TIP 96
LET LOOSE THE BERRIES
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.
If you add extra value to every interaction, you will be successful. Let’s start with a business. The fastest way to grow a business is to make raving fans of your customers. You want people raving about the service or product to all their friends and family. This is the most powerful and effective advertising you could have. It is well worth the investment of time to figure out how to enhance your service or product. You must provide more than your clients expect to receive—anticipate what would please and delight them before they even figure it out for themselves. This will be different for every business. Think about the last time you got unexpected value from a company. Enhancing the value of your services doesn’t even have to cost more. For example, a clothing store can add value by letting you take as many outfits into the dressing room as you want instead of limiting you to some fixed number. A grocery store found out that customers wanted to pick their strawberries individually instead of buying them preboxed. Once it let loose the berries, sales went up because people ended up buying more strawberries than they would have if they had just picked up a single box. Some department stores offer free gift-wrapping for all purchases. Many stores have excellent return policies that enable people to shop freely, knowing that if there is a problem, they can always return something.
Enhancing value may be linked to your purpose or vision in life. The Greyston Bakery in New York hires and trains homeless people to work in its bakery. It is committed to training and developing people in the community and to creating scrumptious baked goods made with all natural ingredients. The added value of this bakery that distinguishes it from others is its social mission. When you buy a cake there, you are also supporting an impoverished community. This added value appealed to Ben & Jerry’s, which is always on the lookout for suppliers that support their local communities. They hired the Greyston Bakery to make the fudge brownies for their ice cream.
Okay, but what about you, personally? How can you enhance or add value to every situation? Maybe you smile at the bus driver. You acknowledge people for who they are (Tip 77). You forgive in advance (Tip 42). You do a favor and don’t tell anyone you did it. You call someone just to say, “I love you.” You can listen profoundly (Tip 73). You can let someone get ahead of you in line. Get the idea? Think about how you can enhance every interaction. This is fun! If it’s not fun and you are doing it because you think you “should,” beware. You are better off not doing it if it becomes a “should” (Tip 4). What ways can you let loose the berries in your life? Give the unexpected and add value to everyone around you, and you will naturally attract success.