Last Updated on: January 29th, 2021
Providing customers with a “personal touch” can go a long way. In fact, is often needed to make your business successful, whether you’re an entrepreneur, freelancer, business owner, coach, author, or blogger.
In this post, I’ll provide you with a personal case study of how one company won me over, and then I’ll list some key points about how you can provide a personal touch with people you work with or want to sell your products or services to. I’ll also indicate which of these I use when dealing with my own clients.
The one thing to remember is that word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the best types of marketing there is, and if you go out of your way for your customers, they’ll remember you, they’ll tell their friends, and you’ll gain new customers. Plus, your existing ones will become repeat customers. Win-win-win!
Case Study and a Personal Story about Alan Langford
When I first began blogging, I started out on a free platform, WordPress.com.
After having several of my blog posts rank on the first page of Google Search, I decided it was time to get my own hosted site.
That was one year and one week ago. Today.
Yes, Wording Well has been around for over a year now… since Feb. 16, 2014.
Wording Well is also now an official business, registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, which is akin to the Internal Revenue Service. (The United States has the IRS, Canada has the CRA.)
I even have an official business number. 🙂
But this news is secondary to my case study and personal story about my experiences with Alan Langford.
Alan Langford is the owner of Abivia and he’s a guy who is extremely intelligent.
He’s also an honest, down-to-earth man.
How I Met Alan
Back before Wording Well evolved and my blog was called Lorraine Reguly’s Life, I was in a real pickle. My readership was growing, my monthly traffic was increasing, and I began learning of the pros and cons of having a self-hosted site.
I decided I wanted to get one!
But I didn’t know who to choose for my host.
I also had all sorts of questions.
When I was doing my research regarding which web-hosting company I should use, I learned a lot. I also got a visit from the owner of Abivia himself: Alan Langford.
He left me a super-long, informative comment on the post where I asked my readers for some help in answering some of my many questions.
There was a bit more to this comment. If you want to read it, you can. Here is a direct link to the comment.
Initially, this struck as sort of odd. I wondered if Alan was so desperate for clients that he had nothing better to do with his time than to try and find some.
Was I ever wrong in that assumption!
As it turns out, Alan runs such a successful company that he added web-hosting services to it because he simply wasn’t satisfied with the companies already in existence!
The Personal Factor Tipped the Scales in His Favor (Over 13 Others)
What surprised me about this particular experience is the personal attention I received.
When it comes to all things technical, I am the type of person who needs someone to explain Technology for Dummies to me!
Essentially, I’m so non-techie that I often need to be hand-held when given directions. Sure, I’m an educated person, and can follow step-by-step instructions, but I often don’t understand what I’m doing when it’s tech-related.
I loved the hand-holding Alan provided me with, too, once I made the decision to go with Abivia.
The Research I Completed when Deciding on a Host
When I was seeking a web-host for my new and growing site, I sent out letters to over a dozen companies, including Abivia, BlueHost, CanSpace Solutions, Cirrus Tech Ltd., EasyPress, GreenGeeks, 4GoodHosting, HostPapa, HostUpon, HostUtopia, InMotionHosting, NamesPro, Site5, and WebHostingCanada.
I put together all of the information I learned about each one in An Informative Web Hosting Guide (to help you make that all-important decision).
The two finalists were Abivia and CanSpace Solutions.
When I received Alan’s response, I was impressed.
The guy had an excellent answer to everything.
What’s more, he was funny and honest.
His personality shone through.
Most of that is not always easy to achieve. To add emotion to our words, we often add emoticons so that whomever we are speaking with does not misinterpret us. Smiley faces, frowny faces, winking faces, and wide grins are the most commonly used emoji. Emoticon use has become a norm.
The fact that Alan’s personality shone through in his answers to me demonstrated that he’s someone I can relate to.
He kept his replies real.
This, alone, impressed me.
Alan also explained things to me in a non-technological way, infusing just the right amount of computer-speak in his replies for me to fully comprehend what he was saying.
To me, that takes talent.
