Creating “WOW” moments for your customers
“All the world is a stage and we are merely players” ~ Shakespeare
Ten years ago I read The Experience Economy and it profoundly changed my outlook on business. The idea that the last frontier for real business growth was the experience, that our economy was blowing right by products, goods and services, was like a beacon of excitement and opportunity for me. Like many people, I work for and frequent service organizations – whether it’s eating at a restaurant, opting for a new hair style or visiting my doctor’s office. My expectations of not only the service, but the entire experience at each business, differed widely. However, after reading this book, I had an “aha” moment.
Hardly ever, in all the years I visited these different service businesses did I have a consistent, phenomenal, pure “WOW” experience. Oh sure, once every year I would be completely impressed with an organization (more likely one person at the organization) for exceeding my expectations. However, this almost never happened twice. My experience changed depending on the facility I went to or the waitress, stylist or doctor I saw.
And this got me to thinking, is it really possible to deliver a “WOW” experience for every kind of person, each time they interact with your business? According to The Experience Economy, the answer is yes – if people and the organizations they work for deliberately choreograph how they interact with their unique customers and free their employees and staff to deliver on their brand promise.
In the decade since I’ve read that book, new customer experience concepts have taken on life in some industries and businesses. Some have experienced more success than others. The healthcare industry, with few exceptions, has just started to emigrate to this “experience way of thinking.” The following article shares a case study of how one healthcare organization is intentionally designing experiences and the resulting success that has come with it – Designing the perfect health care clinic.
