It’s the Little Things…

The other day, I got an e-mail from Borders, offering me 30% off of a book, in exchange for answering a survey that would take 1 minute.

The survey didn’t even take one minute.

It asked me to estimate how much I spent on books during the average 6 month period. I don’t really keep track, but I could guesstimate it pretty quickly: I probably hit a book store once a month, and - unless I have an explicit book purchase in mind - probably spend an average of $50/trip. Click.

What percentage of my book purchases are online. That’s easy: almost none. US Postal Service never seems to be a delivery option, and where I live, FedEx and UPS are complete hassles which I try to avoid. (I live on a main, well-traveled drag with a locked front door. Most everyone in our small building works, so it’s always a crap shoot whether or not there’s someone there to buzz the delivery guy in. So our building ends up with a lot of failed delivery notices posted on the door.) Mostly, if there’s a book I want, I have Border’s - the nearest bookstore - order it for me.

When I order online, where do I go? Although I like Border’s, my few online purchases have been Amazon.

Answering those three questions got me 30% off a pricey book which I was going to buy anyway.

Sure, Borders sends me coupons all the time.

But this one was a little extra - at least I think it was - which is nice.

Another thing I like about Border’s? If you ask where something is, they don’t just point and grunt. They take you there.

Coupons. Helpful tour guides. Convenient to where I live.

Yes, I know it’s popular for us literary snobs to complain about the demise of the independent bookstore - and I honestly do miss Wordsworth in Harvard Square - but Border’s suits me just fine. And, unlike Walden Books, Border’s actually carries a decent enough amount of higher-brow literary fiction.

Little things, but Borders does them well.

I’d like LL Bean even if they didn’t offer free monogramming if you have an LL Bean Visa. But they do offer free monogramming, not to mention free shipping - which is really convenient if you want to order a $15 t-shirt and don’t want to pay $10 to have it sent to you. (Or to my sister Trish’s house, where the FedEx guy will throw the package on her back stoop.)

They also send you coupons tied to how much you spend, and I like nothing better than using those coupons. It’s almost like free.

Mostly I order online, but when you talk to their CSR’s they’re very helpful and very friendly.

You can also send them stuff back and they’ll replace it. A few years back, I bought a healthy back-pack pocketbook. The zipper pooped out after a year or so, and I ended up putting the bag aside. Then I decided I really wanted it, so I sent it back to LL Bean with a note asking them to fix the zipper. They went one better and sent me a new bag. It’s holding up quite nicely.

I also sent back a couple of t-shirts with hems that collapsed after a season’s wash and wear. Again, replaced no questions asked.

I recognize that they can afford their guarantees because, for the most part, their products are high quality, but it’s still nice to have it there when you need it.

I also love looking through their catalogs.

Free shipping. Coupons. Product guarantees.

Little things, but LL Bean does them well.

I am a Cosi Signature Salad-aholic. Greens, pistachios, apples, grapes, cranberries, and blue cheese: what’s not to like?

Although I try to limit myself to 1 or 2 a week - they ain’t cheap - I could eat one every day.

But it’s not just the cost, it’s the calories - especially given that you absolutely have to have a slice of the delicious flatbread that comes with.

So Cosi does a couple of things that help with the cost and the calories.

Every time you buy a salad, you get a credit, and after 10 (or is it 9?) purchases, you get the next one free. Nothing tastes better than that free salad, let me tell you. Especially if you order it with the reduced fat dressing that shaves 200 calories off the meal.

Cosi also has free WiFi that is pretty reliable.

Not to mention the extremely pleasant and fast people who work there.

Coupons. Low cal dressing. Free WiFi.

Little things, but Cosi does them well.

Obviously, the commonality here is the coupons, but rewarding your regulars is a time honored tradition. And it works. Another commonality is the pleasant service which, by the way, is pleasant but not gushily effusive. (Remember, I’m a New Englander, I don’t want anyone in my face, thank you.)

Little things - certainly none of them are extraordinary. None is a big differentiator. None is a big competitive barrier to entry. But each in its way has made someone like me - who doesn’t consider herself easily charmed or a big, sucker of a brand loyalist (except to the Boston Red Sox and the Democratic Party) - into a brand loyalist.

I have a few others that I have similar feelings about - small local chains like Roche Brothers Supermarkets and Copley Flair Cards & Gifts - where the service is great and the customer truly feels appreciated.

I’m a B2B high tech marketer - and I really want to get my clients thinking about the little things that might mean a lot to their customers, too.

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