Thanks to entrepreneur Richard Kaplan’s savvy in adopting Square, I could walk away from his Farmer’s Market booth with chocolates, a business lesson and… cash. Armed with cash, once more, I came upon my last delightful class of the day:
Case Study 3: Maison Burdisso. Lesson: Embrace your customers: recommendations sell more than ads
True Parisian macarons at Maison Burdisso’s stall. The story: Jackie Burdisso’s macarons come from a recipe passed down through her family, who owned a patisserie in South France. I already had a sugar high thanks to high tech Brown Paper Chocolates. Sugar was the last thing on my mind, and yet, I indulged. How come?
One of Jackie’s old customers stopped by to pick up a few macarons. Jackie Burdisso paid complete attention to her dedicated customer, helping her pick her old favorites and introducing her to new flavors. The new customers waited mouth watering. As I was about to walk away deciding that the sugary treats could wait for another day, Jackie’s old customer started talking to me. In fact, it was she who told me Jackie’s story and went on to convince me that I need to try them…now! That’s the power of embracing your customers. They sell for you better than most ads can. Nothing is more powerful than a strong recommendation.
To my surprise, the friendly lady who urged me to try macarons turned out to be Kristine Mills, Houston’s very own Jazz artist. I knew she was interesting when she used Bassa Nova, Cabaret, and macarons in the same sentence. Burdisso’s organic blueberry and blood orange macarons won me over with light flirty finish to my rich Brown Paper indulgence. Thanks, Kristine Mills for the last lesson of the post: Embrace your customers!
Thanks for the delightful entrepreneurial reminders, Houston:
1 . Share your story
2. Use new technologies to adapt
3. Embrace your customer: Recommendations sell more than any ad
* Photo Credit: Flicker stream, Julien Haler