By When we first arrived at our new house we were a bit lost.
We’d come from London and moved out to a town in the country. If you’ve moved from a big city to the country then you’ll know where I’m coming from.
Everything’s just a little bit different. You prepare yourself for shops to not be open as much, for there to be less choice.
Particularly when you live the way we used to.
We were the classic city living couple. There was almost never anything in the fridge, except a few bottles of wine. When we were hungry we walked down to the local store, whatever the time, and picked up dinner. Or… quite often just ordered a take-out.
There was very little planning. Everything was accessed on-demand.
Then we moved out, and we were very aware that the whole access on-demand thing was very unlikely to happen.
Not only that, but we’d been spending a fortune for the privilege of access on-demand.
After all, who goes to the store when they’re hungry to buy dinner and doesn’t come away with a whole load of other stuff they fancy but are never going to eat!
Anyhoo….
We’d just moved in to our new home and the first person to ring our doorbell was the milkman.
We had a quick chat and he gave us a couple of pints of milk, no charge.
That was smart. Very smart.
Why?
Because we remembered that he was the first person to come and say hi. We remembered that he gave us a couple of pints of milk for free and we remembered that we felt welcomed.
It’s the last bit that’s the most important.
His milk is probably double what it costs to buy down at the store, and the store’s only a five minute walk away.
But… a few days later we not only set up a regular order for milk from him, we also order a variety of fruit juices and every now and then add to that some yoghurt, vegetables, biscuits and cake.
Why do we pay double the price we could pay?
Because he welcomed us.
And we justify it because he delivers it and saves us a five minute walk every week. That’s only our justification though.
The first impression to your customers is very important. It’s the difference between a customer for life and someone who walks away and never thinks of you again.
The first time a potential customer comes to you, give the best impression going. You don’t necessarily need their business today, but you want it next week, the week after and then every month after that.
So make sure whatever you’re giving is good!
Michael
P.S. PLR ain’t good, don’t use it.
P.P.S. Wanna know how to build a list? Check this out.
What do you think?