Make an Impact - Make a Difference!

It was moving day, twenty some years ago. The trucks had long since pulled away from our new home and we were left in that "what a mess limbo" that you are probably all too familiar with.We were also hungry and this was no time to hook up the stove and go rifling through the stacked boxes to find our kitchen supplies. With no phone installed, dad and two-year old daughter decide to try out the brand new Taco Bell everyonewas talking about.The parking lot was full but with babe in arms we filtered into one of the LONG lines of eager first-time fast-food seekers and Sara had her eyes fixed on the busy counter. As children have the uncanny ability to do, during a dead silentmoment in the crowd, she screamed at the top of her little lungs, "Daddy, look at that 'wary' big brown lady!!", pointing at the counter person in charge of our line.Look, I don't know how many shades of red a person can really turn, but I know I must have sported them all. I can still hear both the boisterous laughter and the silent gasps of sheer shock at this innocent revelation. All I know is I feltterrible that it was MY "out of the mouths of babes" that rocked this joint.When we finally reached the counter, I could only offer my most profound apology to who would be this wonderful, large Afro-American woman who said "No problem at all, I laughed too!". Phew!:-)Well, 'Marva' and I starting chatting about her new job and other things, and I told her I owned a drycleaning company in town.Now, I admit that I still enjoy some Taco Bell fare, so I continued to visit this location on occasion for over a decade. Each time, Marva remembered my name, asked me howbusiness was, and of course, how Sara was!!The point of this true story is very simple. Albeit a strange and innocent way to make an impact, my two-year old tyke did just that. And, in a big way. A strong impression that lasted more than ten years. Each time I was there after that, I stood in Marva's line and whenever management wasn't looking over her shoulder, I slipped her a nice tip which she always refused to take (but I always won).Although this particular fast food location is now gone, I will always remember Marva and that day, and I'm quite sure Marva (and many of the patrons, at least those with a sense of humor) will never forget it either.And so, we all should strive to make a profound impact on people, especially in business, on our customers. Let me explain.The very best way we can make an impact on customers is by making sure our product or service itself makes one. Trust me, I'm not trying to be boastful here, but by the time I wasfinished writing my first book, The Ezine Marketing Machine, I knew in my heart that *if* I could get it to sell well, it would help an awful lot of people and make a strong impact on those folks who wanted to use the best Internet promotionmethod available in order to make a good living online.Gratefully, I was able to launch successfully and with the help of many dedicated resellers, turn EMM into one of the best selling Internet marketing books ever. The evidence of the impact that this book has made is clearly shown in thetestimonials I've received (this is about 1/3 of them) which I encourage you to read:http://www.interniche.net/said.htmlAnother great way to make an impact is with customer service. Let's face it, most of the online population is still hesitant to spend their hard earned money online. And who can blamethem with all the scam artists and hucksters hanging their crooked shingles in cyberspace? Even the big brand websites are taking heat for poor customer service.Here's an example of someone who didn't like my book i.e.: an unhappy customer. First though, my guarantee states "If you are not completely satisfied with what my product does for youafter trying my Ultimate Marketing Method, I won't give you 100% of your money back. Show me you've tried The Ezine Marketing Machine and I'll give you 110%"Now, this purchaser never tried anything in the book. Just stated he *thought* the methods wouldn't work (wrong:-) almost right away. I am too familiar now with the buy now/request a refund a half an hour later scammers (like, at least don't make it so obvious:-) but this person I didn't feel was one of them. So, without hesitation, I rebated his credit card. This is what he wrote back:"After doing business on the Internet for some time now, I must say that although I didn't see the benefit in your product, I do appreciate the level of customer service that you gave me. You refunded my money, within 24 hours of my request, no questions asked. It is nice to know that you arerunning a first class business. I wish you continued success."Now, I'm quite sure that a person who was impacted enough to write the above to me has told all his online contacts about his experience with Rick Beneteau. Word-of-mouth on the Web will always be the strongest form of advertising!Last example, and another odd one, but please bear with me. I received an email a few weeks ago from a reseller. She had forwarded an email she received from someone who offered her $10.00 to buy The Ezine Marketing Machine (my reseller hadpaid the retail price of $29.95). He was so bold as to tell her that if she didn't take him up on his offer all he had to do was change the ID# on the URL and someone else would buy it.My immediate human reaction was anger. I mean, this"sleaze ball" was canvassing my resellers to steal my work and undercut me! Well, I had no choice but to immediately send a curt "Cease & Desist" notice and threaten "swift and immediate legal action" if he contacted anyone else in my organization.I really didn't expect a reply but a few hours later came the "real story". Here was a young man, full of apology, trying to "figure out the Internet". I replied that if he had onlybeen "honest" with me upfront instead of trying underhanded tactics he would have received a no-obligation free copy of my book. Which was the truth. He received that copy and I knowone thing for sure - this young entrepreneur had the opportunity to learn a valuable lesson and it's my gut feeling he did.Bottom line: every time you make an impact, you make a difference. Make a difference to your customers and you will make a difference to your bottom line. I guarantee it!