The Ultimate Marketing Strategy:

ALWAYS BE NICE!

“Nice” is a wonderful little word-of-mouth buzzer that points people your way. When a friend, relative, or acquaintance in shopping mode asks for a recommendation, the phrase, “They’re nice people to do business with,.” carries more weight than all the usual paid for crap about “world leader, state of the art, in business since,--- blah, blah, double blah..”

Your Momma’s warning to be nice or pay the price applies to life and business. But how do you get to “nice?” That’s easy. Take her other piece of advice for all situations: “Just do the right thing.”

Sam Walton understood the importance of being nice to do business with. He said, “There is only one boss. The customer. And she can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending her money somewhere else.”

L.L. Bean is another company that’s nice to do business with ---all the time. And that’s one secret of building powerful brands. They’re consistent. When I call them at 5:30 am on a Sunday morning, the rep sounds like she’s really glad to hear from me. They’re like that all the time.

The Writer’s Digest Book Club is another great outfit. A few times I forgot to opt out of their monthly selection. When it showed up in my mailbox I called to tell them I didn’t want it. They didn’t argue. They apologized because I got a book I didn’t want and sent me a postage prepaid label to return it. They’re so nice to do business with that a few times I read the book while waiting for the return label, then just kept the book and paid the invoice. I’ll bet that happens a lot.

Tip for the Little Guy

Don’t give away the store, but be kind and generous with your customers and associates. And tell your folks to always smile before they answer a call. (It’s hard to sound like a crab when you’re smiling.)

.