Engineered WOW’s

Engineered WOW’s

What’s a WOW? WOW is a surprise of an elevated magnitude. WOW can be positive. “WOW…that was amazing!”  But WOW can also be negative.  It could be, “WOW…that was awful! I can’t believe how bad it was.”

When someone is WOWed, it’s a gut reaction. They’re not thinking about it. Even babies that don’t yet speak…say WOW! While you CAN’T force  WOW  …  you CAN engineer your customer journey to result in a WOW reaction for your customer.

It requires being very thoughtful of your customer and the journey they are on with your business. You cannot convince someone to be WOWed. WOW comes from a genuine place inside of each of us.

I’m going to show you a few different ways that you can optimize your customer experience …and engineer WOW into your customer journey. The idea behind this concept is that it’s planned out in advance for you (there’s nothing spontaneous for you) and it’s an unexpected surprise for the other person – your customer.

It’s very easy to do and the payoff is awesome!

1. Identify your most valued relationships.

They can be personal relationships or business relationships (customer, employees, partners, vendors, etc.,) whichever relationships are important to you.

2. Pick what you can do fore each that creates value

(Remember, they must perceive the value…it’s about them, not you!

3. Schedule when and how your ideas will happen.

There’s one important rule: You must avoid obvious and expected times to get the impact.  For example, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day…  there’s already an expectation. That’s not necessarily a WOW moment.  You must find moments that are NOT EXPECTED.

I started doing this about 15 years ago, first in personal relationships. On New Year’s Day, I’d come up with 6 or 7 cool things that I’d do for my spouse … and I’d schedule them all on that day and set calendar reminders for me.

For example, I bought tickets to a Broadway show, booked reservations at a restaurant, had flowers set up to be delivered to my spouse at work and so on. Every  single  time  this  happened,  there  was  a  WOW  reaction.  My spouse felt special, cared for, and appreciated.

Of course, it doesn’t always have to be “stuff” that you’re buying.  I can be special time that you carve out, sending a handwritten note, etc. It is the thinking about the person and putting the process in place up-front that makes it work.

In business…this process allows it to become part of the routine…not something that creates extra work for you or that’s hard to do. When I started using this model in my business for our top clients, the results were off the charts!

Sometimes, we sent gifts, take them to a sporting event, or a concert, but many times, it was just checking in on them. We’d send a special email or handwritten note.   We’d drop by their office to have lunch. We’d send them a book that we knew they’d find interesting…  It was about  knowing  them,  and  the  different things that were  going  on in their lives…and  providing  some  extra  value  when they least expected it.

I am confident that those acts of Engineered WOW’s transformed my business and the relationships that I’ve had for decades. When you take an active role in understanding and learning about your most important relationships, and providing special, surprise value, it’s amazing.