Amping up Delight – How to Actually Maximize Customer Pleasure

In my last newsletter, I highlighted twelve forms of pleasure outlined by Professors Costello and Edmonds. Those dimensions are creation, exploration, discovery, difficulty, competition, danger, captivation, sensation, sympathy, fantasy, camaraderie, and subversion.

Let’s take a moment to focus on four of the twelve (discovery/sensation/fantasy/camaraderie) and give you examples of how you can amplify each of them across your customers’ journey.

When customers engage your business, most hope you will meet their needs, provide helpful information or novel experiences, pique their imagination, and give them something to share with friends, colleagues, and family.

Customers want quality products and services, delivered in a sensory-rich environment, which result in them having an engaging story to tell, tweet, or post.

Recently, a Boston Globe article by Jon Marcus titled The reality is no longer enough: Immersive experiences are filling travel itineraries quoted me. Jon spoke to many human experience designers who focus on discovery, sensation, fantasy, and camaraderie in that article. For example, Dave Collins, the co-creator and producer of RiseNY (an immersive experience that uses 8k aerial footage projected 180-degrees across a 40-foot domed screen), emphasizes the importance of adding sensory, fantasy, and shareability elements to customer experiences,

People don’t want to just look at things. They want to feel a part of it. They want to be on the couch from Friends, the stage of a late-night TV talk show, and in other Instagram-able iconic New York scenes.

From the perspective of camaraderie, Jon notes, “A new hotel chain called Roomza will have real rooms but virtual lobbies and lounges, where avatars of the people who have checked in can meet and get acquainted. The newly opened Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser at Walt Disney World launches superfans in tunics and armed with lightsabers into ‘space’ for two days and nights of role-playing….”

Sara Thatcher, a Disney Imagineer who oversees the interactivity of the Galactic Starcruiser experience, added:

What research tells us, and our guests tell us, is that being immersed in a new experience actually makes more memories. You’re doing something that transports you to another world, and doing it with people that you care about.

To deliver “discovery,” “sensation,” “fantasy,” and “camaraderie,” I help my clients consider questions like:

1) Where do I have opportunities to help customers “explore and discover” during their journey?

2) Where can I add or remove a sensory element to enhance the pleasure of an experience?

3) What can I do to help my customer imagine or encounter out-of-the-ordinary experiences?

4) What stories do I want my customers to tell about the time spent with me? How can I ensure they have an easily “shareable” experience?

So now, it’s time for your question!

What WILL YOU DO to enhance pleasure or delight by sparking customer discovery, sensation, fantasy, or camaraderie?

Smoke over black background

Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D. is a professional speaker and chief experience officer at The Michelli Experience. A New York Times #1 bestselling author, Dr. Michelli and his team consult with some of the world’s best customer experience companies.

Follow on Twitter: @josephmichelli

Leave a Comment





FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article