in a couple days ago, he was surprised that I bought the forks and gave them to him. It took 5 minutes on my part, yet it is already paying dividends in that he knows I look out for my customers. Yes, the outfitter paid me for the forks, although it was unnecessary. What goes around comes around, right? In addition, I washed the outfitter’s plastic silverware.

A second thing that I did was to offer the guide the choice of desserts on the final raft trip of the year. The choice? Blackberry or apple pie, both home made with fruit that I had picked. The guide selected blackberry pie. The customers asked about the pie and, by the way, they were very impressed that I took the time to pick the fruit and make the pie by hand. Impressed enough that I received a nice tip, which I split with the person who helped me with the meals.

The lessons to be learned from these situations are simple.

- Think about what you can do to improve your customers’ experience. The difference between a satisfied customer and one that talks about you with his or her friends may be the little touches that make you stand out.

- Something that happens once may be luck. When something happens repeatedly, there is more going on than mere luck. The forks were a first time. I had been impressing the outfitter with the pie for about three weeks and, each time, the tips have been better.

- Share rewards with team members so that they are more likely to contribute to the team’s success. Often, people receive tips in restaurants and are required to split the tips. Rather than adopting rules, why not do what is right? I was able to impress the customer because other members of my team were backing me up, helping me wait tables, washing dishes, clearing tables, etc. I may get the credit in my current role, but would the best pie in the world make up for lousy service or other issues? I think not…

The lesson ot be learned is to think about what your customers value. From here, look for opportunities to go the extra mile, in a way that is cost effective and makes your firm stand out in your customers’ memory as different, unique, and special? That is what “delightment” is all about…

Filed by Coleen Davis at 10:54 pm under Achieving Goals, Business Acumen, Business Tips, Marketing, Team Building