There is a thought that each company should surprise and delight their customers. This means unexpected surprises, or benefits that occur at key points in the relationship.

 

This past weekend, I was at my mothers house and she asked for help assembling a piece of furniture. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me from family / friends / myself. Most of these experiences are mundane and lack all personality.

As I carried the 5ft long carton upstairs, I noticed that the carton was printed with:

Well, Obviously you have good taste.

 

The cost of this is probably $500 for a printing plate and someone taking the time to care, and I know that my mom and I each noticed this, to the point where I looked at the name of the company.

 

As soon as I opened the box, I also had a picture of a monster that caused me to do something I almost never do… take notice and quickly skim the warning message.

A full color sheet of single sided paper is maybe $0.20 or less at scale, but gives the company a personality and communicates to me that this is a company I want to work with and buy more of. 

 

There is very little cost to having a personality and caring. When anyone does this they signal to others what and who they want to attract and similarly, what and who they don’t want to attract.

 

Hire the designer for a few hours, buy your team lunch and brainstorm, I bet it will cost you less than you thought, create a bigger return than you thought and be a lot of fun too.

 

What are the touch points that matter to your customers?

How are you surprise and delighting your customers during these times?

 

PS: Notice that I’m talking about this company and not the one who sent me a holiday gift with a ton of their logo tossed on random stuff but lacks all personality or caring.

Don’t send me your logo, send me something with personality.