The customer experience is the launching pad for word of mouth and it is so important that we include it in our marketing model. But you should shoot for creating more than just a good customer experience, you goal should be to create a memorable customer experience that your customers have to talk about. To accomplish this, you need “Magic Spots.”
Map out your customer's experience to maximize its potential. At The Marketing Spot, we have developed a customer experience map divided into five sections: preconception, introduction, interaction, purchase, and adoption/expansion/referral. In each of these five "rest spots" on the customer experience road, you should build in one Magic Spot. This will give your customers an anchor point to remember and talk about later.
A magic spot is a specific moment that is above ordinary or good. It is a mini event that your customer will recall during a future conversation. It is the moment at Disney World where your child got to shake Mickey's hand and get his picture taken with the big mouse. It is that free shoulder massage you got while you waited for your haircut at the barber shop.
Good service or quality products do not make a customer experience great. Instead, it is the number of Magic Spots your customers can recall as they relate the experience to their friends. Magic Spots are conduits between the customer experience and word of mouth. If you don't create these memorable moments, you cannot expect to get word of mouth marketing about your business (at least not positive word of mouth).
Moments are what make the customer experience memorable. Think about the last great experience you bragged about to your friends. Somewhere in that story was a Magic Spot. Now compare that to the customer experience you deliver through your business. What are you Magic Spots?
Today, take a moment to make a Magic Spot for your customers.
For more information about The Marketing Spot, see our website: www.themarketingspot.com
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The Customer Experience Map
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2 comments:
I love these types of exercises, but I am always wondering if it is truly possible to map the average customer's experience.
It almost seems that in some cases there are few customers, like market mavens, who you may need to go leaps and bounds to fulfill their requests and keep them happy.
They fall outside of the 'norm' in terms of mapping an average customer experience because they demand more.
Is there a way to address the concerns of niche customers that will literally drive business for you if you keep them happy?
Jerad, great questions!
It is not just possible to map the average customer's experience, it is necessary. The customer experience is not just something that happens. Great experiences are orchestrated in advance, but not like a sales pitch.
When designing a customer experience for the average customer, there should be room for deviations from the norm. The mapping process is not about steps that take a customer from point A to point B, it is about the emotions and memories they collect along the way.
Regarding niche customers, the process is much the same as mapping for the average customer. However, you may be using the "scenic route" rather than the interstate.
The keys are: determining how these special customers are different from the norm, drawing their map based on their unique needs, then training your employees to identify these potential mavens from the average customer.
A good example is Las Vegas casinos. Your experience can be very different with a casino depending on who you are.
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