When the Grand Opening Wears Off


A few months ago, Dave and I received a wonderful coupon in the 
mail from a restaurant that was celebrating its grand opening.  
The offer was so good and the coupon so well put together that 
we just had to check it out.

After all, perhaps it was time to venture out and try something 
beyond our handful of comfortable, consistent standbys that we 
frequent on our Friday night dates.

As we drove up to the new restaurant, it was obvious a lot of 
time and money had been put into this new restaurant.  The 
atmosphere inside was warm, the surroundings superb.  We were 
immediately greeted by a friendly smile and encouraging words.  
Wow!  Our first impressions were instantaneously favorable.  
The greeter actually sought us out as we entered.  No front 
counter for checking in.

Very personable.

A quick glance at the crowd led us to believe we would have at 
least an hour wait.  "We can seat you within 20 minutes," 
asserted the friendly greeter.  Certainly, she must be 
mistaken.  Nevertheless, we decided to stay.

We watched with wonder as the crowd was quickly seated.  Within 
fifteen minutes, we were also seated — five minutes less than 
our expected wait.  They had over-delivered.  

With no time to spare, a gentleman started us off with 
beverages.  We never had to ask for water.  It was a given, and 
refills were simply taken care of the entire night.

It was seamless.

By now, we felt quite certain we would not be disappointed with 
the food.  With so many good choices on the menu, we asked our 
server if there were some house specialties.  She spoke with 
knowledge and passion for the menu selections.  And, never once 
during the night did we hear the words, "You guys."  There was 
no unnecessary chatter from our server, only efficient 
friendliness.

Refreshing.

The food was exquisite, the dining experience delightful.  We 
felt confident we would include this new restaurant in our 
handful of restaurants to which we were faithful frequenters.

The following month we returned with anticipation.

I wish I could say we had the same dining experience.  In 
short, this time we were not greeted by the same kind of 
friendly smile.  In fact, we were not greeted at all.

Although there were fewer patrons, we had a much longer wait 
than our first visit.  And, you would have thought there was a 
water shortage after having to ask over and over for water 
refills.

The food?  Oh, my.  We could only guess how long it had been 
sitting under the heating lamp.  Not extremely fresh.

Oh, and yes, we had to suffer through all the, "How are YOU 
GUYS doing?" and "What can I get for YOU GUYS?"  As we were 
getting ready to leave, our server blurted, "Thanks YOU GUYS, 
come back again."

Highly unlikely.  

"Well, honey," Dave turned to me and grimaced, "The grand 
opening attitude has worn off!"

Oh, well.  Just another overpriced place to fill a tummy.  Back 
we went to our handful of faithful restaurants with consistent, 
friendly service and food.

Now, you can probably see where I'm going with this.  So, 
here's a bombshell of a question...

Is your business or website a well-run place where people get 
the same customer service and products time after time?

Or...

Is it simply a place to fill an order, nothing more?

While filling orders is important, just like simply filling our 
stomachs was not enough to bring us back, simply filling 
orders won't bring your customers back again and again.  

They need a friendly greeting each time they enter your 
business or website.  The process of getting to your products 
needs to be seamless, and perks (things that set you apart from 
the rest) need to be intertwined with the entire offer, not 
just a sidebar.  

Be personable, yet non-obtrusive in your communication.  You 
don't need to become their best friend.  Most will be turned 
off if you go that direction.  They want to know they are 
buying from someone who is knowledgeable, friendly and dependable.

Your customers need to know they can easily and conveniently 
get ahold of you.  Keep their water filled and quench their 
thirst with follow up and special offers that would compliment 
their purchase.

And, please, be professional in all your communication, both 
verbally and in your written communication; whether on the 
phone, a chatroom, your website or your sales materials.  Keep 
your graphics simple and with a recurring theme.  It will be a 
refreshing change from what they may have experienced elsewhere.

While your grand opening banners may need to come down, your 
grand opening attitude must never cease.  Over time, people 
will forget the grandeur of your grand opening, but they will 
always remember their last purchasing experience with you.  
Don't let them down.

It is the grand opening attitude that will keep you in business 
for years to come.

------
Note: You have permission to reprint this article in its 
entirety with the author's credits below.

