Gain an easy advantage

Small extras for customers can make a difference when lots of companies offer almost the same thing. In this video from 2010, a hoodie got me thinking about why some things get chosen before others.

Small extras for customers get noticed

Several entrepreneurs had sent me T-shirts and other merchandise that I could show in the videos for fun. I didn’t charge for it.

That day, it had turned cooler in Florida. Nielco IT had sent a hoodie, so that’s what I put on. Perhaps they’d thought about the weather; perhaps it was luck. But it met my need right then.

I’d also noticed that parcels containing a bag of wine gums or something else fun often got chosen first. The little surprise made the parcel more interesting.

The story about the pipes and the little gifts

I tell a marketing story about a company selling pipes. Competitors had roughly the same product, quality and price. So how could they get customers to choose them?

In the story, the company put little gifts inside the pipes when they shipped them. It might be a bag of wine gums. Nothing big, but something the customer noticed positively.

It was a story that had fascinated me. I wasn’t presenting the company’s accounts or a measured result. I used it as inspiration for making a small difference.

Find your own little twist

I also play with the thought that a friendly greeting or a little chocolate could make an invoice stand out. It’s my reflection on people’s reactions, not a guarantee of faster payment.

Think about whether you can surprise the customer in a simple way that fits your business. When two offers look alike, that little effort may be what people remember.

Also read Amino’s partnership with Peter Beier.

Thanks to Nielco IT for the lovely hoodie.

The hoodie suited the Florida weather

Today’s top comes from Nielco IT. It has QR codes that I assume take whoever scans them to their website. I haven’t checked exactly where they lead.

I was sitting here thinking about what to talk about today. I don’t have to come up with something every day, and I don’t think I made a video yesterday either. But then I asked myself: Why the hell did I put this particular top on?

Lots of entrepreneurs have sent merchandise. The whole exercise is that I can wear some of it or show it for fun. I don’t take money for it. It’s just messing around.

I’ve perhaps received 10–15 different things and will get to them along the way. But some things are more fun or more obvious to choose first.

It’s become cooler here in Florida. The others have sent T-shirts and caps, while this top, as far as I remember, is the only slightly warmer one. That day, it’s exactly sweatshirt weather. So I put it on.

Perhaps the sender saw the weather forecast and prepared. Perhaps it’s luck. I don’t know. But perhaps they spent the extra 50–100 kroner, and it fits my need.

In the video, I say that’s still relatively cheap for a link and a little exposure to the 1,000–2,000 people I estimate watch it. Those are my figures at the time.

Gummy bears make a parcel more fun to open

It’s not a bad idea to think things through and make an extra effort. I’ve also noticed something about the two or three other things I’ve worn so far.

The parcels with gummy bears get picked before some of the others. I know it’s silly, and it’s not because I want to be bribed. But when a pile of parcels arrives with T-shirts and caps, the one with a little bag of sweets or something fun is just a bit more interesting.

I’m not saying I owe the sender anything. I’m trying to understand the psychology of what I choose: A little surprise or something unusual can catch my attention.

An invoice with a smile and a little chocolate

You can use that thought in lots of places in business. In the video, I guess that someone who sends a little chocolate with an invoice might get paid slightly sooner than someone who just sends the bill.

I’ve often been in a position myself where I didn’t have enough money to pay the bills on time. I have to admit that. Sometimes I’ve been a bit of a rascal.

If I had five invoices and had to choose which I could pay today and which had to wait a few days until customers paid, I’d find it hard to put off the one whose sender had made an extra effort. A smiley and a little chocolate could influence me.

That’s my imagining of how I would react, not a promise that chocolate always leads to faster payment.

The marketing director who had to sell exactly the same pipes

I return to an old marketing story that has fascinated me. I can’t remember whether I’ve already told it, but I like it.

A man was hired as marketing director at a factory selling pipes. Several suppliers sold exactly the same pipes, of the same quality and at more or less the same prices.

Imagine being faced with that task. How the hell do you get people to buy your pipes rather than your competitor’s? It’s not the easiest thing in the world.

In the story, he did something very simple: Every time the company shipped pipes, it put a little gift inside them.

It could be a bag of wine gums. As I understood the story, there wasn’t enough margin for big things. They were just little gifts.

If a customer orders some from one supplier and some from another, and one always sends a silly little gift, that supplier has created something the customer notices positively. The products are the same, but the experience is different.

The little twist can become what the customer remembers

Think about whether you can make a tiny difference in what you already do. An extra thought, a surprise or a little twist that sets you apart from competitors.

When the offers look alike, perhaps that effort is exactly what decides who gets the order. That’s the inspiration I take from the top, the wine gums and the story of the pipes. I tell my own experiences of developing a business in Iværksætter til jeg dør.

Best wishes, Martin