Marketing 101, Give Em Something Extra

So there are lots of philosophies out there to encourage you to go the extra mile for your customers or as part of your overall marketing plans. Every once in a while, I come across an example of someone doing it right, and it happened last week. One of my clients sold an insurance policy to a young couple opening up a new sandwich shop near where I live in Struthers, Ohio. One of my clients above and beyond moves is to frequently shop at his clients businesses, so it was time to go have lunch at the sandwich shop. "Average Joey's," sits at the end of a strip mall on state route 170 in Struthers. 582 Youngstown-Poland Rd to be exact.

The store is small, with just 3 tables inside a counter for ordering, and a large cooler for drinks. The menu is not huge, but it has most of my favorites on it, and I settled on a Patty Melt, a juicy burger with melted cheese, sauteed onions, and a bonus of sauteed mushrooms. We didnt have time to eat there, so we ordered our sandwiches to go. They each came with a choice of a side dish, and I picked the fantastic baked corn, almost a corn-cake in consistency. I got my sandwich and side for under $6 dollars and I was a happy camper. Then came the above and beyond moment that hooked me as a customer for life.

We get back to the office, and open the bag of lunch. Each sandwich was put in one of those generic styrofoam (sorry environmentalists,) take-out boxes with the large entree compartment and 2 side dish compartments. I open the box and see my expected sandwich which looked and tasted delicious. I see my baked corn side and I am very happy with the taste and for a bonus. In the extra compartment was a homemade chocolate chip cookie, and a stick of Wrigleys gum. OUTSTANDING!! for a few extra cents, they put in somethings not on the menu, a great tasting cookie and the gum was just what I needed when I finished the sandwich with all of those sauteed onions. I was thinking it was just for me, but the other 2 sandwiches had the same bonuses.




Did it cost them much? Not really at all. Was it worth it? Well, I will sure be back, I am taking the time to blog about it, and I have told about 15 friends already and will tell many more, believe me. This is what it's all about friends...Scott