[Tweet “Honesty is something people value. Please retweet if you agree!”]I Impressed Alan, too
I made an impression upon the wise and talented Mr. Langford, too.
He visited my old blog.
He left me a comment.
He granted me permission to use his responses to my letter of 21 questions in my hosting guide. (Why some of the other companies I contacted said “No” to this free publicity is beyond me!)
Ultimately, I decided to go with Alan’s company, Abivia, for my host.
A couple of other factors influenced my decision:
- Abivia is a Canadian company.
- Abivia gives its clients the option of donating a portion of their web-hosting fees to Food Banks Canada.
- Abivia matches, dollar for dollar, the amount donated.
- I’m Canadian.
As someone who has been fortunate enough to never have been in dire straights to the point where I was starving, I think it is admirable that Abivia donates to this good cause. Feeding the hungry is one of the kindest things we can do for others.
FYI, when I purchased my hosting package, I donated the maximum amount, $20. That meant that Food Banks Canada received a $40 donation when I paid my annual hosting costs.
I won’t lie: this gave me “the warm fuzzies.”
Problems I Encountered
Being the non-techie person that I am, I needed help with setting my new website up.
I still remember the many questions I had before I made the move, and the two major problems he helped me solve afterwards (one was regarding the permalink structure, the other involved keeping my followers).
Of course, this was all in addition to the many other things that no one tells you when you move a site from a free platform to a self-hosted one.
Another Problem, Another Person
Recently, when updating my other site, Laying It Out There, I installed a new, free theme.
But I couldn’t get the bottom of the page to indicate (c) 2014 Lorraine Reguly. (I began the site in 2014.)
I ended up writing to the theme developer to help me solve my problem. Rather than buying the add-on option offered, I established a rapport with Thomas Usborne instead, and he ended up helping me by providing me with resources I needed in order to properly code the theme. I have to admit, it was a pretty technical conversation — a feat for me, the self-proclaimed non-techie! 😉
Thomas provided me with a personal touch, and I was so grateful that I wanted to give him a mention in this post.
Tom’s website is Edge22, and it’s basically a business site that lists the many types of website creation services he offers. There is even a questionnaire for you to fill out so that they can better meet your needs!
Use the Personal Touch to Succeed in Your Business
From the case study with Alan Langford, you can clearly see that the personal touch he provided me swayed me to choose his company to host my site.
Sure, other companies such as Hostgator or Blue Host might be less expensive. But do you get the personal touch you need with a company that size?
I’m willing to bet you don’t.
11 Ways You Can Provide Customers with A Personal Touch
- Thank them for choosing you/your business/your product/your service.
- Address them by name in all communications.
- Let your customers know you realize their time is valuable.
- Go the “extra mile” for them.
- Be flexible.
- Create a deeper relationship with them.
- Connect with them on social media and through videos.
- Send them a personalized, spoken message. Vocaroo can help you do this.
- Be available to them 24/7/365.
- Treat them with respect. Show them you value them and the business they give you.
- Surprise them with bonuses or discounts.
How I Provide The Personal Touch With My Clients
Wording Well is a business that revolves around helping others by providing my clients with a service. Because of this, I’m honest, friendly, reliable, and always put my clients’ needs first.
I also like to connect with them on a deeper, more personal level, too, ans so I’ll connect with them on social media and Skype. Sometimes we even talk on the phone.
I visit their websites, share their content, rave to my fans and followers about them, and help them gain new followers of their own. This is not part of the services I offer, but I like going the extra mile for my clients.
I frequently give my clients bonuses, too, such as surprise discounts for repeated work. To me, money is secondary to running my business. I like to operate with integrity and professionalism on my side. Making someone happy by providing an excellent service is important to me.
I always communicate using my client’s name, too, whether in emails or vocal conversations. Treating others with respect is crucial to forming a solid relationship, and you can’t provide a more personal touch any other way than by using a person’s name!
Services Wording Well Provides
The services that I provide are varied. In addition to writing and editing, I also help others with their websites and blogging strategies.