About the Authors: 
Heidi and Dave Perry are successful entrepreneurs and founders 
of HomeBusinessOnline.com and PrettyGreat.com.  Sign up for 
their popular HomeBizBytes newsletter at 
http://www.HomeBusinessOnline.com/nsl.htm?hbb


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         Home Biz Bits 'n' Bytes
_________________________________________

         No Substitute for Passion
 
We've talked about the grand opening attitude in today's 
featured article.  When you're a one/few-person home-based 
organization, you need to have passion for what you do in order 
to keep that attitude.  Here's some advice courtesy of 
hireminds.com's guest marketing/PR guru, Colin Earnst.

"Believe in what you're doing.  Nothing is more compelling than 
a person's passion and contagious excitement for what they do... 
Sure, you also need to be well informed about what you're 
talking about. But if you truly want your message to inspire 
someone, you need to believe in what you're 'selling'. There is 
absolutely no substitute for that."

(Source: http://www.hireminds.net/)

-----
If you have a unique tip you'd like to share, I'll post it 
here with your credits.  Email your tips to me at
mailto:Editor@HomeBusinessOnline.com

_________________________________________

     Featured Home-based Entrepreneur
_________________________________________

Debra Cohen
Home Remedies of NY, Inc.

Seven months ago, we did a write-up on the impressive, home-
based business entrepreneur Debra Cohen.  She runs a home 
referral network business out of her home with two small 
children at home, and teaches others how to do the same.  It
would be well worth your time to read it.  You can view it in 
the archived issue below:
http://www.homebusinessonline.com/ezine/hbb/010125.html

Dave and I thought you might enjoy periodically following up on 
some of the home-based entrepreneurs like Debra that we've 
highlighted in past issues.  Perhaps you will find some 
inspiration and ideas for your own business as you watch them 
progress.

We asked Debra some follow-up questions.  Here are her responses:

HomeBizBytes:
  Are you still doing the the Homeowner Referral Network and 
  Home Remedies? 
Debra:
  Yes, absolutely.  I'm now in my 5th year of operation.

HomeBizBytes:
  How many HRN businesses have you helped set up since then?
Debra:
  We've set up over 200 HRN's to date and more than 50 have been 
  established since my article appeared in HomeBizBytes 6 months 
  ago.  There's been a tremendous interest in the HRN business 
  due to the fact that it can be operated part time or full time 
  and it requires very little overhead.

  Also, the home improvement market across the country is 
  thriving and there's a universal need to find reliable 
  contractors.  HRN's fill that need.

HomeBizBytes:
  Have you seen an increase in your percentage of income?
Debra:
  Yes.  Home Remedies is now handling much larger remodeling 
  jobs and a great deal of business comes in through word of 
  mouth.  I expect my referral network income this year will 
  increase by about 15%.

HomeBizBytes:
  Where do you plan to take this from here?
Debra:
  We've launched a new Web Package so that people who are 
  getting started with their referral networks can have a 
  professional site up and running in a matter of a week.  I'm 
  hoping that the HRN business will become a household name for 
  homeowners nationwide.

HomeBizBytes:
  How about your home life?  Have things changed?
Debra:
  My family is wonderful and very supportive.  My older 
  daughter, who was just born when I launched Home Remedies, is 
  now 5 1/2 and my second daughter will be 2 next week.  
  (Working with her at home is a bit challenging!)  Fortunately, 
  my husband is a teacher and has a lot more time off in the 
  summer which is my busiest season.

Debra is open for questions about her business or to teach you 
how to start your own Home Referral Network (HRN).  Here's a 
jump link to her site:
http://www.HomeBusinessOnline.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/links/jump.cgi?ID=621

---
Would you like to be highlighted?  Know of a home-based 
entrepreneur that deserves a little attention?  Let us know!
mailto:Editor@HomeBusinessOnline.com

__________________________________________

         Kind Things You Have Said
__________________________________________

* Editor's Note:  Glad to know we're not just blowin' smoke!
  Thank you.
---
  Heidi

  "Yours is one of the few ezines I still take time to read.  
  It's always interesting. So I have no hesitation in 
  recommending it to people."

  Phil Wiley
  All the Secrets Marketing and Free Publicity Newsletter
  http://www.ozemedia.com

---
  "I've said it before- good solid information. So helpful for a 
  newbie like myself. Thanks and keep up the good work!"
 
  Doris Mello

---
Send your feedback to me and I'll post it here with 
your links.
mailto:Editor@HomeBusinessOnline.com

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http://www.HomeBusinessOnline.com
Editor@HomeBusinessOnline.com

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