Posted on 2014-11-07 00:00:00 +0000

If we give it some thought, we’re involved with many different companies on a daily basis and our options are plentiful. There’s not too much we can’t purchase in person or order online. Companies are vying for your attention. If you look at the biggest advertisers in America, the list includes AT&T (#1), McDonald’s (#4), Walmart (#10), and Apple (#12). The biggest brands feel it necessary to keep reminding you that they’re there. The trick for any company is to jog the customer out of their slumber and create a memorable moment.

Trader Joe’s found a wonderful solution for this. The company trains their employees to engage customers by asking unusual questions. Other retailers have also followed suit. It makes a ritualized exchange into an actual dialogue. Instead of the usual platitudinal back and forth, a question that makes the customer think brings them into the present with much greater awareness.

I was about to pay for groceries when the cashier asked me if I had kids. The query came seemingly out of the blue. I confirmed that, yes, I do have children. He pointed to the bracelet I was wearing that my son made out of small, colored rubber bands. He noted that this seems to be a big craze these days and he finds spare bands all over the store.

A memorable exchange creates a story that get shared with others. It is effortless, free, positive marketing for Trader Joe’s through a simple adjustment to the end of a transaction; ask a different question.