The web-related services I offer are varied and are generally tailored to each individual person (or company). I’ve helped others such as Maxwell Ivey (A. K. A. The Blind Blogger) ready his book, Leading You Out of the Darkness Into the Light: A Blind Man’s Inspirational Guide to Success, to be sold on both Amazon and CreateSpace. I also perform maintenance on his site, doing whatever it is he wants and needs done, from adding links to new book reviews to updating plugins.
Wording Well can do — or help YOU do — all of the following:
- write interesting and original web content that is highly shareable and search-engine friendly
- edit copy you have already created by polishing and perfecting your writing
- create a website if you don’t have one
- create an easy-to-follow blogging strategy that you can implement yourself
- supply your business with fresh content that is shareable and search-engine-friendly, which will expose your brand to a larger audience and ultimately result in more sales for you
- enhance your online presence through social media, again exposing your brand to a larger audience (which will result in more sales for you!)
- create relevant digital books for your business
- turn your digital books into print books
If you are experiencing frustration, confusion, or overwhelm, and could use a hand with any of the above items, please let me know.
There are many ways you can contact me.
The best way is by email. Although I have more than one email account, I actually prefer my gmail account, at lorrainemariereguly (at) gmail (dot) com.
Don’t be shy, contact me today and let me help you!
Sharing is Caring!
Please share the tips in this post with your friends! They will benefit from knowing how to add a personal touch to their daily interactions with others, and you’ll be helping them become more successful by doing so, too.
Plus, if they are in need of some assistance, I might be able to help them!
Thanks for helping me, dear readers. I appreciate you!
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
To add a personal touch in the blogging field i think self case study is the decent way to express and making personal relations with your readers.
Avnish, I agree with you! 🙂
Lorraine- I remember when you had the old blog. As they say “You have come a long way baby”. That personal touch is what sets you apart. You took what you learned from Alan and others along the way have made that your business model.
Arleen, it’s sure been a long time since I began blogging — over two years now!
Yes, you’re right, I’ve come a long way, and it’s nice that you have noticed how much I’ve done, how much I’ve improved as a blogger, what I’ve accomplished, etc.
I’ve always demonstrated my honesty in my blog posts, and that’s one of the things most of my regular readers like about my writing. Now, by continuing to be genuine and helpful, I’ve made those qualities part of my brand.
I want others to knowt I treat my clients with with respect, provide top-notch services at superb rates, and often go the extra mile for them.
Infusing a personal touch only adds to one’s enjoyment of working with me! 🙂
Lorraine, building your village, even your cyber-village, requires help. Even though I am technical, things like SEO still baffle me. Glad you have found the thing that you love and are doing it for a living. That is truly the key to happiness.
Kire, SEO is not that difficult to learn. Finding trustworthy bloggers to learn from helps a lot, and following their blogs and knowing about Google algorithm updates is important, too.
What often suprises me is that I learn stuff like this from women! (Gosh, I hope that doesn’t sound sexist or stereotypical!) Women like Ana Hoffman (Traffic Generation Cafe) and Sherryl Perry (Keep Up with the Web) are two names that immediately come to mind. But then there’s bloggers like Ashley Faulkes (MadLemmings), Adam Connell (Blogging Wizard), and Neil Patel (Quicksprout) who teach me, too.
If you want to stay abreast of current trends in the blogosphere, I’d suggest following these people.
Oh, and this is a perfect example of me providing you with a personal touch — by sharing with you with these names… and giving you their links! 😉
[I’m not sure I had to actually point that out to you, Kire, but this post is about helping others through personalized service, after all, so I figured it’s relevant!] 🙂
I always keep in touch with anyone who goes beyond the call of duty to provide extra service . I teach Indian cookery and I always try to provide that extra service by taking new ingredients to class and also take different dishes to my class to try out before teaching them how to make it. It means that sometimes I am out of pocket but the students always join my next class and that makes it worthwhile.
Mina, it sounds like you are really passionate about cooking! I think what you do for your students is admirable.
