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Experiential Element: Surprise

Surprise is one of those things that can take an experience to a higher level. It’s the joke that catches you off guard, the unexpected guest on stage, the freebie that is generously provided, or an unexpectedly comfortable environment.

Surprise is the element that makes us say:
• “I never expected that”
• “I can’t believe they just did that”, or simply
• “Wow, I wonder what they’ll do next time?”

All these responses are almost guaranteed to bring a smile—and to make someone want to come back, purchase your product, or simply be open to the impact of your message.

It doesn’t necessarily take a lot to create a little surprise. My wife and I went out for an anniversary dinner the other night and our waiter took the time to explain to us how the dishes were prepared. He was knowledgeable, engaging, interesting and even humorous in how he described them. It was a nice little surprise that added to our experience (and the food was good, too).

Surprise creates a sense that someone (you) did something over and above the simple requirement to make them (your customer) a little happier. It communicates, “Hey, they’re thinking of me”. And it’s one element that raises the expected, status quo into an experience that people will remember.

What can we do to create an element of surprise in our offerings? What would it take to give a little surprise next time?

I’d love to hear about times you’ve experienced an unexpected surprise. What was it? How did it make you feel? Please join the fun and add your comments. Thanks.

Pickles, Potbellies & Respect

All I wanted was a pickle.

Honest.

What I got was a lesson on one of the foundational elements that makes a great experience…or not.

For those living in the mid-west, you likely know about the joy that is Potbelly Sandwich Works—a fast-growing chain of over 200 restaurants that serves really, really good sandwiches. I love Potbelly, but not too long ago I had a disappointing experience there when I ordered, of all things, a pickle, with my meal.

Now, the reality is that it really wasn’t about the pickle, but rather the disrespectful way I was treated in the process of ordering it.

I was so disappointed that I wrote a letter to Potbelly’s CEO, Bryant Keil, to make him aware of my disappointment. Rather than tell the entire story in this post, you can read my letter here. It tells the whole story (and I think it was a pretty good letter, if I do say so myself).

As I mention in my letter, respect is one of those key elements that lay the critical foundation for a good experience. Without it, it doesn’t matter how good your product, conference, environment, church service, business meeting (or whatever) is. All bets are off.

Can I get a little “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”?

[UPDATE: To read Potbelly's response, click here.]

Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re My Only Hope.

Ever since I saw Star Wars as a kid, I wanted to be a hologram. Or, I wanted to be projected as a hologram. Princess Leia’s desperate plea for help to Obi-Wan was too cool back in 1977.

Well, it looks like the wait just might be over. I came across this technology and thought it was absolutely amazing. It seems a company in the U.K. called Musion has been doing hologram projection and communication for a while now.

Not only that, but there can be two-way communication using this technology. It also appears the subject can be:
• Live
• Pre-recorded
• Graphic or
• Virtual

If you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve got to check out this video (click here) where they used holograms on-stage at a live event for Cisco. The live on-stage presenter actually had an interactive conversation with the “hologram guys”—live.

The implications for special events, virtual presentation, advertising and entertainment are staggering. The only limitations are the imaginations of the people using this technology.

Amazing.

There are several other clips of how Musion has used their technology on their site. I especially liked the clip from the FIFPro XI World Player Awards. Click around their site a bit and see if it doesn’t knock your socks off. I know it did mine.

Living in the Experience Economy

As our culture and economy continue to change and evolve, it’s becoming more and more apparent that if a company is going to compete for much-coveted business, they will have to go beyond simply offering their products, services or communication, and position their offerings around experiences they create for their customers.

At Transperia, our focus is on helping clients create transformational experiences to help them achieve their business results. It takes a lot of different forms, but often deals with live events, media or project consultation.

Our philosophy has been influenced by many different sources, but we would be remiss to not mention the impact of Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s pivotal book, “The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage”. It’s an amazing book that continues to grow in influence, even though it’s been in print for almost 10 years.

One of the beauties of the book is that Pine & Gilmore have given language to a lot of concepts that many of us have intuitively sensed for a long time.

If you haven’t read it yet, get it. It will help bring focus to you as you consider how to create meaningful experiences for the people you’re trying to reach.

Pine & Gilmore also have a new book out called, “Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want”. I haven’t read it yet, but when I got a chance to spend the day with Joe Pine last year, he told me a little about it. It sounds great.

In The Beginning…

Our world changes at a rate that’s no longer possible to measure or adequately describe (“speed of sound”, “speed of light”, etc. don’t seem to cut it anymore). And it’s becoming more and more difficult to distinguish our message and products in a culture/marketplace/business environment that is constantly in flux.

The competition for our attention and affections is getting tougher by the minute. More and more, what is required to differentiate a product, event or service is the experience that we create for people.

It used to be that our offerings would stand out if they were of excellent quality, were highly creative, or unique in some way. No longer. Today’s economy requires us to go beyond these expected qualities and provide an experience for people that transcends the status quo, engages them personally, excites their senses and becomes, in a word, memorable.

The Art of Experience is an ongoing dialogue in how to create experiences for our audiences (customers, employees, conference attendees…) that will not only engage them, but also change and transform them, and bring about the outcomes we’re hoping for.

Transperia Group (the sponsor of this forum) gets its very name from the concept of creating “transformational experiences” to drive the results we are after.

So, what creates a “transformational experience”? What does it take to move beyond the status quo and enter the realm of “experience”? That’s what we’re hoping to discuss in this blog. Some categories that we’ll cover are:

• Creativity
• Innovation
• Communication
• Technology

The topics may vary, but in general, we’re looking for things that will help us move beyond the normal and mundane, and will inspire us in the art of creating effective experiences.

Of course, we want this to be a multi-way conversation. Please join in. If you have new ideas to add, great. If you disagree with opinions stated here, great. If you want to share your experiences with “experience”, great. We’d love to have you join in the fun.

Thanks for dropping by. Here’s to some stimulating conversation.

Mark T. Bennardo
Transperia Group, Inc.

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