Offer your clients something special to keep them loyal

Attention to detail – however small – will set your business apart from your competitors, writes Manar Al Hinai.

There has never been a time, as there is right now, when people in developed societies have been so spoilt for choice. If we want something to eat, we can order it in via a mobile app, go out to dine in a fine restaurant, cook it ourselves or even pick it up on our way home from a drive-through restaurant. The choices are endless.

Going on holiday also offers numerous possibilities. Airlines have options to match your budget, or you can visit websites, such as booking.com, to browse their selection of hundreds of hotels around the world. Nothing is out of reach. If I want to go skiing, there is a location somewhere at any point in the year, and the same goes for a tropical holiday.

My family and I went on a trip to the Maldives a week ago, and as with other popular destinations, we were spoilt for choice in terms of which renowned hotel chain and spa resort to book. Every hotel offers snorkelling, sunbathing and overwater bungalows. While you may think this would ease the process of where to book, it actually has the opposite effect.

A friend of mine suggested the Soneva Fushi Resort, which she had recently visited. As we have travelled together before, I trusted her choice and we opted to stay there. It was not until I arrived that I understood why she had stressed I visit this property in particular; it was all down to their impeccable attention to detail.

When my sister and I got up for breakfast the next day, we headed over to the buffet restaurant. My sister loves to eat vegetables in the morning and that day she wanted some fresh broccoli on the side. We were at the egg station when we asked the chef if broccoli was available. He told us to walk over to a small hut that served vegetables and fruits. No one was there, and this detail is important. We walked in, made ourselves a salad, but we could not find any broccoli. My sister did not ask anyone about it and we headed over to our table to eat breakfast.

Ten minutes later, a waiter came by and asked my sister if her broccoli had arrived. For a second she paused because it was not the chef she had asked earlier, before saying it had not. He then asked how would she like it: fresh or sautéed? Two minutes later, a bowl of broccoli was sitting in front of her. And every morning throughout our stay when my sister sat at our table for breakfast, a different waiter would bring her a side bowl of broccoli. That tiny detail was the highlight of her trip.

Attention to detail is what sets your business apart your competitors, especially when your customers are already spoilt for choice. Think about it, there is that one business you have been using for years simply because of the level of service they provide. Either they always make time for you, even during peak hours, or they always give you discounts or perhaps offer to fix something on a weekend when they are usually closed. I have been going to the same tailor for years, even though there may be others that might offer the same service at a lesser rate. But I know this tailor will always take on my last-minute orders. That small detail makes all the difference to me, which is why I would not switch.

Assess your business model and how you could provide the best service to your clients. The great thing about incorporating that level of attention is that it does not really require a huge amount of investment, just more focus and care.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer who manages a branding and marketing consultancy in Abu Dhabi. Twitter: @manar_alhinai.

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