Guests Need This One Connection

Editors Note: During our August focus on Guest Experiences, we are honored to have some of the best voices in the world of Customer Experience provide guest posts for the Vision Room. As you read the content below, simply think “Guest” in terms of the “customer” the author is talking about – and you will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of some great minds.


A good movie has the power to make us laugh, cry, angry, hungry, or even want to quit our job, unplug, and live in the wilderness for the rest of our natural life.

A lot goes into a movie to make us feel so emotionally invested that we’ll want to tell our friends about our experience immediately.

  • We’ll tweet about it…
  • Share our critiques on Facebook…
  • Or, go straight to Instagram Live
    • …with a face still glowing from all the excitement!

For this reason, the entertainment industry spends more time studying one aspect even more than the most advanced visual effects or new camera angles:

Human emotion!

Why?

It’s because an emotional connection is the most potent and influential connection possible.

To make 1997’s Titanic, it cost a staggering $200 million. (In 1997 dollars!)

However, not very many people stepped out of the theatre marveling over the fact that a special Russian submarine was used or every detail on the ship matched the original Titanic down to the doorknob. The audience walked out in a trance, swooning over Jack and Rose’s romance, saddened by the massive loss of life — or enraged that Jack’s death could have been prevented had Rose just shared the door she was floating on!

  • The fact is, people rarely remember the details.
  • But they will remember how something made them feel.
    • And that’s why ALL business is “show business.”

It has come to the point where we have created a culture of customers who demand compelling experiences whenever they do business.

Regardless of your industry, what your product or service is, you’re selling an experience.

The entertainment business has already unlocked this secret and recognize that the more powerful the connection, the greater the success. Ultimately, to succeed individually and organizationally, you need to change the way you relate to customers and employees.

And I’m not saying that you should be more entertaining. Entertainment, after all, isn’t all song and dance, explosions or slapstick. A CEO isn’t expected to be a stand-up comedian at corporate meetings, and a barista isn’t supposed to break out in song the next time someone orders a latte.

However, there are industries such as retail or hospitality who will find that by increasing humor and fun, they’re creating and enhancing their connection with customers and employees. And a B2B organization or an insurance firm may find that by showing genuine care, concern, and empathy, an emotional bond is formed because the clients feel their unique challenges are understood and being taken care of.

To approach your business as “show business” is not to be confused with putting on an act, being overly dramatic, or being fake.

  • It’s about differentiating yourself from the competition by understanding your clients in the same way that show business understands their audience.
  • It’s about creating specific strategies based on your customer’s distinct preference in order to deliver experiences that are compelling and engaging.

It’s about taking what we can learn from the entertainment business and leverage that insight into building strong and lasting emotional connections with our clients and colleagues.

> Read more from Scott.


Learn more about the power of connecting with your Guests – start a conversation with Guest Experience Navigator Bob Adams.


Want to learn how to create an EXCEPTIONAL Guest Experience at your church? Check out Auxano’s Guest Experience Boot Camp in Cincinnati, OH on August 7-8.


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott McKain

Scott McKain

Scott McKain is an internationally known authority who helps organizations create distinction in every phase of business and teaches the “Ultimate Customer Experience.” His keynote presentations benefit from three decades of experience, combined with his innate talent for articulating successful ideas. McKain has spoken before and consulted for the world’s most influential corporations. Scott McKain creates captivating presentations and bestselling books which clearly reveal how to create more compelling connections between you and your customers and how to stand out and move up, regardless of the economic climate in your industry.

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— Abel Singbeh
 
comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you Ed for sharing your insights into the Church Growth Movement. I have my reservations with Church Growth models because it has done more damage than good in the Body of Christ. Over the years, western churches are more focused on results, formulas and processes with little or no emphasis on membership and church discipline. Pastors and vocational leaders are burnt out because they're overworked. I do believe that the Church Growth model is a catalyst to two destructive groups: The New Apostolic Reformation and the Emerging Church. Both groups overlap and have a very loose definition. They're both focus on contemporary worship, expansion of church brand (franchising), and mobilizing volunteering members as 'leaders' to grow their ministry. Little focus on biblical study, apologetics and genuine missional work with no agenda besides preaching of the gospel.
 
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comment_post_ID); ?> Thank you for sharing such a good article. It is a great lesson I learned from this article. I am one of the leaders in Emmanuel united church of Ethiopia (A denomination with more-than 780 local churches through out the country). I am preparing a presentation on succession planning for local church leaders. It will help me for preparation If you send me more resources and recommend me books to read on the topic. I hope we may collaborate in advancing leadership capacity of our church. God Bless You and Your Ministry.
 
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