Mistake #08 of 50

Don’t give everybody the same thing.

Tape measures for contractors. Flying discs for summer camp. Golf towels at the tournament. Match the product to the person, and to the moment.

What it costs you

One bowl doesn’t fit everybody.

Most businesses pick one thing, order a box of it and hand it to everybody.

The new customer. The ten-year customer. The person at the trade show. The person who just paid the bill.

Same thing, same way, every time. Usually in a bowl on the counter.

Most people walk right past the bowl.

Different people and different moments need different things.

A real example

The oil change

Imagine a little oil change shop. The oil’s done. The customer is back behind the wheel, keys in hand.

Before they pull out, the tech leans in and hangs a fresh air freshener on the mirror, with the shop’s name on it.

He sticks a reminder in the corner of the windshield: “Next oil change: ______ miles. Call us.”

Then he hands over two coupons. “One’s for you. One’s for a friend.”

That took about ten seconds.

The same air freshener in a bowl on the counter? Most people walk right past it.

Handed over at the right moment, it’s a thank-you, a reminder and a referral, all at once.

Why it happens

Right thing, wrong moment

A calendar mailed in January.Mail it in October, when they start planning next year.

A power bank in the trade show bag at 9 a.m.Hand it out fully charged at 3 p.m.

A pen in a cup by the register.Hand it over after they sign: “Keep it. You just made a great decision.”

An ice scraper given out in July.Give it the week before the first frost.

Sunscreen given out in December.Give it the Friday before Memorial Day.

Nothing about the items changed. Only the moment did.

Do this instead

Pick the moment. Then pick the thing.

Most people spend all their time picking the item. Almost nobody picks the moment. These five moments work for almost every business, and each one calls for something different.

The moment	What to hand over
The finish line	The job is done and they’re happiest with you. Hand it over, and ask: “If you were happy today, here’s one for a friend.”
The first hello	A small welcome gift on the first visit. A gym hands every new member a water bottle on day one.
The rescue	A rain poncho when the clouds roll in. Cold water on the hottest day. Nobody forgets who rescued them.
Before the season	Ice scrapers before the first frost. Sunscreen and beach towels before Memorial Day. Show up a month early.
The milestone	The closing, the anniversary, the 100th workout. A gift they earned gets kept, and shown off.

Two pool companies give out the same beach towel. One hands it over in September, at the last cleaning, and it goes on a shelf in the garage. The other hands it over in May, the day the pool opens, and it sits on the lounge chair all summer. Same towel. Same price. Different month.

Do this today

Cost: $0Time: 10 minutes

1
Look at the next thing you’re planning to hand out.
2
Name the moment: the end of the job, at the closing, at check-in or before the season.
3
Write that moment on the order, so everybody knows.
4
Decide who hands it over and exactly what they say.

The right thing at the wrong moment is a waste. The right thing at the right moment rings your phone.

Stolen from the masters · Chip and Dan Heath

Chip and Dan Heath are brothers who write business books. One of them is called The Power of Moments, about why some moments stick with us for life and most disappear. One of their big points comes from psychology research: when we look back on an experience, we don’t remember every minute. We remember the best moment, and we remember how it ended.

The forty minutes in the waiting room? Mostly forgotten. The last thirty seconds, when the tech hung the air freshener and said thank you? That’s what they remember. Make the ending great, and put your gift right there.

From the book