setting yourself apart

I am a frequent customer at four different coffee shops.

I always order the same thing.  An americano.  At three of the shops, I need to give the order every time. At the fourth, the employees remember what my beverage of choice is.

What's the impact?  As a customer, I feel important. Valued. I want to visit that fourth shop whenever I can.  The coffee, the atmosphere, the wi-fi, the comfy chairs and the music are excellent at all. The only difference, the only thing that sets the one shop apart from the rest, is that the employees make the effort to remember my order.

There is a lot of competition for business. Having a great product or service is essential.  You can't compete otherwise.  Lots of businesses have great products or services.  Setting your business apart takes something special.  The extra effort you make in serving your customers can be the thing that sets you apart.

Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game. Service wins the game.  Tony Alessandra.