I’M A BIG FAN OF WHITEBOARDS. I love to see what people have scribbled on them. It could be a to-do list in green ink, some critical thing to remember in red ink, or a reminder for something in black ink. Maybe all of them in one big jumble.
I visited Culture Studio in Chicago a few months ago and was in Carlo Oviedo’s office. He’s the sales director and one of the founders. Across from his desk is a large whiteboard with many ideas jotted down on the board. But up in the upper right-hand corner was this nugget of wisdom: “How cheap is your happiness?”
What an amazing phrase! I asked Carlo what it meant to him, and as he discussed it, I knew I needed to create an article centered on this idea. Here goes:
In business, the never-ending pursuit of efficiency, cost-cutting, and drive for “more” often is seen as a path to success. After all, as everyone knows, the lower the expenses, the higher the profits, right?
While there is truth in that idea, as businesses need profit to thrive, it often comes at the expense of something equally valuable: Happiness.
Why aren’t we talking about this more? Seriously. I’m not talking about the “made-for-TV-feel-good-moment” here.
I’m talking about creating lasting satisfaction for your customers, employees, and yourself. What if your company considered the real value of enhancing the experience of working with your business, even if it comes at a higher price? Let’s explore this further.
Framework: The Cost of Quality
For this argument, let’s begin with the accounting end of the process and bring up tangible costs: materials, labor, and time. They certainly matter. Yet, the intangible ideas of customer experiences, employee satisfaction, and personal fulfillment often are undervalued, overlooked, or even ignored. Many people always want to be buying something cheaper.
Sure, you saved money, but quickly you learn that it breaks, requires more effort, or isn’t well designed. Frustration, repeated replacements, and extra time quickly outweigh the initial savings.
Years ago, I sought a better shrink-wrap material to help contain heavy boxes of palletized shirts that had to be shipped out. The shipping department used the cheapest roll of shrink wrap available, as that product historically was sourced from the accounting department. The product used was inferior in about every way possible except price.
To secure the load, staff members had to mummify the boxes on the skid and go around the palett eight to 10 times. Worse, large orders with multiple skids required serious hard work, making employees dizzy.
I found a better roll of shrink wrap. It was more than double the cost, but you only had to go around the box once, as the plastic stretched and pulled in better. The boxes were locked in, and staff members who performed the work loved it. Therefore, the result was a happier staff worker who used a fraction of the material to achieve the objective.
I ordered several cases, and the accounting team went ballistic. “It’s double the price!” But here’s the thing: They evaluated it from their front office chair, not the worker’s perspective. So, I had them wrap four skids, each with both types of shrink wrap.
Argument over. The accounting team finally understood that the value wasn’t in the cost of the shrink wrap but in the employee’s time and effort.
The big question here isn’t how cheap you can make something but how to improve the experience to make someone happier. The quality of the interactions, products, and time are directly proportional to the entire experience.
This can create a ripple effect that will enhance your business, boost your employees’ morale, and ultimately foster better customer loyalty.
What Does Experience Mean?
Consider this image: A customer walks into a well-organized, clean, uncluttered, and thoughtfully decorated shop, compared to one that is dark, unorganized, messy, and looks like a storm just blew through an hour ago. What do you think his first impression of that company will be?
I’ve been shops in both types of organization. Which one do you think commands a better price for their work?
Or consider the difference between receiving a personalized hand-written thank-you note as opposed to an automated generic response. Believe it or not, these small, seemingly insignificant differences can transform a mundane interaction into a memorable experience.
When you invest in creating a better experience, you are not throwing money at problems. It means that you understand quality and care make a difference. It acknowledges that people, whether your customers, employees, or even yourself, simply are not looking for the cheapest option; they are searching for something that resonates with them and makes them feel valued.
When the shrink-wrap experiment ended, the shipping department team knew the company valued their time and effort and understood their challenges. I know this because they thanked me for improving their day.
Insights on Happiness and Value Perception
Why do people value experiences over material costs? Think about it. This is true in your life and shows up in the phone you use, the clothes you wear, the car you drive, and the restaurants you enjoy on a Friday night.
It’s rooted in human psychology. The “peak-end rule” concept explains why a person will remember an experience based on the most intense point and the ultimate conclusion. For instance, you might not remember how your meal tasted at a restaurant four months ago, but you sure remember that jerk waiter.
This is where “perceived value” plays a crucial role. People often equate price with quality. When better materials, enhanced customer service, and a more pleasant experience are used, customers and employees will know they are worth the investment.
This perceived value justifies a higher price point and can create a deeper emotional connection with your brand. When a company doesn’t do an excellent job of creating this but still prices as it does, customers walk away because “it is not worth the money.”
Here’s a question to consider: Is the experience of working with your company in alignment with the prices and profit you desire? What type of experience should you create to be the highest-priced and most profitable business with customers lined up around the block to work with you?
What’s the difference between:
- Mercedes Benz and Buick
- Target and Walmart
- Ritz-Carlton and Springhill Suites
- Dollar General and Saks Fifth Avenue
- Chik-fil-A and Wendy’s
- Apple and Dell
- Disney and Six Flags
- Uber and a Taxi
Action Steps You Can Take Now
1. Invest in Employee Well-Being
It is a known fact that happy employees are more productive, creative, and willing to go the extra mile for customers. What is it like to work in your company? Is your staff truly happy?
