I was in Merrickville, Ontario recently and saw a very simple, yet likely very effective, idea that a local business had implemented to make it easier for some of their customers to do business with them. For those that don't know, Merrickville is a small village along the historic Rideau Canal, that has a number of craft and artisan-type shops - a fun place for people to wander and browse, especially in summer.
As I was entering a small independant ice cream shop on the main street, I noticed that they had a "pet leash hook" installed on the front of their shop, just to the side of the entrance, with a small sign over it to explain what it was. Nothing fancy, a simple hook with a one-way locking arm screwed into the building, no more than a couple of bucks at the hardware store.
But what a difference it must make for their potential customers who are walking dogs, craving a nice homemade ice cream cone, and otherwise might be stuck trying to figure out how to make a purchase! No need to leave one person in a group outside to hold the leash while everyone else goes in, no need to worry about asking if its okay if the dogs come in, no wondering about the dogs' safety tied to the stop sign post a few metres away, the nearest such item to tie off to.
Are people out walking with their pets a huge portion of their clientele? No, of course not - I'd guess no more than 5-10% during the peak summer months of July and August. But this shop found a simple and easy way to make it SO much easier for this small sub-segment of their clientele to do business with them.
I got thinking about how to apply this to my own business. I have a number of clients with small children, but only a very few number of them who ever actually have to bring them into my office with them when meeting with me. But, for those instances, perhaps a dozen a year, the meetings are often rushed and awkward, with impatient and bored kids wanting to do anything but have to sit in a dull office while their parent talks to me (and understandably so!).
So, I have brought a couple of toys into the office to have them on hand now for the few instances when this happens. Hopefully, the result will be similar to the ice cream shop and its pet leash - something simple that I've done in my business to make it markedly easier for a small segment of my clients to do business with me.
Now, if only I could get an ice cream machine in here......
