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It's Only Common Sense: It's Time for Lagniappe

“What the heck is a lagniappe?” This is exactly what I asked myself when I first saw the word in a business book called “What’s Your Purple Goldfish? How to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth” by Stan Phelps. My second question was, “How the heck do you say it?” I learned it’s pronounced “LAN-yap.”

Here’s what it means: “A small gift presented by a store owner with the customer’s purchases.”

The word is Creole, of French/Cajun origin, and is used mostly in southern Louisiana—New Orleans, in particular. Part of the word, “Napa,” comes from “Yapa” which means “additional gift” in the South American Indian language.

Examples of lagniappe:

• A baker’s dozen
• The extra handful of fries at Five Guys
• The chocolate chip cookies at Double Tree by Hilton
• The Lexus car wash with repair services

I think you get the idea, but I hope you’ll remember this concept because lagniappe is a very important part of customer service and retention.

I think I hear you asking, “What does this have to do with me and my business?” The answer: Everything, especially if you are so invested in your customer retention, and delighting your customers, to the point of them not only wanting to be your customers for life, but also making them want to brag their heads off about being smart enough to buy your products and services.

With this in mind, I have compiled a list of suggestions for what you can do to offer your customers. Let’s say it together, “Lagniappe.”

1. SWAG

There is always good old SWAG—gift cards with every order, popcorn, candy, pens, coffee mugs, notebooks, stress balls, lanyards, t-shirts, jackets, hats, eye loops, and anything else you can think of. The problem with these things is that they usually end up being given to the customers’ kids or in some bottom draw somewhere.

But there’s another dark side to SWAG, which is a bit more serious. Obviously in our industry, many companies who are our customers, especially those companies with military customers, cannot receive free gifts. It is completely unacceptable. This means going in another direction to give these customers that little something extra. We must be a bit more creative, and that’s when the fun starts.

You can come up with business related gifts that not only promote your company but are very helpful to your customers. This might include:

• Design for manufacturing guidelines
• Impendence calculators
• PCB flow charts
• PCB designer handbooks
• Business calendars that measure quick turn times
• Wall business calendars that lay out the entire year

Again, tools that your customers will actually use every day.

Now let’s dig deeper and come up with more unique and memorable items or actions. I like to think these are things that no other companies are doing.

2. Directory

Consider gifting a complete directory of the people on your team who will be working on your customers’ products. This directory can have short bios with photos of your team members as well as what their position are and how they will be helping your customers. Be sure to include all of their contact information as well.

3. A Final Look

Offer a special inspection for the first order, that paid audition, indicating that your entire team of key people took a final look at your customer’s order to make sure it was absolutely perfect before it was shipped. The best part is everyone on the team signed a certificate indicating they did the final inspection. A nice touch would be to add a photo of that team holding up that first product. Finally, turn the certificate and photo into a hearty thank you for their business.

4. A Presidential Thank You

Have the president or top gun of your company call the customers and thank them for the order. Leave her contact information to make sure they call her if they ever have a problem. Have other members of the team call or email their thanks as well. 

5. Don’t Forget the Shipping Department

Have your shipping department contact the customer’s receiving department to make sure the packaging is correct. Have them ask if there is anything that can be done better to make it easier for the receiving department.

Other ideas from shipping: Develop a year-end report that list all the products shipped to your customer and when they were shipped; offer live tracking of your products as they are going through your facility, in real time; periodic, out-of-the-blue, phone calls from your key managers to your customers, asking them how they think you are doing.

What are your thoughts? What lagniappes are you providing to your customers? What are you coming up with to delight your customers? I would love to hear them.

You know that best part of coming up with great lagniappes? It forces you to focus on your customers and how you can delight them. It makes you so valuable to your customers that they are never going to want to leave you. It makes them so happy that they can’t wait to tell everyone about how delighted they are to be working with a company as smart, thoughtful, and as helpful as yours.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.