Wow Me.

Summer is full of wows like sitting on a pristine lake dockside. However, all year long people are looking to be wowed when they meet you and your organization. Some firms like TD Bank understand this reality so much they have trademarked WOW, which is amazing in itself. In my mind this wow me attitude is driven by the power of technology and how easy it is to make your brand or business shine from the get go. The bar is constantly being set higher by smart phones, and the apps that are driving them.

So what do you do to break the wow factor when you have no new news and really your brand is not all that different from the competition. In my mind you start with your customers and what makes them tick right now. The best way to get people to say wow, is to show you understand them better than anyone else. Your insights should be so on the mark that they think "wow how did you know that?". By better understanding the people that your business depends on, you begin to place less reliance on technology alone being your wow factor.

The amazing thing to me is that people spend tons of capital on technology to stand out from the competition, yet this same technology is being bought by everybody which makes it tougher to stand out on technology alone. Even more amazing to me is that in comparison, very little is being spent to understand what makes the people tick that drive their business. I mean why do people buy the category? Why do people buy the product? What do people want from the ideal product, and can your firm deliver this today? It's great to look sharp but after people get beyond the glitz, what makes your conversation with them worth their while. What makes them say "wow these guys seem to just fit with what I think.".

So this summer I ask you, what makes the people most important to the success of your business say wow! Hopefully it's more than your technology. Hopefully it's that you know them better than anybody else.