Sparking the Slow Clap: Adding Value Beyond Your Core Service

One of the most important question for companies is how to get customers to stick around. Since this is MKG Marketing and we’re in the business of amplifying your awesomeness, we go one step further: how do you get your customers to sing your praises? To chant your name while fist-pumping from the rooftops? To subconsciously hear an angelic chorus sing whenever they think of your company?

How do you get your customers so pumped about your company they transform into brand evangelists?

By adding value beyond your core service.

Do this and you’ll spark the slow clap.

BigStock provides me value beyond just being my go-to spot for stock photography.

They describe themselves as a “fast, easy-to-use marketplace for quality stock images” and I would wholeheartedly agree! But why are they the company I remember and the company I recommend to colleagues?

Bigstock offers a free image of the week (which is why there is an Australian ostrich at the top of this blog post).

Granted, I can’t pick the exact image I want, nor do I have the option of downloading the previous week’s image, but it doesn’t matter! Free high-definition picture, woohoo! And when I go to their site, I usually end up searching for something random (don’t you when on a stock photography site?).

"Hmm, I wonder if they have any images of bulldogs in formal attire..."

Of course they do.

BigStock goes above and beyond being a great stock photography website. They provide me, their fist-pumping evanglist, extra value! And that's awesome!

But Adam, I'm a plumber.

How could you add value to your customers? How about a monthly newsletter with tips on proper maintenance of pipes? Or a guidebook on how to keep a home safe in the winter?

But Adam, I’m an owner of a gyro foodcart.

Offer your customers recipes or ideas of side dishes that go well with gyros. Even a stamp card provides value!

Alright, mister know-it-all, I own a sports card shop.

Educate your customers about the benefits of proper card storage, form a partnership with a local sports team for discounted tickets or hold promotional nights for particular sports, brands, the year of the card series, etc.

But Adam, I do ___ (fill in the blank).

By now, I know you get it. It doesn’t matter the industry, your product or your service: you have the ability to add value for your customer. And this added value transforms customers into evangelists who, like Conan below, may be prone to starting a slow clap in your honor.