Monthly Archives: July 2013

Delivering WOW!

Many, many years ago, when the Earth was flat and I was an associate, I remember hearing the following adage:
Y
‘If you upset one customer, they’ll tell 10 people. And if you please one customer, they’ll tell 2 people’.

In other words, people are far more likely to talk about you if you upset rather than please them.

As a newly qualified dentist, the last thing I wanted was bad press. So I used to treat my patients with the simple mindset of not upsetting them. It was my compass and it worked.

These days of social media, one unhappy customer could easily spread their message to many, many hundreds. So, keeping this mindset would seem to be the best thing to do wouldn’t it?

The answer is yes. That is, so long as we’re happy staying below the radar. Not really being noticed and not really being talked about.

In other words, the safety of anonymity.

But, just a few years ago, I learnt a really valuable lesson:

There is no safety in anonymity.

In this ever more competitive market place, we do need to be noticed. And we do need to be talked about. For the right reasons, obviously! In the words of Seth Godin, we need to be remarkable. We should aim to be the Purple Cow (also Seth Godin). The one that stands out.

If we’re proud of WHAT we do and HOW we do it: and I know you all are. And if we really do believe in our WHY, then we should stand out in peoples’ radars.

A bright red flashing dot! A Purple Cow!

And how do we do this?

By Delivering WOW.

Firstly, what is WOW? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it means ‘To impress and excite greatly’. That’ll do for me.

I feel it every time I walk into an Apple store. It happens every time I watch Roger Federer. Win or…….come second. For certain companies and individuals, it’s part of their brand.

And I’d like it to be part of ours too.

So how do we deliver WOW? The simple answer is to do something above and beyond a person’s expectations. I’m not talking about ‘under-promising and over-delivering’. That’s just dishonest, in my opinion. I’m talking about ‘Promising and Over-Delivering’.

I can think of lots of lots of examples where you all do this already. Promising pain-free dentistry for one. During as well as after. Phoning our members after they’ve had major treatment is another. Gifts. Discounts. Charitable donations. Charitable activities like Debbie’s triathlon, Jules’s Tough Mudder (nutter), Iva’s forthcoming Kilimanjaro. And lots more.

But I confess that I don’t have all the answers. Sometimes I don’t have any. You all know that. But together, we do.

So I’d be really grateful if you could help me by replying with any suggestions of your own so that we can start putting them into practice. Regularly.

Let’s not be anonymous. Let’s not stay below the radar.

Let’s Deliver WOW.