First let me set the scene. At our house we have an invisible fence that keeps him in the yard, so as a result he's able to roam freely in the front and back yards. He loves to hang out on the front porch and when it's not too hot he loves to lay out on the driveway.
As is common almost anywhere, there are delivery vehicles that pass by on a regular basis. If a delivery was being made to our house I would usually call Bobby inside to avert the confrontation between dog and delivery person. Drivers come equipped with dog treats to help them make the peace, but that doesn't always work.
One thing I noticed over time is that the UPS driver would slow down and throw a treat to Bobby on the driveway even if he wasn't going to make a delivery to our house. The purpose became clear – he was building goodwill. Brown truck + person in brown uniform = treat = happy feeling.
Now let's compare this to the FedEx drivers who don't provide treats unless they have a delivery and even then not every time. I received a call recently from a FedEx guy stating that he was trying to make a delivery but that the dog would not let him on the driveway. Apparently Bobby really didn't like this guy. And why should he? This person was a complete stranger and there was no positive association with a white delivery truck, only brown ones.
The UPS drivers in my area made an effort to continue building a relationship even when there was no immediate business associated with it. The FedEx drivers did not. The result is that Bobby had a better impression of UPS than he did of FedEx.
Think of how this applies to your customers. Do you do the little things to keep your customers engaged and provide them with perks (“treats”) even when you're not selling them something? If you don’t then you should. That way when you try to sell them something the next time, you can be greeted with a wag and “let onto the driveway” or at least have a better chance at success as opposed to being barked at and kept shut out or at best having a difficult time achieving your objective.
Bobby is available for customer success consulting.
It's amazing how we can even learn some effective customer service pointers from the "man's best friend." As customer service practitioners, it's very important to leave a good mark to our customers by giving them some privileges or perks, whether big or small. That way, even first-time clients will be feeling welcomed by your service.
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