Mood Changers

Yesterday I was smiling, singing along with the radio and generally in a great mood, despite having a huge list of tasks to complete. Today I’m a bit grouchy and finding it hard to get motivated. What’s the difference? Yesterday was sunny and warm, today is rainy and cold. Interesting how something as commonplace as the weather can have an effect on my mood.

Which got me thinking about other simple things that affect us all – negatively and positively. As a mum of 2 young boys I notice how much specific praise can boost their good behaviour. And conversely, how a harshly spoken word can quickly change their mood.

We can take those same observations from family life to business: there are some really simple actions we can do to affect a customer’s ‘mood’:
• Be polite: thank your clients for their custom; include a ‘please’ with all requests.
• Be respectful: treat others the way you would like to be treated, especially where there is potential for embarrassment or loss of dignity.
• Follow up: call your customers after a sale or service has concluded – not for the direct purposes of repeat business, but to genuinely hear about their experience of your business.
• Be ‘random’: where appropriate, send your customer a thoughtful gift for no reason other than to put a smile on their face.
• Smile: have you ever tried to stay angry when someone is smiling at you?

Michelle Grice runs Dot Com Women, an online forum for entrepreneurial women: www.dotcomwomen.com.au