Have you ever been to a hotel that leaves a mint on your pillow when they turn your bed down for the night or greets you with a complimentary beverage or fresh baked cookies?  It’s like getting a little upgrade.

What about the salesperson that suggests an item that will take what you are thinking of getting up a notch or offers you unsolicited advice on different ways you can use the product you just purchased… things you may not have thought of on your own.

These are seemingly small gestures, a little something extra that elevates your experience, they make you feel special and say loud and clear ‘We value you.’

It boils down to anticipating your customer’s needs or wants, even if the customer didn’t even know what it was they wanted. (Fresh baked cookie anyone?) By anticipating your customer’s needs/wants you:

• Prevent problems before they actually happen.
• Reduce the number of unhappy customers you have to deal with.
• Show customers you are thinking about them.

So HOW do you anticipate a customer’s needs and wants?

Pay attention. Notice what customers usually ask about certain products or services. How do they react to them?  The more you pay attention the more patterns you’ll see developing.

Take action. As you notice a behavior pattern in your customer that you’ve seen before help that customer leap-frog to the desired result. Tell them a story of what you or other customers have found helpful in the same situation. Help them avoid common pitfalls before they happen.

Over time, your experience will help you to foresee likely customer needs and wants allowing you to give them an upgrade – and everyone likes an upgrade!