Ever wondered what differentiates the ‘Perfect’ from just ‘good’? Why something is picked up, invested in, shown interest and encouragement, recommended to others, preserved for the future and talked about with gravity, while something similar (almost) is left to run in the shadows of the aforementioned winner?
The difference, dear reader, is the ‘Wow’ factor.
What is ‘Wow’? – The dictionary defines ‘wow’ as an utterance that one puts forth when astonished or in a deep state of admiration. You don’t ‘wow’ something that’s normal, mundane or expected. The ‘wow’ experience separates itself from the rest by its refreshing presentation and its ability to surprise and inspire.
I’am a fan of Michael Schumacher of 2010, when he was winning F1 titles left, right and center. In 2010, a chance meeting with my idol would have elicited a thunderous ‘Wow’, but the Schumacher of 2013, a shadow of his former awesome self will not inspire a response so strong. Moral- the ‘wow’ factor rapidly diminishes, and needs constant upkeep to maintain its ability to inspire time and time again.
In business, your company website stands as the façade that greets your prospective customers online. Imagine, your prospective customers arrive at your website after Google has suggested you as the most viable contender for the keywords supplied by them (thanks SEO). Your corporate website is designed to provide maximum information about your company while also being attractive to the eye, not very hard on the logical senses, easy to navigate and populated by powerful concepts and ideas that are brought to life by rich colours, images and powerful content. We can assure you, provided these strict parameters are met, 80% of your website visitors will go ‘Wow’.
And once the ‘Wow’ has been accomplished, your marketing message will have a much more receptive audience. Big brands routinely use this technique to maintain the aura surrounding their products and services, while a smaller brand, earnest in its approach, can still utilise the ‘wow’ factor to compete against its bigger competitors. The trick is to understand what it takes to completely impress your target audience, to put in place a disciplined system to achieve this target and finally, just go ahead and do it!
And if your efforts get you a ‘Wow’, use that as bedrock to build in more ‘wows’. Remember, something remains a novelty only for a short duration- the idea of attracting somebody with something fresh is a constantly decaying concept as the more people that utter the cherished ‘wow’, the less fresh the concept remains. Thus, reinvent. Once you have perfected a powerful mode of expression, little tweaks will further bring in more encouraging results. Here’s wishing you all the best ‘wowing’.
Tobocbiz 