The brain remembers the emotional components of an experience better than any other aspect.
—John Medina
When Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011, the world didn’t just lose one of its great visionaries, but it also lost an astonishing corporate storyteller. His presentations, “Stevenotes” as they were fondly called, had all the elements of a Broadway production, including a cast, drama, heroes, villains, and props. Most people use presentations to deliver information, often dryly. Steve Jobs gave presentations that informed, educated, and entertained.
The most memorable parts of Jobs’s presentations were what I call wow moments. These wow moments were carefully scripted and exhaustively rehearsed. It took an estimated 450 hours of work and rehearsals to create and deliver the twenty-minute presentation to introduce the Lion operating system in June 2011. Jobs was fanatical about each and every element of the presentation from the lighting to the messages. He knew the content of every slide, every font, and every color that was used on every slide. But nothing was more important in a presentation than the moment when the audience would gasp and say to themselves, I need that!
No matter how sensational you think your product is, nobody is going to care if the message you’re using to communicate the product’s benefits is dry, confusing, and convoluted. Neuroscientist John Medina taught me that the brain does not pay attention to boring things. It is simply not programmed to grasp abstract concepts.
Instead he recommends creating an emotionally charged event, which is the equivalent of a mental Post-it Note for the brain. Medina says the brain’s amygdala is chockful of the neurotransmitter dopamine. So when the brain detects an emotionally charged event (e.g., joy, fear, surprise), the amygdala releases dopamine into the system that greatly aids memory and information processing. Let’s recall three of Jobs’s emotionally charged events:
When it came time to launch the Macintosh, the machine that revolutionized personal computers, Jobs wanted a television spot that would put a stamp on people’s minds. The ad agency Chiat/Day developed the famous Big-Brother-themed “1984” ad, which ran only once during Super Bowl XVIII. More than 90 million people saw the ad, and it became the most admired television ad for the next two decades. Amazingly, the ad was nearly scrapped. When Jobs previewed the ad for the Apple board in December 1983, they hated it. Apple CEO John Sculley admitted he got cold feet. Jobs eventually won the argument, of course, but the story reminds us that Jobs intuitively understood the power of emotion in building a brand.
The 1984 television ad wasn’t the only wow moment Jobs had up his sleeve. In what is still considered one of the most dramatic reveals of any product in history, Jobs introduced the Macintosh with a magician’s flourish. On January 24, 1984, the Macintosh became the first computer to introduce itself. After building the audience’s anticipation with a deftly crafted speech with IBM playing the narrative’s antagonist, Jobs whipped the audience into a frenzy of excitement. He then walked to the center of the stage where the Macintosh had been sitting in a cloth bag on a small table. Jobs pulled out the computer, attached the keyboard and mouse, and put in a floppy disk. The theme from Chariots of Fire began to play, and the words MACINTOSH INSANELY GREAT scrolled on the screen. The graphics were unlike anything anyone had ever seen on a computer. Jobs smiled, turned to the audience, and said, “We’ve done a lot of talking about Macintosh, but today, for the first time, I’d like to let Macintosh speak for itself.”1 The audience gasped and cheered as they heard the computer say, Hello, I’m Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag. Without the benefit of PowerPoint or Apple Keynote (both of which had yet to be invented), Jobs gave one of the most awe-inspiring product launches in history.
The iPod began Apple’s transformation from a computer company into a brand that would make devices to change the way we live, work, and play. On October 23, 2001, Jobs unveiled the iPod—a music player that came with 5 GB of storage, not a revolutionary advance in technology. But Jobs had a wow moment in his pocket, literally. He said 5 GB of storage was enough to carry 1,000 songs. Oh, and there was one more thing … 1,000 songs fit in your pocket. The size of the iPod—along with its ease of use—made it different. “I just happen to have one right here in my pocket,”2 said Jobs as he pulled an iPod from the front pocket of his signature blue jeans.
