Why You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover – Part II
In yesterday’s post I asked for your thoughts in the video that I found on Todd And’s site. I found myself having two sets of emotions about it.
On the personal side, I found myself cheering for this "underdog." And then my professional side kicked in and I got into a bit of a mental wrestling match about the whole thing.
I asked myself "What is it about this video that caused this reaction?" and "What else is going on here?" then "In what ways does this relate to how our customers perceive our offering?
What is it about this video that caused this reaction?
It was an "Idol" show. There is this nice interview with this sweet, everyday-joe kind of guy. We like him instantly. He looks like the rest of us. Then we see that it’s an "Idol" show with the "Idol" characters; Simon Cowell especially. We are set up to expect a complete train wreck. We feel bad for this guy. We watch the panel sort of cringe. We sort of cringe too. Hoping. Praying….Then the music starts. He sings. We breathe a sigh of relief and get swept away by the whole experience. Poetic justice from "Idol".
In what ways does this relate to how our customers perceive us and our offering?
As customers or in this case "observers" our opinions and perceptions are infulenced by the environment and cues that we are "fed" from the environment. In this example, you see a nice guy, an audience, and "Idol" characters. These cues already trigger several assumptions that we can make about this; this poor guy is going to get roasted in front of millions, for example. This triggers emotions. How cruel. Poor guy? What will Simon say? I can’t watch. I’m rivited. I shouldn’t be rivited., etc. He sings. It’s wonderful. What a surprise. What a fun emotional ride! I want more of that.
Real value creation comes from providing emotional gratification. Because we are all emotion junkies, it’s important to create an experience for your customer that gives them the kind of emotional response that they are after. That’s easier said than done. But this "Idol" example shows how to successfully attract customers to an emotional fix.
In your business, how do your customers feel when they interact with you? How do you want them to feel? What are all the elements in your environment that can influence these emotions? Are there opportunities for "pleasantly surprising" your customers?
Great lesson, Ivana. I loved the video.
Perhaps you can give us some examples of how to evoke emotional gratification from clients and customers.
I get the part about evoking the emotional response. In fact, I find it applicable especially to small businesses (the underdogs) trying to serve large corporate customers (who may be “pulling for” their small biz service providers).
What I don’t really know how to do is to consciously create that response. It would be helpful if you could give us some examples in the customer context to get us thinking of ways to apply it in our own businesses.
Anita
Thanks Anita! Here’s a quick recipe for creating an emotional response that will connect to your customer/client.
1. A huge dose of owner passion.
2. Diligent observation of customers and how they think
3. Realistic analysis of what your customer thinks about you
4. Create a “mantra” about the experience your business vows to create for your customer
5. Develop procedures around that mantra
6. Train your people to do it – everyday
7. Evaluate and change as needed.
OK – now I’m really going to stir the pot. I’m still not at the root of why I’m so emotional at all this. Why do we feel “bad” for this sweet guy and expect a train wreck? Because let’s face it, he doesn’t “look” like an opera star. He “looks” like a dweeby cell phone salesman. So if you saw him in a display window at the “opera star” store. Would you choose him? I’d say NO. And there in lies the marketing rub. You have to look good because first impressions count. It’s a sweet surprise if you can deliver. But you won’t get chosen if you don’t fit the expectation.