In the past few months, I’ve been to several concerts. I’d say the entertainers were legends in the industry. Two of them were Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr (of the Beatles). Both are talented beyond words. They both have successful careers. They have both been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s important for you to know this, just in case you don’t know who they are. It’s a generational thing. If you were born in this century, you probably don’t know either of them, but trust me, they are rock stars and legends!
There was a difference in their shows.
Bob Dylan came out and played. He barely spoke a word to the audience. His music was enough for his true fans. But for some of us who saw the legend for the first time, we might have expected more than just songs. If all we wanted was the music, we could have listened to his albums on iTunes or Spotify.
Ringo Starr, on the other hand, did more than just play songs. He brought energy and enthusiasm to the stage. While he and his all-star band played their most popular songs, there was more to the show. He shared commentary and stories, so the audience felt they had a glimpse into the personality of one of the most famous and iconic musicians on the planet.
This is the lead-in to today’s lesson, which is to understand the difference between experiencing a company or brand, and simply doing business with it.
The concert examples are not unlike two companies competing for a customer’s business. A company that doesn’t showcase its “personality” may be missing an opportunity to create a personal connection.
If you want to see this in action, go visit a Trader Joe’s grocery store and ask several of the crew members – their term for employees – some questions. Experience their reputation for fun, which goes beyond the employees’ personalities and includes a uniform, which is a somewhat “loud” Hawaiian shirt.
So, which company or brand are you?
You don’t need outgoing employees wearing loud Hawaiian shirts for a customer to experience your brand. The point is to do something that makes the customer feel as if they are experiencing more than, for lack of a better description, placing an order and having it fulfilled. The distinction between merely conducting business with a company and truly experiencing it lies in the unique personality and engagement the company and its employees bring to every interaction.
Related: Potential Pitfall: The Impact of Lengthy Surveys on Customer Retention