The flattering mirror

I went into a restaurant recently with my wife, who went to the bathroom and came back looking rather pleased. I asked her what was up and she told me there was a 'nice mirror' in the bathroom. She had looked at herself in it and somehow she seemed to look better than usual.

My wife always looks good and is not vain, and her observation stood out because she very seldom makes such comments. She is very observant, so clearly something was different. We chatted about what might be the cause and came up with thoughts, such as the possibility of less harsh lighting than usual (bathrooms are often quite stark), a slightly concave mirror (which would make people look a little thinner), and a slight ripple in the glass that softens the reflected image.

Whatever the cause, I wondered if it was deliberate and thought it a brilliantly simple way of creating happy customers. How many people have gone to the bathroom there and left with a warm glow, perhaps not realizing why, and then transferring the good feelings to the restaurant and the food? Of course the result would likely be them returning there and recommending it to others. And all because some smart person thought of a neat way to make customers feel good.

And what about mirror manufacturers? And home bathroom designers? You could sell such mirrors into many places. There's a simple equation here: Making customers feel good = more business, more profit. Anyone with customers can consider at everything the customer does when connected in any way with the brand and think: How can I make them feel good here?

Quick links

The ChangingMinds Blog!