Sell Experiences. Not Products.

Creating an experience lends itself to having clients and customers get attached to your business emotionally. Don’t forget that people run on emotions! And this is well worth it for you and your business.

One study showed customers with an emotional relationship with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and will recommend the company at a rate of 71%, opposed to the average of 45% (Motista) Is that worth the effort? Yes! Should be!

Another study showed that 85% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. (customersthatstick.com) This means you don’t have to compete on price with everyone else, increasing revenue and if you’re creating a lasting impression you’re probably increasing your client retention. Which in and of itself is a huge deal!

Increasing customer retention rate by just 5% can increase your profits anywhere from 25% to 95%. (kapost).

Again, this has nothing to do with selling more your product to new, hard cold leads. It involves what your clients are receiving that doesn’t show up on the receipt. Their real takeaway.

How can you make the experience better? That is not for us to say, but it kind of is. Here are some touches that have been proven time and time again:

Handwritten Thank You Card.
Ditch the Company Branded Gifts
Call (don’t text) them on their birthday
Share an interest

Handwritten “Thank You” after a transaction has taken place.

This goes a long way. In an age where everything has gone digital, bring it back to being human. When you first started dating your significant other, chances are you probably went out of your way to head over to a store, pick up a card that carried a profound message and became an insta-romantic once that pen hit the paper. Remember the recipients reaction when reading the card, even if the words on the paper were the same words you gave them verbally

Ditch the chef knife with your company logo on them.

No one wants that, or anything where your company logo is splat all over. Opt for an unbranded chef knife. Unbranded gifts are the way to go and reception is more sincere. The gift is about them, not about you.

Call them on their birthday. Not a text.

You might even want to call them the day before their birthday and say “I just wanted to be the first one to wish you Happy Birthday.” That way you’re not another phone call for them on the day everyone is trying to call them to wish them well on their day and your message becomes another brick in the wall. Don’t send the templated postcard. When was the last time you responded to that? Those are just weird.

Share an interest.

Nothing connects people more than sharing an interest. Chances are your group of friends and you all share an interest strong enough that keeps everyone around and the group tight knit.

“Hey, I’m watching Forrest Gump. I was thinking about you. Hope you’re well.”

This is probably the quickest jab imaginable and it keep you human, so don’t ruin it with “… Hope you’re well. As always, I’m never too busy for your referrals.”

If you’ve created an experience they will be raving about you in droves and you’ll never have to ask for a referral.

These ideas are the smallest additions to an experience and exercises to have customers and clients get to know and remember you and your business.

Take a look at every process of purchasing with you and hold yourself accountable. Take your “business owner” hat and ask “If I were on the receiving end of this, how would I like this transaction to make me feel?” and make that happen. Don’t get wrapped up in anything else. Become obsessed with your client’s experience.

What are your clients purchasing that doesn’t show up on the receipt?

For more articles on elevating yourself, your business, and those around you, head to our articles page.