Is Yours Round or Square?

Last week I went to get my hair cut.  I was leaving town for a few days and needed to get it cut before I left and tried a stylist I had never tried before. 

 I went into the salon and sat down in the chair fully expecting the same experience we’ve all grown accustomed to.

 But this time, just as the stylist was about to start cutting, she paused.  Then she asked me if I preferred the back of my haircut round or square.  It turns out that some people prefer a rounded, more gentle look, and some prefer a sharp, square look when it comes to the back of their cut.

 I certainly had never thought about whether mine was round or square before.  And in all the years I’ve been getting haircuts, I’ve never once been asked which I prefer.

My previous stylists all simply cut the back of my hair in either “round” or “square” in the manner they were comfortable with, or thought was best.  And I was absolutely fine with that because I had never put any thought into it.

But here’s the thing.

By asking that simple question (about something I had never considered before, but that made so much sense the second it was asked) my new stylist instantly distinguished herself from other stylists.

She positioned herself as a being interested in giving me what I really wanted, and identifying options I had that I never even knew about. 

It may seem simple, even a bit silly, to make this a big deal.  But it really isn’t silly at all.  After all, I’m not an expert on cutting hair.  Because of that I have never really had any basis for judging a haircut (luckily I’ve never had a bad haircut – or if I have people have been kind enough not to tell me).

But that simple question gave me something to consider.  If the stylist was that concerned about that level of detail for me, it’s only natural to assume she was concerned about giving me a great haircut.

And in tougher economic times like we are all facing right now, those simple but high impact demonstrations of caring and expertise are critical.

Consider ways you can avoid making “obvious” logic leaps in your business.  How can you get your customers involved in making some decisions that demonstrate your expertise and set yourself apart in your market?