Everyone wants to be memorable…especially if you are a business or an organization (such as a nonprofit). Sadly, most are forgotten…they aren’t memorable. Or as time goes on, there isn’t anything spectacular about them so our memory fades and we remember very little about them. Why does this happen…or more importantly, how do we stop it from happening to us?
This is easier than you think…at least to understand. Depending on your organization, it may not be quite as easy to make the necessary changes to become truly memorable. Before I dive into what the magic ingredient is to help you become “memorable,” let me open your mind up a bit more as to “why” this should matter to you.
There is no question that almost every organization wants to be memorable, especially when it comes to earning repeat business from your customers and attracting new ones. Ideally, everyone wants to be memorable and get some benefit from the investment it takes to become memorable. Maybe it helps you get more sales of a certain product or service. Or maybe you get more members to sign up or stay signed up longer. Or maybe you get more subscribers to something you are doing. Or maybe you get more donors because they remember your cause. Whatever your reason, there needs to be a payoff for being memorable or it might not be worth the time and resources you invest to make it happen.
I believe there is a very specific reason why you want to become memorable with your audience…
Word-of-Mouth.
I believe there is a very specific reason why you want to become memorable with your audience…
Word-of-Mouth.
If you are truly memorable, people talk about you. They tell others you are special and someone they should check out. When someone tells someone else about you, the likelihood of them checking you out goes up significantly. Think about a simple example using Facebook. If one of your friends posts something and tells you this was one of the most memorable events, nights, or places they have been, your first instinct will usually be to check it out for yourself. See what all the hype is about from your friend and do a bit more investigation to see if it’s something you would like. What just happened…
Word-of-Mouth.
You took their memorable event or activity and checked it out to see if it could be one you want to do as well. And this isn’t just for recreation, such as a great city, hotel, or restaurant. This works even better when you are checking out the idea of working with a new business. This could be a business that could help your own business, or further your career, or help you get some new products/services. Think broad…this works for anything and everything and is usually our most preferred method of finding something new.
Action happens when someone talks about it.
Think for a moment about why you take action and check something out. It’s because someone talked about it and now you want to check it out for yourself. Whether it is a case of FOMO from a personal perspective or it’s something you believe will help your business. Either way, you want to take action and check it out when someone you know (and trust) tells you about it.
This being the case, what “causes” you to take action and what “causes” a business or organization to be memorable?
Here's the magic formula...
Everyone remembers how you “made them feel” far deeper and longer than they will remember the “facts or features” of your product or service.
When we are able to transmit some type of feeling in whatever it is we do, we create memory. It’s the emotional side of the brain that causes us to remember something far longer and deeper than the logical side of the brain. Think about it from your own experience. If you walked into a restaurant and had the most amazing time you have ever had, what is it you are going to tell others about?
I don’t think you are going to rant and rave for very long about the food and all the ingredients and spices that went into the food, and how it was prepared (the facts). You will certainly say that the food was awesome and you loved whatever it was you had, but very few of us will ever remember all of the things they told us about the food (unless you are a chef and are focused on remembering these specific details). We might it remember immediately after and maybe the next day or week, but these facts will be a faded memory by the end of the week.
However, the one thing that won’t fade quickly, in fact it may last for a lifetime, is how the restaurant made you feel. You will remember the ambiance of the restaurant, the waitstaff, the chef, how they made you feel so special and important, and how great they were in taking care of you. And if it was a special event like a birthday, you will never remember what you had for dessert but you will remember how they sang to you and made you feel like the most important person in the restaurant that night. Maybe you even got up to dance or something else that gave you an incredible feeling.
What you remember…for a long time…is how you felt, not what you ate. The “facts fade” but the “emotional connection grows.”
Challenge yourself...
Take a moment and challenge yourself with this in your own memory and I think you will see very quickly how this works. Think back to one of the most memorable experiences you had at a restaurant…a year ago or more. I know one will immediately pop into your mind immediately. What are you remembering? You might remember, in general, that you had a steak (since it was a steakhouse) and maybe the dessert if it was something flaming or unique. But that’s about it…no spices, no side dishes, no other details. What you will remember, without question, is how you felt that night in the restaurant. How special it was, how much fun it was, how you were treated, how you laughed, and how you felt so special and important on that night. This is what will be burned into your memory for a very long time.
