Every marketer tells you to answer questions when marketing a product, service or business. One of the first questions they tell you to answer is the question: What’s in it for me? Another one is How will it benefit me? And on and on. They say that if you can answer those questions for your customer then you will make the sale, or convert a browsing customer into a buyer if they’re looking for what you have to offer, etc.

But there is more to this than meets the eye. Everyone wants to feel important. People want to feel as though they have made an intelligent choice. So how do you accomplish the task of having your customer feel important, and feel as though they have made an intelligent choice when choosing your service or product?

You make them feel the same way that you would like to feel. Before you even begin to market your business, product, or service, you have to ask yourself what you want. What would you like to see? What do you want to know? What would you like to hear? Because most people want the same thing – but they are so use to receiving subordinate information or service that they have come to accept it.

Ask yourself how you would really like to be treated. Dream about a lavish experience that you would like to have. Let’s say you don’t want to cook tonight. You want to have dinner at a high class restaurant. We’ll call the restaurant Le Mai. Reservations are made for you by your spouse or date at Le Mai for 6:oo p.m. Friday evening. You and your spouse or date are picked up at your home and driven by a limousine to Le Mai. Arriving promptly at 6:00 p.m. You enter Le Mai and immediately the Maitre d’ approaches you. He takes your coat and escorts you and your spouse to your table.

The table is set off in a cozy corner by a fireplace. The oak table is adorned with two crystal candle holders as the centrepiece, Royal Albert dinnerware, crystal goblets, silver eating utensils, and silk napkins. The lights are slightly dimmed. The Maitre d’ comes to the table carrying a chilled bottle of the finest Italian wine. He pours the wine, hands you a menu, makes a few suggestions, tells you to take your time, and when you are ready to order just raise your hand. He then returns with a basket of freshly baked bread to accompany the wine.

You sit across from your spouse or date sipping on your wine and teasingly joke with each other. An hour has passed and you still haven’t ordered. But no one has tried to rush you or bother you. The Maitre d’ returns to see if you would like some more wine. He pours another glass and patiently asks if you are ready to order. You tell him to order what he thinks is the most satisfying meal on the menu for you.

Five minutes later he returns with a julienne salad topped with feta cheese. Ten minutes later he returns with penne pasta in a rose sauce with lobster and shrimp. He asks if you would like to top it off with parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper. He sprinkles the parmesan cheese and cracked pepper over your plate to your satisfaction. He then leaves you to enjoy your dinner.

When you have finished your dinner the Maitre d’ returns with another chilled bottle of the finest Italian wine and a basket of fresh baked bread. Pours you a glass of the wine and places the bread on the table. You and your spouse or date are left to pick up your conversation where you left off.

You are surprised to see 3 hours have passed since you entered Le Mai Restaurant. You ask the Maitre d’ for your bill. He returns to your table with your coat and says “I hope you had a wonderful evening and enjoyed your meal. All first time customers eat and drink for free at Le Mai Restaurant.

Now tell me you wouldn’t return to Le Mai Restaurant. Also tell me that you wouldn’t tell your friends and family about Le Mai Restaurant and the wonderful evening you had. This is the kind of treatment you need to extend to your customers. They will return time and time again and they will tell family, friends, or acquaintances about the wonderful treatment they have received. You don’t have to have a restaurant to extend this type of treatment. Think about how you can improve the message that you are sending your customers, and what you can do for them to improve their experience with you.

This article was written by Dianne Salmon. Dianne Salmon is the owner of http://www.choiceresources.com offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice on how to make money with your website. Visit her site or join her FREE newsletter, Choice Resources by sending an email with subscribe in the subject line to mailto:Dianne@choiceresources.com