On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone and gave what I consider his greatest presentation. As he did twenty years earlier in the Macintosh presentation, he began by building the anticipation. “Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything,”3 he said. He reminded his audience that Apple had introduced the Macintosh, which revolutionized the computer industry, and the iPod that revolutionized the music industry. “Today we’re launching three revolutionary products of this class,” Jobs added. “The first one is a widescreen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. And the third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.” Jobs slowly repeated each of the devices once, a second time, and a third. Finally he concluded, “Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices. This is one device, and we are calling it, iPhone!”
Steve Jobs knew how to turn a presentation into an awe-inspiring and memorable event. He was the consummate salesman, and his techniques work just as well on the sales floor as they did on the presentation stage.
Siri is the personal assistant first introduced on the iPhone 4S. Siri lets you use your voice to ask questions, send messages, schedule activities, place phones calls, and much more. Because Siri knows what you say, understands what you mean, and even talks back, it provides thousands of memorable moments at Apple Stores.
Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, introduced Siri on October 4, 2011. Before Schiller revealed Siri, he spent the first twenty minutes of his presentation introducing the new iPhone 4S and its improved features: graphics, gaming, photographs, and video. “It’s the most amazing iPhone yet,”4 Schiller said. “But I haven’t told you the best feature.” And with that Schiller introduced Siri with this Twitter-friendly headline: “Siri is your intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.”
Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone software, Scott Forstall, then took the stage to demonstrate Siri. He began by asking it simple questions such as, “What is the weather like today?” Siri responded by saying, “Here is the forecast for today.” Then came the wow moment. Forstall wanted to demonstrate that Siri understands words and context, the meaning behind the words. “Do I need a raincoat today?” Forstall asked Siri. “It sure looks like rain today,” Siri responded.
Forstall continued to demonstrate context by asking Siri to find a Greek restaurant in Palo Alto. Siri returned this response: “I found fourteen Greek restaurants. Five of them are in Palo Alto. I’ve sorted them by rating.” Forstall concluded the demo with this question: “Who are you?” Siri responded, “I am a humble personal assistant.” The audience laughed and cheered. The mental Post-it had been stuck on their brains.
Apple sales professionals demonstrating the Siri technology encourage customers to challenge the personal assistant with questions. Some of the most common questions include “What is the weather like today?” or “Where can I hide a dead body? (Siri offers a flip response to the effect that it’s illegal to do that and then points you to the nearest cemetery.) But in many cases customers are challenging Siri with far more involved questions such as “What is the meaning of life?” Apple employees encourage customers to stump Siri. It becomes a game where everyone—employees and customers—is having great fun. Customers get a laugh when a Specialist will ask Siri, “Are there other smartphones?” Siri’s response: “There are other smartphones?”
Some Apple Specialists will turn it into a game with a group of customers. A Specialist demonstrating Siri to one customer might notice another customer watching and encourage the second customer to participate in the fun. Pretty soon the second customer is wowed, and a third, a fourth, and so on. Siri is one example where shared wow moments have even more impact than private moments. The employee plays an important role in the narrative.
It’s also important to customize wow moments for the customer. An Apple employee recently shared with me a time when he was talking to a business professional about the iPhone 4S and he encouraged the customer to ask Siri about a business project. The employee explained that Siri understands what you say and what you mean. The customer proceeded to describe a concept he had for a business. “Tell me about other companies with similar ideas,” he asked Siri. The personal assistant took a couple of minutes to return a response, but it gave the customer an answer that left the man in awe. The customer probed deeper. He would ask questions such as “What are the legal ramifications?” and so on. Siri would respond, “I have what I believe is your answer,” and provided a link to a legal website. Both employee and customer were pleasantly surprised. Both were learning about Siri’s capabilities at the same time. The customer had experienced a wow moment, and the employee had a new wow moment he could replicate with another customer.
If the business customer had simply picked up the phone, the sale might never have happened, because (1) he might not have considered having a conversation with the phone, and (2) he would not have thought of asking Siri business-related questions. Instead, the customer learned that Siri could be a powerful business tool but only after a well-trained employee facilitated the conversation, leading the customer to a personalized wow moment.
