The Tribune

By D’Arcy Rahming

My old boss Ron Johnson used to say: “The goal of being in business is not just to keep customers, but to keep customers for a long time. And the only way you can do that is to delight your customer.” Sad to say, this always brought a chuckle from the team, as we associated the word ‘delight’ with more pleasurable pursuits than our jobs. So his advice largely passed over our heads, although we pretended that we were listening because he was the boss.

But Mr Johnson was right. The same pleasure we associate with things other than our work is how people should feel when they encounter your product or service. Now you may well wonder how getting your teeth cleaned or buying a newspaper can be a delightful event.

I think I am qualified to talk about this because I teach people how to defend themselves, which involves sweat, and effort, which the client has to put in. Yet many of them come back year after year. As a matter of fact, my longest active student has been with me for more than 18 years and he keeps coming back for more.

When I first met him, I was advised that he was too old to start. Just give him 20 private lessons or so and he will go away, I was told. Well, literally hundreds of lessons later, he is delighted to still be training with me and I think I know why. Not only is he getting massive value from the lessons, but we have become good friends. This is true for many businesses out there. While you may not become a good friend of your client, your friendliness creates a sense of belonging.

For example, most of the time I buy a paper from the same lady, who happens to brighten my day with her smile and kind words. I am delighted to do business with her. The industrious young man on the corner I pass most mornings, who sells phone cards and whatever else he is able to, always has a welcoming smile.

On more than one occasion I have watched him walk children and old ladies across the street and perform other acts of kindness. He hails me, and calls my wife and I ‘Dad and Mom’ (for the record, that is just a term of endearment). Well, needless to say, I am delighted to purchase things from him, sometimes whether I need them or not.

Spending money on marketing to attract new customers is almost always necessary. However, sometimes just being pleasant can delight your current customers and keep them coming for a long time. So, no matter what kind of day you are having, remember that no one wants to be around anyone who is miserable.

• NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, the retail, health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. He is also treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. To contact him he can be reached at DArcyRahmingsr@gmail.com.