One of my favorite shops to visit when I’m at my home in St. Michaels, Md., is Take Me Home. It is quite a challenge – and one I cannot meet – to leave without a little something. This time I picked up two small treats, a gift for my sister to celebrate her new dog and a some clever napkins for my book club.

One of the joys of shopping here is the shopping experience. The owner opened her shop about five years ago and has an eclectic mix of items with quotes, whimsical designs, soaps and other household gifts and accessories. She puts herself in her customer’s place when she thinks about her merchandise mix. She is always engaging with each person who visits. And she looks for creating an experience for her customer that lasts beyond the visit to the store. One way she does this is in her packaging. It doesn’t matter how much you spend (I only spent $15); the package is special. My purchase was delivered to me in a nice toile-design paper bag with the store label. The item was wrapped in tissue paper and then two decorative papers were stuffed in the top of the bag and it was finished with a satin bow on one bag handle. It looks so good that I almost don’t want to give my sister the present!

What are you doing to create an experience for your customers? It could be in the packaging. It could be in the greeting you offer when they come into the shop. It could be the invitation to join you for a cup of tea and a sharing of your customer’s latest quilt. It could be a nice note you tuck into the shipment with your wholesale orders.

Please share how you make your customers’ experience special on the blog.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 at 5:55 am and is filed under Customer Service. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.