I am a Starbucks junkie.
I mean, I LOVE Starbucks.
I am a Starbucks brand evangelist. I talk about Starbucks, I buy people Starbucks gift cards and I use Starbucks as my virtual office.
Why do I love Starbucks so much? Especially when they charge twice as much as their competitors?
It’s because of the experience they provide.
When I walk in the doors of my local Starbucks, I feel something. I feel connected. I feel like I’m part of the cool Starbucks culture.
I hear music I like playing in the background. I see my favourite table with the little desk light and plugin for my laptop. I see fellow entrepreneurs like me spending their morning with a Venti Americano (my drink of choice) hammering out their latest business brilliance. I feel like I’m with my people. And so I shell out $4 for a coffee, when I could get one for half that somewhere else.
It is an experience. And an experience I like.
Make no mistake. This is incredibly intentional on Stabucks’ part. They have meticulously thought out every last detail on what kind of experience they want their customers to have. It’s why they are one of the leading brands in the world.
From the food they offer to the drink names to the merchandise they sell to their hiring practices – it is all part of the Starbucks experience.
As a small business owner, it’s in your best interest to start thinking like Starbucks. Creating a powerful brand experience is not reserved for the big guys – every entrepreneur needs to start thinking about their brand experience.
The reality is that you can literally catapult yourself ahead of the competition by taking a page from Starbucks and asking yourself the following questions:
What experience do I provide my customers or clients?
How do I make them feel?
How can I create an experience so memorable that they continue to buy from me, champion me and promote me?
People are emotional beings and make decisions (particularly buying decisions) less on logic and more on emotions.
Use this to your advantage.
Here are some ways you can start to create a stand-out brand experience:
- Think about the details. What are the little things you could add that would make a big difference? Do you mail all new clients a hand-written thank you card? Or is your customer service over-the-top remarkable?
- Focus on consistency. You can differentiate yourself simply by showing up consistently and doing what you say you’re going to do. This has become the exception, not the norm in business and it’s a powerful way to stand out.
- What do you want your brand to stand for? Identify that and then create an experience that reflects it. Apple is all about innovation and clean design. Walking into an Apple store, you are swept up in the clean, white environment with the latest tech gadget available to play with.
- What do you want people to feel when they experience your brand? Think about that core emotion and use it when you write your blog posts, craft your web and promotional content, and create your sales offers.
- Can you engage more than one sense? People are multi-sensory beings and if you have the ability to tap into more than one sense, use it. This could be adding audio or video to your website.
Get creative and find ways you can start to amp up the experience your right people have when they engage in your business. Do this, and you’ll have customers for life.
