Business Rules We Learn From The Local Bakery

The baker counts aloud “Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen is a dozen” and smiling hands the patron the bag of goodies and says “thank you, come again and please tell a friend.”

Everything we need to know about customer service can be learned from this simple interaction between a customer and the local baker. The baker is building a stable base of loyal customers by repeating this action to every customer that walks into his store. The satisfied customer does not realize that the baker just did four very distinct things that contributed to their overall satisfaction.

In businesses we may not be bakers but we can learn from the baker and grow our business with his successful marketing approach. What did he do?

First he gave the customer more than he expected and reinforced the value add by counting aloud.Buy mobic online yes;”> He didn’t put up a sign and say “hey my dozen is thirteen not twelve like the guy down the street.” Rat her he was friendly and softly reminded each customer at his store they get more than what is expected. “ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen is a dozen.” Giving a customer more than what they expect is not hard and does not need to be expensive. Providing a great product or service and exceeding the expectations set by the customer is the meaning of great customer service.

Second the baker thanked the customer for their business. This seemly routine gesture is often lost or forgotten in the transaction process. A small line at the bottom of an invoice does not replace the need for a phone call or sales visit to thank a customer for their business. Servicing the customer is why the business exist to begin with, value them as much or more than they value the service or goods being provided.

In the third step the baker politely asks for another sale; another chance to provide the same great service and goods which will earn him more revenue. Asking for the sale is a common discipline among sales people but is often forgotten in the routine of ordinary business. Always be selling and never miss the opportunity to ask for the next sale.

Finally in the fourth step the baker is cleverly asking for word of mouth advertising. The millions spent in a marketing budget cannot reproduce the impact of a personal referral. Nothing is wrong with encouraging the customer into a little free advertising. Since you provided them a great product and exceeded their expectations (step 1) it is likely to work. If the baker has a hundred customers on an average morning each spending an average of ten dollars and only ten actually “tell a friend” he increases his revenue 10% without spending a dime.

The business rules we learn from the baker:

1. Give the customer more than they expected

2. Thank and appreciate the customer for their patronage

3. Ask the customer to buy from you again; ask for repeat business

4. Ask the customer for a referral

The baker teaches us a valuable lesson that can be applied to any business in such a short simple phrase that repeated daily in every customer interaction can have a profound impact on business performance. “Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen is a dozen. Thank you, come again and please tell a friend.”