Connect wow moments to people’s lives. One Apple employee said that in ten minutes he sold a MacBook to a customer who had spent four years considering whether he should convert from PC to Mac. The Specialist “listened” carefully to the customer’s concerns (step four of the five steps of service) and heard some key words: photos and children. The Specialist launched into a true, personal story about his own experience with iPhoto, Apple’s photo editing and managing software that comes installed on every Mac.
The Specialist explained that he had spent one hour on iPhoto and created a gorgeous book that he had sent to one of his daughters who could not join the family for the holidays, the first time she had spent the special occasion away. The employee explained that with iPhoto he could have the book delivered on a specific date, so he timed the delivery to land on his daughter’s birthday along with a customized birthday wish. The daughter called her father in tears, the dad started crying as well, and they both shared a special moment. With one benefit and one personal story, the Specialist had created a wow moment. In less than ten minutes he had persuaded a customer to make a purchase the customer had put off for several years. It’s a true story that the Specialist had used before and will use again, provided the context is appropriate. But it’s important to note that the Specialist was armed with the wow moment. He had it and pulled it out when he needed it to close the sale.
The iPad is perfectly suited for creating wow moments, and trained Apple employees take every opportunity to create those moments. As of this writing, there are well over 140,000 apps made for the iPad. Think of something to do—for business, pleasure, or education—and there really is an app for that. Leaving a customer in awe requires probing, listening, and observing. Here are some scenarios that have played out in Apple stores.
Salesperson: Are you considering the iPad for business or pleasure?
Customer: Well, business, primarily. Although our headquarters are here in town, I’m on the road a lot meeting with clients. I also maintain our company’s blog and respond to customer e-mails. We’re a small company, so everyone needs to be a jack-of-all-trades.
Salesperson (probed, listened, and heard key words, travel and blog, before responding): I understand. Many business professionals are finding that the iPad is a powerful tool. From manufacturing to retail to services, the iPad is transforming the way companies do business. You’re a blogger, so you probably know that there are thousands of apps available for the iPad, many of which are created specifically for the platform, including a version of WordPress that allows you to create, save, publish, and schedule your posts wherever you are on the road. You can even upload images directly from your iPad. Would that be helpful?
Customer: Yes, it would be. I was out of the office four days this week, but the blog needs to be updated and right now I’m the guy who does it!
Salesperson: Congratulations on maintaining the blog. Many companies start a blog but eventually abandon it.
Customer: Oh, we have a great blog. Would you like to see it?
Salesperson: I would love to. Please show me on the iPad. (Customer shows the blog.) That is gorgeous. Nicely done. Tell me, when you were out of the office this week, did you have to access files back at the home office?
Customer: Yes, but I carry around a portable hard drive.
Salesperson: Let me show you something really cool. With the iPad I can access a remote computer with a free app called GoToMyPC. Let me show you how I have access to my home computer. (Salesperson demonstrates app.) When you get home, download the free app on your iPad, and the next time you travel, just keep your work computer on when you leave the home office and you’ll have access to all your files. No need to carry around a hard drive. Everything you need for business is all right here.
For this particular businessman, remote access to his PC became the wow moment that ultimately convinced him that the iPad was a necessary device for business productivity. Note that the salesperson did not show the customer how to play Angry Birds on the iPad. Games were not contextual to the conversation, so there was no need to bring it up. Games would not have left the customer in awe. The salesperson also took the opportunity to get the customer to touch the device when he asked to see the company blog, and instead of simply describing the remote access app, the salesperson showed the customer how it works in the real world. Finally the salesperson began using language that assumed the customer would own an iPad (e.g., “when you get home”). This wow moment cannot happen, however, if the salesperson does not probe, listen, engage, and come prepared with examples.
Customer: My daughter thinks I need an iPod Touch. I’m not so sure. I don’t listen to music or play games, so although she thinks it’s cool, I’m not convinced.
Salesperson (turns to daughter): Is there a reason why you’re recommending an iPod Touch for your mom? Have you considered an iPhone?
Daughter: She wouldn’t use an iPhone. My mom is eighty-three years old and uses her home phone to call us.
Salesperson: Oh, do you live far away?
Daughter: Not that far, but far enough so we don’t see her every day.
