People remember the smallest things
According to Disney folklore - and I have no reason to disbelieve it - when Disneyland opened in July 1955, exit surveys conducted by the company asked customers what they felt was the most memorable thing about the new park. Even then, Disneyland had a lot of things to do and see. It was an impressive place. But top of the list that impressed customers? The cleanliness of the toilets.
In a competitive business environment, it is often the smallest detail that can win or lose a customer's business. Not that long ago, my family and I moved home. I rang and attempted to get quotes from five removalist companies. The one I awarded the job to was not the cheapest. I hired the company whose salesperson bothered to be on time for the appointment.
In fact three of the five didn't even want to come out. They had replaced sales people with an online form. The only problem is, consumers like me have no idea how to judge the cubic size of furniture. The 'self quoting' system was hopelessly inaccurate.
The representative who did get the job not only give me the feeling that she wanted our business, but was on time for our appointment, and explained very early in the conversation that she would not be the cheapest. I obviously was not important to the other companies, but felt I could trust our home contents with her company.
The lesson for communicators? Just because something is unimportant to you, doesn't mean it won't be important to your clients. Things like being on time, returning calls and sending out thank you notes might seem small, especially since they're so easy to do, but they can make a big difference.
When a company - which is, after all, a collection of individuals - is willing to go the extra mile to make sure the details are covered, that tells me they value my business. Besides, if you're not willing to do the small, easy things, what would make a customer believe you'd ever be willing to do the big things?
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