Treat Every Customer Like Your First

Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on October 2, 2008 under Customer Moments, First Impressions | 2 Comments to Read

Thanks to a Tweet from Small Biz Bee I learned of a post entitled One Simple Secret For Keeping Customer for Life.  The idea is to treat each customer with the same enthusiasm and total attention that you gave your very first customer. 

It is so true – whether you are selling a service or a widget – the very first time someone was willing to pay cash for what you offer was a high you’ll remember forever.

My first customer needed a sales letter.  A simple task but I remember approaching it with the intensity and focus of a brain surgeon.  I wanted to make sure everything was just perfect. 

I wanted to make a difference.  I wanted to exceed their expectations.

Small Biz Bee said something that really resonated with me when they wrote:

What’s old hat for you, is brand spanking new for them

Even though you’ve given the same sales pitch 1,000 times, or had hundreds of people shop your website and come into your store, the experience for the next customer is completely new. You only have one moment to capture them as a customer for life. If you aren’t into it, if your enthusiasm wanes for even a moment, you shortchange their experience and they likely will not be back. Conversely if you treat them as you did that first customer, you better believe they will be back and the beauty of it is they are going to tell all their friends about you too.

That’s just what I mean by make or break moments.  By realizing that each customer is unique and therefore needs to be treated like our very first, we make the most of our first interaction.  First impressions go a long way towards developing a relationship and ultimately building trust.  People buy from those they like and trust. 

Switch shoes for a moment.

Imagine if every place of business you entered treated YOU like their very first customer.  How would that make you feel?

Check out this article by Michelle Sterling entitled First Impressions: Do You Make Your First Impression Your Best One?

If you treated every customer like your very first; what would that look like?