Salesperson: We?
Daughter: Yes, my husband and kids as well as my brother who lives in another state.
Salesperson (turning to customer): If you’re like my mom, you can never see your kids enough. I can visit my mom every few days, and she still doesn’t think I’m spending enough time with her.
Customer: If I saw my kids once a week I’d be happy! (Daughter rolls her eyes and smiles at salesperson.)
Salesperson: Doris (salesperson would have learned customer’s name early in the conversation), I’m going to show you something. Brittany (daughter), while I’m with your mom, would you go over to that phone right over there and if it rings, please answer it. Now, Doris, pick up the iPod Touch and tap the icon that says FaceTime.
At this point the salesperson has Doris FaceTime the other device. Brittany answers, and mother and daughter can see and hear each other. Doris is thrilled. As they chat away the salesperson explains FaceTime and how it works over Wi-Fi without the need for a phone plan. It was the only wow moment the customer needed. Doris walked out that day with an 8 GB $200 iPod Touch. But again, this wow moment could not have played out had the salesperson not followed the five steps of service.
My daughters, Josephine and Lela, were ages six and four when I brought them to an Apple Store for the first time. It was such a magical experience for all of us I’ll never forget it. I even took photos of the girls playing on iPads and texted the pictures to friends. The girls enjoyed wow moments and so did their dad.
I did not intend to shop at the Apple Store on that night. It was a chilly, rainy Saturday, so the mall was especially packed. My wife and I had just taken the girls to play on the mechanical rides conveniently located next to Mrs. Fields (it didn’t take a genius to figure out where to place the rides). We had finished dinner and visited another store beforehand, so I was already growing tired and was ready to leave. We walked by the Apple Store, and sure enough it was packed. I peeked in and saw a tidal wave of people coming and going. There’s no way I’m going to bring two tired kids into that place tonight, I thought. But because Apple employees are taught to greet people at the door with a warm welcome, a friendly Apple person saw us and said, “Welcome to Apple. How can we help you today?”
“Just looking. I want to see the iPad 2, but we’ll come back when it’s less crazy,” I said.
“It’s no problem. I’ll have Adam assist you right away.”
I didn’t even have time to say “No, thank you,” before Adam, a Specialist, greeted us with a big smile, ready to create a wow moment. He led us to the iPad table and within seconds—not minutes, but seconds—my daughters, who had never touched an iPad before, were swiping their fingers across the device and playing with it. It reminded me of a concept I wrote about in The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs—Steve Jobs believed in eliminating clutter to make products simple and easy to use. If you can build a product so simple that a child can figure it out within seconds, you’ll have a winner.
Adam was trained to create wow moments. He never touched the device. Of course, he didn’t have to, since my daughters couldn’t wait to start playing. What I noticed, though, was that Adam did not show me business applications or even features that might appeal to me personally. He went straight to the real decision makers in our group—my girls who are the secondary customers. “Look at that, your girls already know how to use it,” Adam said. “If they like to color, they’ll love ‘Fairy Tale Castle Coloring Book.’ ” With that, Adam showed us the free app that was conveniently installed on the iPads my daughters were using. They loved it. They colored, laughed, and even showed Daddy how to use it. But Adam wasn’t done. In true Steve Jobs fashion he had “one more thing.”
“If you take road trips, you’ll love this. You can play movies to keep the kids occupied in the backseat,” Adam said. And with that, Adam opened the video app and showed us a full-screen, high-definition version of my daughter Lela’s favorite Disney movie, Tangled. “Rapunzel!” Lela screamed in delight. Adam pointed out that an accessory was available to attach the device to the rear of the front seats. I had never thought of it. In fact we had just purchased a new car, and I was considering the idea of having a DVD player installed. But in that moment I realized that the iPad was a far better alternative.
Less than ten minutes after I had decided not to enter the store, I was actually thinking about buying an iPad on the spot. I know about the wow moment. I’m supposed to be immune to this! I thought. Never underestimate the power of emotion. We left the store without buying an iPad that night, but the conversation between me and my wife on the way home left no doubt as to what would happen next. As soon as we got into the car, my wife said, “Should we buy the 16 GB or the 32 GB model?” Wow.
