I think what I need to start with here is; put forth a little effort and show you care. Seriously, how much time does it take you to think of something nice to serve someone around you? I think about this in context of our awesome company here at Webconnex.
How much effort does it take to care and think of something nice to do for a coworker, or even a client?
I’d like to preface before sharing this story, this post is not to toot our own horn, but we share it in hopes that it will inspire you to create your own story to share with others as well.
We work with thousands and thousands of clients, and on a daily basis we talk to a number of them through our messaging center. Some hop on the messenger just to say “Hi”, some with valid questions, and others that are curious how to turn off their computer. Just kidding! (But the questions do range with quite variety.) One thing that is great about working here is the personal TLC we give to our clients. We try to be very human, avoid scripts and hire customer support team members who are inherently personable. This has led to some pretty awesome moments in our years of helping clients with their online software needs. Since we take the time to be genuine and real with our clients they are sometimes more honest with us (as we are with them) about real life stuff. Sometimes we find conversations swing from topics like our awesome products, to how their life is going in general.
Early this year a customer we had known for a bit called in. She just needed some help figuring out how to do something on our platform. Things weren’t going as she planned and she became stressed realizing her time was short to find a solution. Not knowing why, we put our best foot forward and offered to do the work for her. She subsequently broke down emotionally over the phone. A little surprised at first, I did my best to sit and listen. What I didn’t know was that her mother was having a very hard time, and was going into a dangerous surgery that day.
Amongst this personal chaos, she was trying to put something together last minute for work (which in and of itself can be stressful). As she continued , we offered to take care of things for her and she was blessed. It felt like we were an extended part of her family. It was a pretty profound experience, and one that will stay with me.
Now, this is not where our story of caring ends. Offering her some practical help, with what was just a few simple things to us, made all the difference in the world to this client. After sharing this experience with a few colleagues about how sad yet cool it was that they considered us family, my colleague had a great idea. Without blinking we decided to send this client, and their mother the world’s coolest bouquet of flowers. One to the hospital, and one to our new friend at her home. It was a cheap investment but it effectively showed this client that we care about them beyond our profession relationship.You see, investing in your clients and showing them that you care will lead to having clients that are loyal to you, and even better, they will share the good news of your company with others.
It is my hope that more companies take notice and time to care; not solely for big, needy clients, but just for people; people who need a little pick-me-up, or a nice surprise. Not only does it help your brand, but it keeps you grounded.
Sometimes businesses are too number-focused. The irony is this: being able to do something nice for someone not only builds your long-term customer base, but just keeps you human. Something we do here consistently, is not only do things like this, but we also take the time to be intentional and send thank you notes or gift cards to random customers, just because. We have found that they LOVE it, and sometimes they will even post about it online to their social network.
So please remember, the more you go out of the norm, and the more you give, the better your culture will be. And who knows, it might even build (ironically enough) your bottom line, so what is there to lose besides…being nice?
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