One of the best things about having your own business is that you set the rules! From team meetings, customer experience to holiday leave, you choose how things are done. So don’t get caught in doing things the way they are always done, be extraordinary instead.
Derek Sivers is a well known TED speaker and author but before this he was a musician and founder of the business CD Baby, a seller of independent music online. With one simple email, he amassed thousands of new customers. Want to know what the email was? It was the email letting customers know that their CD had shipped.
One email shared thousands of times
Well, actually, instead of the normal ‘Your order has shipped today. Thank you for your business’ email. Derek felt it was misaligned to his mission to make people smile. So he took 20 minutes and wrote this copy instead:
Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilised contamination free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.
A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold lined box that money can buy.
We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon voyage” to your package, on its way to you in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, June 6th.
I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Bay. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as “Customer of the Year.” We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!
This one email – a notification email – was shared tens of thousands of times by customers who found it hilarious in a world of dull business automation. Mother Teresa said “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no on ever come to you without leaving happier.”
Time to Surprise and Delight
So your challenge is – how could you make the dull into the deliriously good! Let’s make business fun again!
Could you take simple notification email and make it memorable in some way?
Could you brainstorm ways to surprise and delight your customers?
Could you boost the gratitude and appreciation of your staff whether it be through a heart felt hand written card, nominate them for an award or share their successes with others?
