Focus on the Show to Make a Deeper Connection
Raving fans don’t come for the “ice cream”, they come for the line out the door
Photo by Myfanwy Owen on Unsplash
People used to buy your ice cream because it tasted good. Now they cross the street and line up at the other place. What the hell?
The difference might be what Seth Godin would call The Show. It’s the story our customers tell themselves about why they buy.
The show is the extra bit that surrounds the functional part, elevating a purchase from a transaction to an experience.
Story + Experience = Show Business
If you’re selling ice cream you’re not only exchanging a treat for money. There’s also the story you might tell (your Grandfather’s secret recipe) and the experience you create (long queues out the door) which can make your customer feel like they’re getting more than they paid for. That extra bit—that’s show business. The new economy (the connection economy) is turning most businesses into show business.
When you move from a transaction to a show, from function to connection, you’re adding far more value than ever before.
Good Doesn’t Cut It Anymore
It doesn’t matter how good you are. Everyone’s good. What else are you bringing to the table? Why will they remember you? Why will they tell their friends? Why will they connect with you?
To connect is to engage, empathise, share, feel, experience. And it’s not a one way street. When you connect, you’re not pushing, forcing or selling. You’re having a conversation. You and the customer are both involved and you’re both changed by it.
When you offer this connection, your customer gets more than the thing they bought, they also get a feeling and an experience.
That’s why you need to focus on the show you’re creating just as much as the product you’re making.
The Show is Key to Building Any Relationship
Imagine your friend is pretty hopeless in the romance department and it’s up to you to help him get a date. What advice would you give him?
You could write a detailed instruction manual, including what to wear, what to say, and what to do. But if he’s not interesting, if he’s not paying attention, if he’s just executing your advice like a robot, it won’t work. He’s got to do more than that.
It doesn't matter if he does all the right things. It’s not enough for him to be polite and well dressed. He’ll need to do something more. He’ll need to do something unique and memorable. You might say he needs to create a show.
You can give him the right tactics and advice but he’s got to make a connection if he wants to get a date. When he meets a girl, he’s got to create some interest and desire above and beyond the functional question, “Hey, do you want to sit at a table and consume a beverage?”. Every guy at the bar wants a date. Why would she meet up with him?
If the guy doesn’t create some magic, he’s got no chance. The conversation will end with no date, no relationship.
But what if he does go the extra step? What if he manages to create a little magic and generate a little interest?! Then what happens? Then he’s flipped it. Then the thing he wanted all along is the thing she wants. So now she’s thinking about him. And now he has a chance to build a relationship.
This is what all the best brands do: Apple, Nike, etc. They don’t just sell us a phone or a pair of sneakers (the functional thing). They surround the purchase with a show, and they create a connection, so we come back to them.
Focus on the Show to Make a Deeper Connection
You’ve got to do the human bit. Let your customer in. Let them understand who you are. Create a connection. Get them wanting more.
Just telling them what you do is not enough. You’re a plumber and you fix drains? So what.
You’re an ice cream shop and you have twelve different flavours? Of course you do. What else have you got to offer? Why should I cross the street to visit you?
Why are they going to chase you?
You’ve got to put on a show. Produce some magic. Something more than what they’re expecting.
And what is magic? Magic is the value you create. Magic is the way you make them feel. Magic is how you help them to change. Magic is what makes them miss you if you’re not there tomorrow.
That’s what people come to see. That’s what they’ll bring their friends to see. That’s what makes your ice cream worth lining up for instead.
If you’ve got magic, they’ll come to you again and they'll bring their friends. Because they want that feeling again and they want their friends to have that feeling too.
And they’ll tell everyone, “You can get ice cream anywhere. But this place is so good, the line goes all the way down the street.”
Your Show Matters
The show that surrounds the functional bit matters. Yes solve the problem. But wrap the solution in a bigger experience because that’s the part that makes them feel like they got more value. That’s the part that creates the connection. And that’s what can turn a transaction into a relationship.
