All great brands and products surprise and delight. Marketing
professionals love surprise-and-delight campaigns. A marketing
strategy that focuses on surprise and delight usually involves
randomly selecting some customer to receive a free product or
experience. But there is one thing that marketers salivate over
even more than surprise-and-delight campaigns: products that
actually surprise and delight.
Not long ago, I was meeting with a friend who talks about his
car every time I see him. About two years ago he bought his first
luxury car, and ever since, he has been evangelizing to everyone
who will listen about the features, comfort, and performance of
this car. It is clearly a surprise-and-delight product.
When I was leaving, I joked to his assistant, “Do you get
sick of hearing about that car?” She smiled in a way that told
me she was having a secret thought. I asked her what she was
thinking, and she told me, “Well, I have to say, I do wish I had
one. The other day I took it to the dealership for its regular
service and oil change. They are amazing. It’s not even my car,
but they treated me like a princess. Coffee, magazines, food
and snacks; they offered me a quiet place to work; the personal
attention never ended.” Wow. I walked away thinking, there is
a brand that has combined a surprise-and-delight product with
surprise-and-delight service.
But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a surprise-and-delight
product has to be expensive. It has nothing to do with
price. Ask people about their favorite fried chicken and you will
see the look of surprise and delight in their eyes as they tell you
why no other brand of fried chicken compares to their favorite.
Ask mothers of young children about their favorite baby stuff and
every single one of them will become animated as they tell you
about some fabulous little thing that makes their lives so much
easier. They have a disproportionate amount of appreciation for
the object, whatever it is. There it is again: surprise and delight.
Matthew Kelly
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