In Dave’s words:
Gino DiMascio Salon in Cranston, RI
“I’m a guy who places significant importance on a quality haircut. Some call it metrosexual, some call it vain. But heck, who doesn’t love that feeling of walking out of the barbershop with a fresh new cut?! Regardless, I’ve always been willing to travel great distances and endure considerable troubles to find the right barber. And if you fulfill my quaff-powered needs, you’ll find yourself a customer for life. Unfortunately, my regular barber recently suffered a major flood and has since been put out of commission. And so the journey begins…. In dire need of a clipping and with limited time for in-depth research and analysis, I headed to the joint I frequented back in high school. It was the middle of the day and only one barber was there when I arrived. He seemed welcoming enough and I was desperate so I went for it. Good conversation, satisfactory haircut, reasonable price. He sold me on a second visit, but hadn’t yet cemented his place in my heart. I went to see Ed again yesterday and experienced much of the same type of conversation and quality scissor maneuvering. During our chit chat, I mentioned that I was headed to California the next day on a dreadful six-hour flight. We both agreed on the discomfort that recycled airplane air causes us both. He stopped mid-sentence, put down his clippers and sprinted to the front lot to grab something from his car.
Moments later, Ed returned with a portable ion air purifier. “Here you go, man, try this thing out. See if it helps.” He even walked me through how to use it properly. I was simply floored. A guy I’ve only met twice for about a total of 40 minutes just went well out of his way to provide me a service that had absolutely nothing to do with what he does for a profession or why I came to see him. He didn’t even ask me to bring it back when I was done with it!
Was Ed’s service out-of-this-world, blow-my-mind phenomenal? Certainly not. But good enough to secure repeat business. His conversation tone, his willingness to move beyond drab “Did you catch the game last night?” type chit chat, his ability to convey his unique personality points are what made me consider him for the full-time barber gig. But a clean fade a few funny jokes weren’t enough to send me to the rooftops singing his praises. It was the air purifier move. This guy doesn’t know me well enough to know if I’ll ever bring it back to him. And I don’t get the impression he’s a word of mouth genius, planning an elaborate tactic beginning with recycled air conversations. I walked out of the shop with the feeling the he genuinely cared and was “just a good guy”. And can you guess what I did next? Yep, told at least three people that day about my experience.
Don’t get me wrong, no amount of good-guy-itude will make up for shabby service or poor communication skills. But once the basics are covered, be likeable as a person. For the small business man or woman, the brand of you can be your biggest differentiator.”
Marketing Lagniappe Takeaway: Straight from Dave . . . be likeable. Develop a signature little extra that’s unique to YOU.
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra) – A beautiful piece of music written by Samuel Barber. Touching tribute to 9/11 by the BBC Orchestra and ABC:
Lagniappe defined: A marketing lagniappe, i.e. purple goldfish, is any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a ‘little something extra’. It’s that unexpected surprise that’s thrown in for good measure.
How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?
What’s Your GLUE?
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