There are several ideas to try:
- Provide a more comfortable workspace. Look at your ergonomics, lighting, temperature, and decor. What can you change to improve them?
- Create a positive work environment. Is there someone or something that brings everyone down constantly? What would life be like if that challenge wasn’t there?
- Recognize efforts. When was the last time you said, “Thank you?” Are you acknowledging learning or career milestones? If so, how are you doing that?
- Invest in professional development. What are you doing continuously to upskill your staff and keep them relevant in the industry?
- Offer competitive compensation, benefits, and perks. If someone working at a local Subway sandwich shop or grocery store makes the same or more than your staff, you may have a problem keeping great employees.
2. Enhance Your Customer Experience
What are you doing right now to differentiate your company from your competitors? Yes, everyone can screen print a shirt. With quality printing. By Friday. It is the lowest common denominator.
Want happier customers that will stay loyal? Build a better experience for them.
Here’s some ideas to try:
- Personalize interactions. When printing samples, use the customer’s name or logo to show new ideas or decoration methods. Go the extra mile to let the client know you made it personally for him.
- Bring thoughtful ideas to the table. Don’t wait for a purchase order. Come up with great ideas regularly to save time, make money, or benefit your customers. This is your job.
- Add thoughtful touches. Use a CRM tool to keep track of the client’s personal information. What can you do today to make him feel special, seen, and heard?
- Beat the clock. Whatever you say you are going to do, always try to be early. If you say you will get back to the customer by the end of the day, your internal clock is by noon.
- Be yourself. People like to do business with other people. Relax. Your personality will win customers over. Don’t try to be someone you are not.
- See your company from the client’s point of view. What is it like to do business with you? Eliminate friction points.
3. Create a High-Quality Product
Want better customers? Insert craftsmanship into everything you do. People pay attention to how things are presented and built.
Quality control is essential. Are you demanding in your shop’s processes — not just in production but in every department?
- You can’t manage what you don’t measure. What do you need to focus on? Have KPIs that matter.
- Use better materials. Often, the benefits of better ingredients outweigh the costs.
- Be effective, not efficient. Efficiency means you quickly can print the wrong side of a shirt while being effective means you printed it on the correct side. One is better than the other.
- Invest time in training and understanding the right way to do something. Years of experience doing something doesn’t necessarily mean it was handled correctly. Plenty of printers have years of experience doing the wrong things.
- Look out for the “new.” Our industry supply chain constantly is devising better and different ways of solving problems and doing work. Are you keeping up?
4. Create a Positive Company Culture
It is no secret that the best companies attract top talent. Peter Drucker was right, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This doesn’t happen by accident.
In your business, cultivate a culture that values collaboration, innovation, and respect. Openly discuss and celebrate these values constantly.
Encourage curiosity. When you get employees curious about solving their own problems, you win.
Teamwork makes the dream work. Do you have staff that will help each other without being asked? Champion that behavior.
“Complaining without offering a solution is whining.” Be solution-based.
Have fun. This isn’t brain surgery. Create an atmosphere in your business where people enjoy coming to work.
5. Self-Investment
Sorry to break this to you, but you hold the key to your own happiness. What do you need to be happier?
- Find a source of knowledge for improvement: a coach, a community, books, videos, or even colleagues. The better ones hold you accountable and bring you things you might not be ready yet to learn. Expose yourself to bigger ideas.
- Industry education is your responsibility. What are you doing about it?
- Take time for self-care. Get away when you can. Mental health is a real thing.
- Prioritize what is important. Learn to delegate. Quit doing chore work and concentrate on what will move the needle.
- Sleep. You cannot function without it.
- Be open and honest with yourself. It is 100% OK to ask for help.
The ROI of Happiness
A challenge in investing in the notion of happiness is the difficulty in measuring the return on investment (ROI). After all, you must keep those accountants happy, too. However, several practical metrics are available that you can use to gauge the impact of your efforts.
Customer Retention Rates: Build a database of your customers’ buying habits and compare them before your initiatives and after you implement customer experience enhancements. A rise in repeat customers indicates loyalty.
Employee Turnover: Monitor employee retention and job satisfaction. Use survey responses to gauge their opinions and happiness levels. Lower turnover rates often will correlate with a more positive workplace environment.
Customer Satisfaction Scores: Use surveys and in-person discussions to assess customers’ satisfaction. After investing in quality improvements, changes in these scores can tell you whether their opinion of your efforts is worthwhile.
Referrals: Keep track of customer referrals. When a customer is happy with his relationship with you and refers you to another company, that reflects your efforts. More referrals can equate to more happiness.
Keep Happy Thoughts: Happiness isn’t cheap, but it can be worth every penny. It is found in the experiences that you can create and the values you uphold. So, the next time you are tempted to cut corners, ask yourself, “How cheap is my happiness?” And, more importantly, “How valuable is the experience I’m providing?”
If you invest the time and effort in happiness, you’ll find the dividends are paid not only in dollars but also in joy, satisfaction, and loyalty. Shifting the focus from cost to value can transform your business.
By investing in the quality of the experiences for your customers, employees, and yourself, you can create a brand that stands for something more than the bottom line. It stands for happiness, satisfaction, and the commitment to excellence that money can’t buy.