Imagine that you and your company’s future depends on a tip jar.
We’re used to seeing tip jars in service related businesses, like coffee shops. The jars give us a chance to give immediate feedback on someone’s performance.
So let’s say that you and your company will only survive if your tip jars are kept full. How would you Clear the Path to massive change (now those dollar coins sound pretty good) in a society that has the option of giving you nothing.
Would You Risk Your Own Money: People are more likely to contribute to a tip jar if there’s already some money in it, as many musicians know. But by throwing a few bucks in the jar, you do open yourself to the chance that someone might take the cash.
That would never happen, you argue. Perhaps, but following the same logic I’m sure you’d agree that food is always safe in the company refrigerator. Isn’t it?
Getting back to the principle of “seeding” your tip jar, would you be willing to bet your own money on your company or your performance? It’s one thing to accept a paycheck but another to invest your own money in you and your company’s future.
How Would You Be Extraordinary: If you want a good tip, you’ve got to earn it. When you give only an ordinary performance, the tip jar can become invisible to customers.
How could you exceed their expectations to the point that they’d give you some extra cash? Obviously, my tip jar world is hypothetical but it’s worth asking: Why aren’t you doing those things for your customers right now? Wouldn’t those actions improve your customer relations?
Could You Manipulate Your Customers: Think of this as a nudge and not a shove.
Could you adjust your prices so that someone would be more likely to give you some of their change as opposed to pocketing the whole amount? When this happens, giving you some cash is less about money and more about not having a lot of change jiggling in the customer’s pocket. You give convenience and get money. Sounds like a useful business principle.
Another example would take a page from restaurant servers who write their name and draw a smiley face on the bill. Suddenly, someone who was relatively anonymous becomes a real person.
This is all about shifting perception. If you bill your customers, is there a similar tactic you could use to make sure that more of them pay you on time? How much money would fixing this challenge generate?
Let’s say your business sponsors something, like a Little League Baseball team. Could you include that information (or even a photo) on your invoice? Saying that, “Your support allows us to support our community,” could shift the perception of your business.
Bottom line: People who work for tips have to hustle for them every day. Taking a similar approach to your business could help you refocus your team and set you apart from the pack.
