It all adds up
Using 1% to make a 100% difference
I have been super organised this year with my Christmas shopping and, being a big fan of shopping online, my first present for a friend was delivered to me from America this week. I must admit though I love online shopping, there is always a level of trepidation in purchasing this way – will it arrive, will it be as I imagined, etc, etc. Well I needn’t have worried about this gift – it arrived in record time, the packaging protecting the gift was perfect, the gift itself was perfect! I was one happy shopper. Then I noticed it. A small handwritten note attached to the bubble wrap from the artist thanking me for my purchase.
It was such a little thing, but I was blown away. It was a handwritten note – not typed and printed, she had used my name in the note, she even spelt it correctly! The fact that someone on the other side of the world thought it important to take the time to say thanks really impacted me.
This little gesture is called a 1%er/strong>, a small act that can help your business differentiate itself in the marketplace. It is based on the theory that in order to make your business 100% better, you should do 100 small things 1% better. It’s all about meeting your customers’ expectations, then taking that
extra step.
What I love about 1%ers is they don’t have to cost a cent. The note the artist wrote me cost her nothing but a few moments of her time, and while some do subscribe to the ‘time is money’ adage, the time she took to write that little note has differentiated her product from all the similar products available to me on the net. I will remember her because she made the extra 1% effort, and for that I will be a returning customer.
And now, seeing as I enjoyed my purchase experience with the American artist so much, I feel it fitting to share her talent with you all. So Susie Ghahremani , this is my way of saying thank you. After all, what goes around comes around!