Customers love surprises – but only when they are good surprises. Your job is to create those positive surprises that will excite and delight customers.
Keys to a Great Customer Surprise
For customer surprises to be successful, use these “giddy-with-excitement” surprise tips.
- Free – it isn’t a surprise if you have to pay extra for it
- Unexpected – surprises come out the blue without warning and without high expectations
- Exclusive – Is your surprise a special gift for the customer that non-customers don’t get?
- Relevant – your surprise should be a good match, companion, or accessory to the main purchase.
Let’s look at an example.
LEGO Surprise
Earlier this year I ordered some LEGO Star Wars sets from lego.com. When they arrived, I opened the first set and discovered they had included a special anniversary Darth Vader mini-figurine. I was giddy with excitement.
Free: Not only was this surprise free, but it came in the cheapest LEGO set I bought. Bonus.
Unexpected: There was no indication on the packaging that 1 out of 10 boxes has a surprise. This made the discovery all the more sweet. Promoting the odds of winning a “gift” can only lead to heartache for the majority that don’t win.
Exclusive: After doing some research, I discovered that LEGO is only putting these Darth Vaders in random sets this year. Lucky me!
Relevant: What could be more relevant to my Star Wars LEGO set than the iconic Darth Vader?
What about branded surprises?
You may be tempted to give away company swag: key chains, magnets, t-shirts, etc.. Don’t do it unless it matches the criteria to a good customer surprise.
Think about it: do you like to get these company labeled products? What do you do with them? Throw them away? Exactly.
Looking at the example above, you can see it had a subtle promotion built-in. LEGO had included a figurine that will remind you how much you love LEGO and want to buy more.
Surprise Them Today
What can you do to pleasantly surprise your customers today? Remember, since they aren’t expecting it, you can start small if needed. Try surprising customers in a good way (for once) and you’ll be amazed at how they return to do business with you again. If your surprise is good enough, they may even tell some friends.