Everyone knows what you do, right? Nope.

I have had the great pleasure of meeting with dozens of business leaders and local employees in my first three weeks. There have been lunches, coffees and drop-ins, and each time I have met someone new I let them tell me their story.

I am starving for information on the businesses in the southern Midcoast region, so I am always carefully listening to how they describe themselves. Usually a business, and the ones that deal with tourists specifically, will give a little tagline such as “we’re the oldest retail store in the district” or “we’re the only supplier of that line of product in New England” and so on.

It is one of my great joys to listen to how people describe their business that they are so very passionate about. They try to be proud and humble at the same time, though sometimes the former exceeds the latter, it’s still endearing.

Too often though, I find one thing to be true. There’s a great fallacy that businesses think everyone knows what service they provide, or what they sell. They have told their story so many times, surely this person in front of them has heard it. They assume since they hung a sign, that everyone has read it, or because they put an ad on radio or TV that everyone has heard it, but that’s simply not true.

Let me bluntly tell you one of the great secrets: you are likely giving people much more credit for paying attention than they probably deserve.

In this time, when couples go out to dinner and spend it texting other people on their phones, you can be sure they probably didn’t scrutinize the menu. And that’s OK, as long as we understand who these customers are.

Sixty percent or more of your business is likely regulars, but the rest are not. If they haven’t purchased from you before, you have a right to tell them exactly what you do and why you are so proud of it. You need to recognize it as an opportunity. Your most important question could be “Have you been here before?” not “Can I help you?” If they don’t know what you offer, they might not know what they need help with.

Razzle-dazzle them. Get them as excited about your product or service as you are, and in doing so, you may create a lifelong customer.

CORY KING is executive director of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber.

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