How Do You Make Your Clients Feel?
October 17th, 2011Last week Apple released its newest product, the iPhone 4S. By all accounts, this is a great phone, but it’s believed to be an intermediate step between the venerable iPhone 4 and the already highly-anticipated iPhone 5. Still, preorders for the 4S were the highest of any Apple iPhone to date.
As the release date neared, once again people lined up at Apple stores around the world, hoping to be one of the first to get the new phone. Once again, the world watched. The lines of Apple fans were shown on television newscasts. Videos appeared on news web sites, You Tube, and others. Newspapers and business journals covered the event. All this over the release of a cell phone.
If you are not an Apple fan, you’re probably wondering why — why the world was so interested in the release of a phone that is merely a step up from what was already available. Other phones are issued all the time, but they don’t get this kind of attention. Occasionally one gets some hype, to be sure. But not like the iPhone does. Why is that?
If you’re an Apple fanatic, you get it. There is something special about Apple and its products — something you’ve experienced. Certainly people love other products. The Ford Mustang comes to mind. But do Mustang fans love Ford? Do they line up each year to be the first to buy what would simply be the newest edition Mustang? For the most part, no.
Apple’s success is the result of more than just creating products that people enjoy. It is the result of more than just developing entirely new means of communicating and being entertained. It is the result of more than just great publicity campaigns. Apple’s success is the result of creating a culture — a culture that begins at the top and emanates throughout the company. A culture that is infused in its products. A culture that radiates all the way to the end users.
Think about the coverage that the 4S received after its release on October 14. Sure some of it pertained to the phone itself. But much of it focused on the Apple fans, eagerly waiting to buy a product they could get the next day or next week, at the latest. The videos, photos, and reports featured the rising level of excitement as the clock neared the opening hours of stores in Tokyo and Sydney. They highlighted the fans walking through two lines leading up to the doors – lines consisting of Apple employees who greeted, applauded, and cheered the fans. They showed people who were ecstatic about being one of the first to own a 4S, jumping into the arms of Apple employees.
This article, however, is not about Apple. It’s about you. It’s about asking you how you make your clients say, “Wow!” It’s about asking you how you can make them thrilled that they do business with you. It’s about asking you how you can connect with them on an emotional level.
The answers are not easy to define, but there are answers. You must, however, go beyond the fact that you are providing a service. You indeed must search for that emotional connection. Perhaps your service allows them to accomplish goals or dreams that they otherwise would not have achieved. Maybe you provide the opportunity for them to spend more time with their families or enjoying their hobbies. You might provide a service that simply relieves them of things they see as mundane tasks. Whatever it may be, tap into the emotional side. Get them excited. Yes, even about things as bland as tax returns or consulting. When you do, you’ll be amazed at the gratitude they will express, the greater number of referrals you’ll receive, and the renewed excitement you will have for your business.
In case you’re wondering, I am writing this on a MacBook Pro and my iPhone 4 is in front of me on my desk. And, as you may imagine, I am chomping at the bit for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 to be released.