I just came back from a visit to my parents’ home in Kansas City.
As a lifelong “Jersey Guy,” I’ve never lived there. But I’ve spent enough time in the area in the 12 years since my parents moved.
And it never ceases to amaze me.
Ever been there? You may have heard that people are friendlier in the Midwest. Boy, is that an understatement. For those of us who are used to an East Coast lifestyle, it’s certainly, well…unusual. Dare I say, even sickening.
But strangely refreshing at the same time.
2 quick examples: One Sunday afternoon during my visit, I went with my wife and son to see the Kansas City Royals take on my hometown favorite, the New York Yankees. Despite moderate rain that day, it was a golden opportunity to attend a “Yankee game” without paying exorbitant Yankee Stadium prices.
We arrived at the parking lot and rolled down the window to pay the attendant for parking. The man in the booth flashed a huge smile.
“Well, hello!” he said joyfully. “How are ‘ya? Thanks for coming out today!!”
What planet was this guy from?
Most parking guys, at least where I come from, take your money and send you off with a bland, unemotional “have a nice day.” You can tell they couldn’t care less. This guy was the complete opposite…eager, genuine, the kind of guy you’d be happy to have a beer with.
But here’s the icing on the cake. We had great seats right behind the Yankee dugout. So after every inning, my 8-year-old son Zack would run to the dugout in hopes of catching a ball thrown out to the fans by the last player to make a catch. After 8 innings, he was still unsuccessful.
So Zack sits back down and turns to me. “Boy Dad,” he said in his innocent Beaver Cleaver kind of way, “I sure hope I get a ball next time.”
Another child sitting a row in front of us, maybe 10 or 11 years old, turns back. “Here,” he tells Zack, “take mine!”
Say what??
Zack (making his parents proud): “Thank you…but that’s okay, I don’t want to take your ball.”
Boy: “Don’t worry, I’ve got two more!”
This exchange left a powerful impression. Especially for someone used to Yankee Stadium, where nine other people would’ve snatched the ball from the boy’s hands before he even showed it to my son.
This pure-hearted lad – who was nice to us even though we were rooting for the opposing team – can teach us all a valuable lesson:
Nice guys don’t finish last.
Especially in one-on-one email communications. Remember, as much as 55% of communication is non-verbal. In person, the customer’s experience is heavily influenced by your welcoming smile, stylish clothing, smooth talking or firm handshake. But when you deal with customers online, they’ll never experience any of that.
So you need to make a huge effort to bring that out in your writing. Be overly friendly. Make sure customers can see your virtual smile. Make them want to meet you in person.
In writing, it’s not easy. So before you craft that perfect customer email, you might want to bounce it off a co-worker, friend or spouse. Or you can even send it to me. Does your email reflect your cheerful, friendly personality? Does it scream, “Hey! I’m a NICE guy!” – just like the parking attendant did – to anyone who reads it?
If not, spend a few days in Kansas City. Those nice folks will rub off on ‘ya pretty fast.
Josh Shron will be speaking about email marketing at Building for Boomers and Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium in Philadelphia next Wednesday, April 29th from 8 – 9:30 am. Please join us!
Tags: 50+ Housing Symposium, customer service, e-mail marketing, email marketing, home building, homebuilding, internet marketing, Kansas City, Kansas City Royals, NAHB, New York Yankees, real estate, sales tips, writing tips