The experience you give your customers (business or organization) isn’t any different. Customers remember how you “made them feel” far deeper and far longer than “the facts and details.”
Now you know what the magic is and the answer to the question. Making it happen in your own business or organization is a different story. It doesn’t just happen. It takes work…real work.
Here’s a simple way to think about this within any organization. Everyone (even non-profits) have a sales and marketing team. Often these teams are trained to know the “features and functions” of their products or services. After all, they must be prepared to answer specific questions about these for their customers. What happens is we get so focused on “knowing” the products and services that we forget about educating our audience of customers on the most important aspect…how it will “make them feel” when using the product or service. Not just the benefits, but how it will make them feel.
Now you might be saying to yourself, “That sounds too “touchy feely” or “squishy” to me…our customers want the facts to make their decisions.” I (and your customers) would argue differently. And you, as a customer, would support this as well when you really think about it. No matter how analytical or type A you may be (I am very analytical as well), you still care about how someone or a business made you feel.
Did they make you feel more comfortable, more at ease, more excited, safer, more empowered, more in control, or a host of other options? I would bet they did. And it doesn’t matter what the product or service is either…it can be very glamorous or ordinary…it still makes you feel a certain way.
How the experience (and product/service) made you feel when you received it and when you experienced (or used) it is what is MEMORABLE.
Now the real test…think about your own business or organization. How do you and your employees make your customers feel? Do you even know? When I talk to companies about this, most don’t know. They think they might know but when we cut get into the details, they really don’t. They understand the features and functions and economic benefits…but they don’t understand how their customers really feel when interacting with them or using their product or service.
This is a huge opportunity…for just about everyone!
Creating an incredibly awesome feeling with customers is one of the core tenants of being Customer Obsessed. Those organizations who can incorporate this concept into how they treat their customers is one of the key reasons for why they are viewed as being differentiated in the minds of their customers. They understand how important it is to make their customers feel special and important. And they build their processes and experiences around the feeling they want their customers to have. This immediately differentiates them from their competitors. It is what they do on a daily basis. It is their DNA or the culture of their business. It is who they are in everything they do.
Customer Obsessed organizations make their customers feel incredibly awesome and like they are the most important customer they have. This is what allows them to become "REMARK"able and Memorable.
This is a very important reason why being Customer Obsessed leads to becoming “REMARK”able. And becoming “REMARK”able is the ultimate goal for every business…it is getting trusted word-of-mouth spread proactively by their customers. What can be better than this happening for any organization? These businesses get massive word-of-mouth that their competitors don’t get. They get talked about because these customers can communicate very clearly how these Customer Obsessed companies made them feel. They have the magic formula to becoming differentiated and getting talked about by other customers. They win.
They have become MEMORABLE in the eyes of their customers. And now their customers have something to tell others…how awesome this company makes them “feel” when they work with this particular business or organization.
The question you and your leadership team should focus on and answer is, “Do we truly want to be memorable in the eyes of our customers?” If you do, it will change your business…forever.
What To Do Next...
Did this hit a nerve for you? Did it strike a chord in you that you can relate to from being a customer yourself? Did this cause you to pause and think about your own business or organization? Did it cause you to think about who you should be sharing this article with to get their perspective? Did it cause you to want to transform your organization into one that is thought of as “memorable” to your customers?
If it did, congratulations…you have recognized one of the most important aspects of becoming differentiated and memorable…and how to get more word-of-mouth. If you want to know more, I’m happy to help you out with this if you need a boost to get started. Lots of ways to do this so that you can run with it going forward. Or if you just want to talk through it a bit more, let’s grab coffee (or lunch) sometime. The coffee (or lunch) is on you…the education and information is on me. My goal is to help save you TIME in the process if you are interested in being Customer Obsessed and becoming “REMARK”able in the process...which is my passion and goal for every company on the planet. Big goal…but it starts with one.
The only question that remains is, “Do you truly want to be memorable (and differentiated)…are you ready to be Customer Obsessed and become “REMARK”able?”
