Organic eggs and customer experience

Sep 4, 2007

When I'm in my neighborhood grocery store here in Manhattan, and I need some eggs, I reach for Country Hen. Inside every carton of Country Hen eggs is their latest newsletter - a small, double-sided blue-on-white slip of paper describing the escaped goat, the mended fence, or some other anecdote from their daily farm life. (At left, the newsletter I picked up a few days back.)

Cost of adding a slip of paper to each egg carton: a penny? Maybe two?

Value of the improved customer experience: to say "priceless" would be hyperbolic, but it's easy to argue the value is above two cents. Increased brand loyalty from just a few customers, multiplied by lifetime value, equals a lot of slips of paper... not to mention word-of-mouth (and I'm telling you about it right now).

There are several organic brands, but I like Country Hen the best - because I feel a connection to the company. They're real people trying to do good work. (For example, read the newsletter at left to see their thoughts on their prices, which are higher than most eggs.) A basic human touch is often all it takes to stand above one's competitors.

For years I've welcomed new subscribers to the Good Experience newsletter, more or less an e-mail version of this blog. After thanking them for signing up, I ask them what they do, and how they heard about Good Experience. Frequently someone will write back saying that it's the first time they've ever been personally welcomed upon joining a newsletter.

I'm always surprised that that's the case: how could other companies not try to form a connection with their readers?

Question for the day: how can your company use a small improvement, a "quarter-inch turn," to make a big difference in the customer experience?

See also: Examples of customer experience focus (July 27, 2007)

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