I introduced the concept of wow moments to a group of franchise owners for FRSTeam, a fabric restoration company. Insurance companies recommend FRSTeam or similar vendors when items in a client’s home have been damaged by flood, fire, and other catastrophic events. In many cases homeowners who have experienced a fire believe their clothes and other items are too badly damaged to be repaired. But FRSTeam uses very advanced cleaning technology to restore severely damaged items like clothes, drapes, furniture, and so on.
On its face you wouldn’t expect the “experience” to play a huge role in the success of such a franchise. After all, don’t they just pick up clothes and clean them? I learned differently after my first discussion with FRSTeam president Jim Nicholas.
“Don’t you just pick up the damaged goods, restore them, and return them?” I asked.
“This is a very competitive industry, so we must define ourselves by the experience we provide. Yes, it’s true, anyone can show up to pick up damaged items. But insurance policyholders often judge the quality of their insurance carrier by the vendors the insurance company sends out. If a client has a satisfying experience, it will get back to the insurance company and the company will continue to hire us instead of our competitors. Positive word also spreads quickly throughout the industry.”5
After I talked about wow moments at FRSTeam’s national franchise conference, major franchisees decided to put the technique into action and develop what they call “goose-bump moments” for their customers. Here’s how they did it. It starts with the most customer-facing employee, the driver who picks up the damaged articles. The driver will start with the standard questions: which items have been damaged, what is your living situation, when do you need the items returned, how do we contact you, and so on. The second set of questions sets up the goose-bump moment. Once the driver has built trust, he or she will ask a personal question: is there any one item you’re the most concerned about? Nicholas and his franchisees have found that among the hundreds of articles of clothing or material that have been damaged, it’s typically one or two pieces that carry the most emotional impact for the customer. It could be Grandma’s quilt or a child’s first soccer uniform. One piece is often more important than anything else. Once the driver knows this, the goose-bump moment is teed up. The team will work extra hard to repair that one piece and return it quickly. The stories that resulted from these goose-bump moments can really give you, well, goose bumps. Here are just a few:
These goose bump moments are now a part of the FRSTeam culture. They happen every day. But it starts by asking the question, “What can we do to create a wow moment for our customers?” It also cannot happen if management does not hire for attitude and if it isn’t committed to designing a culture of trust and empowerment. For example, in another goose-bump moment for FRSTeam, a customer service rep had noticed a family portrait hanging on the wall. The fire had damaged it so badly the glass frame had actually melted onto the picture, ripping large sections out of it. It wasn’t the type of article that FRSTeam typically restores, and it appeared irreparable. But the driver knew Photoshop, and on his own time repaired the portrait. He meticulously touched up the portrait of the four family members, replaced the glass, and returned it personally to the family.
The FRSTeam driver who repaired the photo on his own time makes $12 an hour, about the same hourly wage as people on the Apple sales floor. Don’t ever make the excuse that customer service is directly tied to how much a person makes in salary or commissions. The FRSTeam driver and the typical Apple Retail employee are committed to delivering an extraordinary experience because both brands live the principles revealed in Part I. The driver doesn’t see his job as simply picking up and dropping off items, and the Apple employee doesn’t see his or her job as selling computers. Both have internalized the vision to rebuild lives (FRSTeam) and to enrich lives (Apple). They are also trained to engage the customer in conversations that facilitate an emotional engagement with their respective brands. Don’t “sell” things to your customers. Wow them instead.
1. Create wow moments. Think about creating wow moments around your products or services. Apple employees know how to create such memorable moments for each product category. Customize the experience by using examples and stories relevant to the customer.
2. Obey the ten-minute rule. Provide a wow moment in the first ten minutes of a conversation. Research has shown that people “tune out” of a conversation after approximately ten minutes. Hook them back into the conversation.
3. Mimic the presentation stage. Consider the sales floor as a stage with the salesperson as the presenter and the customer as the audience. Train your staff to see themselves as presenters delivering memorable and engaging moments that leave their audiences speechless.