Let Them Play With Your “Pets”I want you to go to a pet store. Not just any pet store, though. Go to the Petland store on Bethel Road in Columbus, Ohio. At this store, you can buy just about any kind of pet food or pet accessory you might imagine. Do you know what else you can do at this pet store?
You can PLAY WITH THE PETS! You can let a parrot climb up on your shoulder. You can pick up a bunny (they’re really, really soft). And you can play tug of war with a puppy. And not just any puppy. You can choose from one of a couple dozen breeds they keep in the store.
Pet stores are often criticized by animal lovers because the cages are small, the animals aren’t taken care of, and they don’t get any exercise. Not at this Petland. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
At this Petland, the employees carry around puppies and ask you if you want to play with one. Oh, it’s hard to say no to those little faces. The animals at this pet store get ten times more love and attention than most animals get inside a “loving home.”
But this isn’t a story about pet care. It’s a story about customer care. And the moral of the story is that a great way to serve your customers is to do a demo. In other words, let them play with your “pets”.
I’ve been to other pet stores where the dogs are behind the glass, looking bored out of their minds, and the employees don’t look much different! Imagine how different those environments would be if the employees proactively walked around and offered a puppy for you to play with. That’s what they do at this Petland. You should see the energy, excitement, and LOVE that’s flying around that store.
Need a bottom line? I was in the store for about 45 minutes on a Saturday. They sold probably 6 dogs while I was there. Heck, I almost bought a Chihuahua…and I don’t even LIKE Chihuahuas! I bet some pet stores are lucky to sell six dogs a week.
So now is the moment you need to stop, scratch your head, and wonder, “How can I let my customers ‘play’ with our products?”
Do you have physical products? Take one out of the package and let your customers see, hear, smell, taste, and touch it!
Do you have a service? Why not perform it for free once in awhile? If you can’t afford to give the whole thing away, create a mini-version that lets people experience a little piece of your offer.
At sparkspace, we do free workshops so people can come play in the most exciting retreat center on the planet. Is it a marketing tool for us? You bet — the best we’ve ever come up with! Is it a valuable service for our clients? Absolutely! We always make sure that when our customers get to play with our products, they leave the interaction feeling like they got something of real value.
Sometimes what you give away (or demo) might be an actual product or service. And sometimes it might just be an amazing service experience that your customers get to enjoy.
Don’t be fooled into thinking a demo is a waste of time when you don’t get the sale right away. Even when a customer doesn’t buy your product immediately, when you let them play with your product they feel SERVED (especially if you HELPED them play). And customers who feel served will be back. And next time they’ll take that Chihuahua home.
Other articles you might like:
- When You Care, Service is Easy
- Winn-Dixie Customer service employees stop scam artist, save customer thousands
- How to behave so your customers will too
- Don’t Let a Bad Day Turn Into Bad Customer Service
- Did Starbucks Stumble on Service?
