It's Not Your Customer's Job to Remember You!
by Melinda Coker

As a college counselor in a previous life, I knew that the students most likely to drop out of school were those who felt no one would miss them.  Colleges and universities spend a lot of time and money developing programs to improve their student retention rates by helping  students feel connected .  Whether it’s another student, a professor or an administrator someone needs to build a relationship with that student.  During a semester all students will feel down and/or depressed at some point - maybe it’s when they do poorly on an important midterm exam or when they break up with their current romantic interest.  But, the students who actually drop out of school during those “down” times are the ones who feel they have no real tie to the university.  They are missing a relationship with someone at the school and they feel that NO ONE will even miss them .

Let’s look at a couple of business examples.

Example 1 :  I walk into a doctor’s office.  There’s a glass window and a clipboard on the counter.   No one says anything as I enter .  The office can be old and stained with other patients sitting around staring into space or it can be new and modern with a TV playing in the corner.  I know the routine.  It’s the same everywhere.  I dutifully sign my name on a tablet and if I’m lucky that woman behind the counter will ask me my name and which doctor I’ve come to see before handing me a clipboard with a pile of forms to fill out.  I finally get all the forms completed and hand them back to the business-like woman behind the counter.  She tells me, “It’ll be just a minute.” 

In a few minutes, another woman comes to the door and yells my name – like I’m deaf or something.  It would really only take a minute or two to find out from the receptionist who I am.  What if she actually came over and introduced herself quietly and asked me to follow her?   We go to an examining room and she tells me to take off some part of my clothing and to sit down and wait for the doctor.  She leaves.  There I am - stuck by myself, without my clothes and usually freezing.  What is going through my mind?  I’m scared and nervous and I’m certainly not feeling like anyone would miss me if I just slipped out .

Example 2 :  My husband and I go into a new, upbeat restaurant.  It’s a little crowded, but we are shown promptly to our table.  The waiter is friendly and seems to like his job.  He introduces  himself and tells us how much he has enjoyed working here.  He gets our names (and actually uses them throughout the evening) and politely questions us as to why we decided to try this restaurant.  We tell him that friends had raved about the good service and the tasty food so we decided to try it.  “Wow,” he says.  “That’s great that people are talking about us!” 

“I know you’re going to love your visit with us tonight and then you’ll be out there raving about us too!”  H e tells us about the specials and even names two of his favorites .  “If you like corn, you ought to taste the corn soufflé we make here.  It’s light as a feather and so flavorful!”  

“I also love the house salad,” he says.  “It’s not just a bunch of lettuce and a glob of dressing.  It’s made of the freshest bib lettuce that we special order, wonderful ripe tomatoes that actually taste good, and a refreshing vinaigrette dressing.  It’s to die for!”

After a wonderful dining experience it’s now time to go.  As our waiter brings us the check he also gives us two of his business cards and says, “I plan to be here for a long time, and I would love for you to come back and ask for me.  If you return within the next 30 days and bring this card,  I’m going to treat you to our scrumptious raspberries and cream.  I want you to give the second card to some of your friends and tell them I’ll do the same for them.  And, if you want to bring someone with you next time, I’ll treat the whole table to the raspberries and cream.  I really want to get to know my customers and if you think of anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

Please know that every doctor’s office is NOT like example #1 and please know that every restaurant is NOT like example #2.  But, can you see the process of either building a relationship or NOT building a relationship?

It’s not your customer’s job to remember you!   It’s YOUR job as a business owner to make your customers feel remembered.  You will need to continue your relationship building between their visits or their purchases.  You can do that with phone calls, e-mails, letters or cards.  It’s so important to KEEP IN TOUCH .