Customer Loyalty Lies in the Little Things

While sitting in front of a store and discussing marketing problems we were watching a man who was parking his car right in front of the store’s entrance. He gets out of the car, lifts the hood, spreads a blanket in the trunk then moves towards the entrance. There, he has a stroller waiting filled with materials that he needs next day at work. He lifts a box and heads towards the car and deposits it in the trunk.

[Seeing this fairly ordinary and everyday image made me wonder: ”What are the differences you can make when the competition has the same products as you, the same prices, only with different campaigns?”]

…so I headed towards the stroller and started helping him carry his materials. At first, he was a little taken aback not knowing what to think. It must be a joke, some hidden camera, or maybe he wants a tip? And with this look we started to become a team. It all lasted about 3 minutes. I got a “thank you very much” and another “thank you” when he let the hood down and got into his car.

And that’s when I realized tha…

…the biggest difference you can make when the competition has the same products and the same prices lies in the little things.

There is no greatest price, greatest offer, greatest prize. If you’re giving a Dacia Sandero as a prize for the “Big Lottery” the competition may come with an Audi Q7 or a BMW X5 just because it can.

I know this little things idea is a bit cliché but here’s what I was thinking: if a supermarket wants to distinguish itself from its competitors, why wouldn’t it pay a gentleman with a minimum wage to stand at the entrance and help the client carry his materials to his car? Because I haven’t seen something like this anywhere (in Romania) and I believe a small polite gesture would get you a loyal customer faster than a dry cooker prize would.

P.S. And YES…this is a form of branding! The same branding some brands are missing: politeness.