How to Create a Higher-end Image
A night out at a local five-star restaurant last weekend got my brain buzzing with marketing ideas.
Restaurant Nicholas is located on a highway not far from plenty of much less expensive eateries and fast food places. But Nicholas is always full. It's certainly not because the prices are low. No, the success of Nicholas has to do with their continuously living up to their high-end image.
With high-end businesses, high prices are accepted without question. So if you'd like to stop dealing with price objections, create a high-end image.
Here are 3 ways that can help you achieve a higher- end image with your design business. These ideas may seem obvious or common sense, yet many designers forget or ignore these principles. So I am writing this to remind you and give you a jolt. Which idea can you put into practice this week?
1. Pay attention to every detail
At Nicholas, my entire dinner was not only delicious, but it was spectacularly prepared and beautiful to look at. Instead of simply placing the dishes in front of us, four servers came to our table, and on cue, they lifted the silver covers off our plates - revealing each course (there were seven!). Without our noticing, our wine glasses were constantly refilled, bread was replenished, and tableware was replaced. It was all done so seamlessly. The silverware was lovely, the table linens were crisp and clean, the napkins in the bathroom were beautiful! No detail was overlooked.
Have you overlooked any detail in your business? Take inventory now, and make a note to ensure that everything lives up to your high standards.
2. Deliver more than expected
Several times during the evening, we were amazed with something extra and unexpected. A surprise introductory appetizer was served as we waited for our first course. A custom dessert was created for the "birthday girl" at the table. And towards the end of dinner, we were all presented with a lovely gift bag filled with freshly-baked banana bread (which I ate the next morning for breakfast).
Do you over-deliver?
3. Turn down lower-quality jobs
Several people have asked me to save them money by creating a design using less expensive fabrics and furnishings. Unfortunately, most of the time, less expensive means lower quality.
Imagine if I had asked the servers at Nicholas to "just bring me a peanut butter sandwich and potato chips." While everyone was more than accomodating, their high-standards would never allow them to give in to such a request.
We tend to agree to certain jobs because we think it makes us seem more accomodating and puts us in a better light. But saying yes to jobs that are of a lesser qualtiy actually lowers your image, and the higher-end prospects will not think of hiring you.
How else do you create a high-end image? Please post your comments.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Chocolate Flowers
Going Beyond Customer Service
While taking a break from an intense day of antiquing, my friends and I ducked into a quaint coffee shop to rest our weary bones. We each decided to order chai lattes – a black spiced tea with a coat of foam on top. The barista asked if we would like cinnamon and chocolate in the tea and, before I could raise an objection (chocolate in tea?), one of my friends responded affirmatively for all of us.
A few moments later the lattes were ready and we were summoned to the counter to pick up our fancy drinks. As I approached the counter, I was delighted to see that on top of the white foam, the barista had drawn an outline of a beautiful flower in chocolate syrup. Imagine that! It was the first time I ever felt that four dollars was actually a bargain for a cup of tea!
That simple flower was something the three of us talked about while we drank our tea, after we left the coffee house, while we shopped, and then several times over the next few weeks. It cost the store practically nothing and took very little time, but it was a charming surprise. For such a small effort, those chocolate flowers made a great impact.
That experience got me thinking. What is my chocolate flower? What is it that I can give to my clients that is unexpected, that is more than I promise, that is a pleasant surprise?
After thinking about it for quite some time, I came upon the realization that there is not one perfect answer. Each of my clients may require a different chocolate flower. And each designer may have their own unique chocolate flowers. But to qualify as a chocolate flower, a product or service must have these two qualities:
- It must be something the customer will like, and
- It must be unexpected – more than promised
I don’t know where I first heard it said, but I always like to follow the rule:
“Under-promise and Over-deliver”
Your chocolate flower is part of the over-delivering.
As consumers and designers, we have the opportunity to interact with numerous businesses daily. Doesn’t it feel great when companies provide exceptional service – going above and beyond what was expected? Here are some ways that we receive chocolate flowers:
- We order several yards of fabric, and the mill sends us a memo sample for our client file.
- After buying new tires, the car comes back washed.
- While sitting in economy class on a plane, the flight attendant hands you a warm, moist towel.
- Get a manicure and pedicure, and receive the nail polish to take home for touch-ups.
Now let’s talk about some ways to serve chocolate flowers:
- When a customer orders draperies for their living room, surprise them with a matching throw pillow.
- At the completion of an installation, give your client a board with samples of all their fabrics and trims attached, so that they can bring it with them while shopping for coordinating items.
- If you are designing a treatment for a baby’s room, make a diaper bag out of the leftover fabric scraps.
- While you are up on the 16-foot ladder installing your treatment, dust the chandelier, clean the window, or replace a light bulb.
The Benefits of Chocolate
What are the potential benefits of serving chocolate flowers?
For about two cents and thirty seconds of time, that coffee shop received the benefit of some powerful word-of-mouth marketing with much more impact than any advertising could have accomplished. I told at least thirty people about the special service I received, and those people told others. I even heard that some friends were discussing it when I wasn’t around. Now I’m writing about it!
Can you imagine such publicity? Would that kind of chatter impact your business in a positive way? Could community gossip about your fabulous, unbelievable service add to your bottom line?
Of course, the answers to these questions are yes! As designers and business owners, it is up to us to create our own chocolate flowers – to find ways to go beyond what is expected of us. It can be the difference between a customer who is satisfied and one who is overwhelmed by the exemplary service and professionalism of her designer. Chocolate flowers are one of the most effective marketing tools at our disposal, and the best part about it is that it costs practically nothing to provide.
