Creating Moments of Wow: How to amaze customers in 5 steps

People will only talk about a company if something extraordinary happens — something they didn’t expect. Here is a five-step process for systematically generating such ‚Moments of Wow‘.

The Premise

Satisfying customers is not enough to be worth mentioning. More than 2/3 of all companies satisfy customers by meeting their needs and expectations. So what can we do to make people talk about us?

The Expectation Spectrum

Only what exceeds our expectations, for better or worse, finds its way into our everyday conversations. We simply do not talk about what everyone thinks is normal.

However, customer expectations aren’t a flat line to be reached. It is a spectrum and it consists of three parts.

• the lower limit
• the upper limit
• average expectations.

Any experience that falls within this spectrum is considered normal and therefore not worth mentioning. Only when the experience with a company or product exceeds the limits of this spectrum does it become noteworthy.

Moments of wow occur above the upper expectation limit.

Four Ways To Increase Your Absolute Relevance

Generally, there are many ways to increase your company’s absolute relevance and make your business matter. Here are four approaches:

#1 Map out your customer‘s journey

Start with mapping out each phase of your customer‘s journey. Here is an example of a classic division of this journey:

• Discovery of a company
• First contact (direct or indirect)
• Subsequent interactions
• The sale
• Receipt of the product
• First use
• General use
• Maintenance
• Disposal
• Recommendation

#2 Identify every touchpoint in each phase

A touchpoint (or point of contact) generally refers to any interface between a company and potential, existing or former customers. List every touchpoint at every step:

• Website
• Social media
• Service hotline
• Employees
• Points of sale
• Brochures
• Advertising
• Packaging
• E-Mail

#3 List every expectation customers (might) have at each step and every touchpoint

Try to describe the general expectation at each step. Ask yourself:

• What are their questions and thoughts?
• How do they feel?
• What is bothering them?
• What are they interested in?
• What is considered bad, normal and great at each step?

#4 Rate how well you and your competitors meet customer expectations

Evaluate how well your company and your competitors meet your customers‘ expectations. Create a simple three-level ranking to assess your level of satisfaction and that of your competitors, e.g. low, medium, high, or award points from 1 to 3 (do not overcomplicate).

1 point: Expectations not met
2 points: Expectations met
3 points: Expectations exceeded

#5 Consider opportunities for wowing customers by exceeding their expectations

Moments where either no one or (preferably) your competitors fail to meet customer expectations offer great potential for Moments of Wow, as the bar to create a memorable experience is much lower.

But there is also the potential for Moments of Wow when all expectations are already met.

Want more advice on becoming the one for your customers? Consider hiring us for a keynote speech, workshop or in-person consulting.