When I made an in-person donation to a non-profit today, the woman behind the counter didn’t say hello or even look up from her computer screen. She just motioned to a nearby clothing bin and said, “Do you need a receipt.” I felt like I was bothering her.
Whether or not I was made to feel warm and fuzzy is not the point. They’re doing difficult, important work, and I’d donate again because it’s the right thing to do. But there’s a good lesson here for all of us.
From which cause to support, to which store to buy groceries, to which college to attend, when people have options, they need to make a choice. And those choices are made more often by emotions, like how the choice makes them feel, than they are by a rational comparison of features and benefits. That’s why I often hear students make statements about a college based on whether or not they liked the tour guide.
We’re all in competition with someone. And when you’re in competition, the little things matter. It matters whether or not you’re respectful of your teacher. It matters whether or not your tour guides refrain from bad-mouthing the competition. And yes, it matters whether or not your business—and even your non-profit—interacts with customers in a way that makes them want to come back.
The little things might be easy to do, but they often make the biggest difference.