When I was finishing my high schooling, I had a teacher who often went the extra mile for her students, too, going out of her way to make them feel special. She often purchased things for us using her own money, too.
It’s people like her and you who make this world a better place! 🙂
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Mina!
I was such a novice when I began blogging. I am still trying to learn as much as I can. Blogs like this help me along on this process. Thanks for sharing.
William, it takes time to learn all the ins and outs of blogging! I’m glad that I’m able to help with this, too. 🙂
Thanks for the visit, and the comment.
Hi Lorraine,
What a wonderful story. I also had a very similar thing happen to me, when I was “drowning” and someone offered me his helping hand, without asking anything in return.
Caring and genuinely wanting to help the readers of our blogs is the only way to do business in the cyberspace shark pool. And the beautiful reward of such path is that you meet wonderful people along the way.
Thank you for sharing your story. Truly inspirational.
Dita, it’s people who offer a personal touch that can make all the difference in our lives, isn’t it?
Thanks for visiting, commenting, and sharing!
Great example of the personal touch and how relates to this real life tech world we are forced to deal with! LOL What a fantastic idea to tie the business with philanthropy! That would give me the warm fuzzies too:)
Jacqueline, the tech world is the bane of my existence! I’m so glad that I have learned that others are willing to help, if asked. 🙂
That’s pretty impressive! Alan sounds like a great guy and a master of the personal touch. He certainly inspired a great testimonial from you.
Beth, I’d be totally lost without Alan to help me!
Thanks for the visit and the comment!
If you are not providing a personal touch you are losing the key advantage that small businesses have in the marketplace. Large companies have long since lost there way with this. In fact, many are moving in the opposite direction by trying to use various forms of robots in lieu of employing customer service people.
Ken, large companies often think they don’t need to provide a personal touch because they are so large. Smaller businesses know the value of what a personal touch can accomplish. Given the choice between the two, I’d always opt for the “little guy.” 😉
Great example of the personal touch in business. There are lessons for all of us here. I also found the problems Alan helped you with interesting to read about. I am getting ready to migrate my current blog to WordPress self-hosted. I am currently planning for how I will deal with the permalink structure. I got some help from reading your post on the problems. Thanks.
Donna, I’m glad I was able to help you in some way! 🙂
Hi Lorraine, I totally get the non-techie stuff. I’ve been updating plugins as they need it and each time I hold my breath until it says ‘plug in successfully reactivated’. I’m so afraid of doing something wrong. Anyway, I agree with the personal touch and I appreciate your bulletin points. Right now with all the great information being sent through BHB I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but this one gets bookmarked until I have the time to go through it step by step. Great stuff as always.
Lenie, I think you are doing amazingly well with the techie-stuff. Just remember, when you update plugins, everything is done automatically. No need to hold your breath or panic!
Stop bookmarking so many blog posts! You’re just adding to your overwhelm!
Besides, if you ever have a question, all you have to do is a Google search for the answer. 😉
Like you, when I began blogging, I bookmarked everything until I realized this.
Off to visit your blog now.
Hi Lorraine,
You can’t go wrong with adding the personal touch to your campaign! Or to your life!
I blog from paradise because I keep things personal. In a good way. Like your experience with Alan I’ve opened many doors for me and for my friends by using names, by responding and by building bonds wherever I go. No other way to do business, blogging or life in my opinion because if you have The Touch you’ll rock it out in whatever you do. You have the touch Lorraine 😉 Well done, and fab post underscoring a point many folks miss.
Ryan
Ryan, I know you have the touch, too! It’s evident in your posts as well as the replies to your commments.
What most bloggers don’t realize is that people like to know if the blogger for whom they left a comment for actually took the time to reply to them. Since most people subscribe to the comments, they are emailed the replies to everyone. By using a person’s name — especially right at the beginning of the reply — it makes it easier for the commentor to find the reply left for him/her. Then, after seeing the reply, the person can unsubscribe from further comments on that post, and free up their inbox again.
Others can take lessons from us, Ryan!