When Home Depot first opened in my neighborhood, the service was amazing. All my questions were answered, someone helped me carry bulky purchases to my car and cashiers seemed genuinely interested. What I wanted was that level of service to remain – it didn’t. Over the years, Home Depot has badly deteriorated, forcing me to lower my standards. Now, when I buy a 2 X 4 I don’t expect much else. If I can purchase that 2 X 4 at a reasonable price I’m happy, and Home Depot can pat itself on the back thinking I’m a satisfied customer.
Recently, I went to another Home Depot location where the woman who helped me knew about the product, relayed personal information about how she had successfully used it in her home, helped me understand the difference between one model and the next and thanked me for my business. I was amazed – but I shouldn’t have been. All she was doing was what Home Depot promised in the first place.
In Professor Pine’s and Gilmore’s book, “The Experience Economy,” the authors refer to the faulty method many organizations use to measure customer satisfaction. It’s simply the numerical difference between what customers want and what they perceive they get. The problem with this equation is that, in many cases, the customer has come to expect less. So, the gap between wants and “perceived gets” is narrowed.
Now think about the thousands of visitors who come to your trade shows. They pay good money and invest a lot of time to have an enjoyable and profitable experience. Instead, what they get is long aisles, hard floors, harsh lights, inconveniently-located washrooms and exhibitors displaying the same thing they had the previous year. But, it’s what trade show visitors have come to expect. Neither the show organizer, nor the exhibitor has done anything to make the experience memorable and inviting.
As exhibitors, we can work closely as part of a show advisor committee to encourage show organizers to make changes that will improve the show experience for our visitors.. The problem is that major changes take time. You wouldn’t want organizers to revamp their shows relying on the alterations to work without a doubt. The practical approach would be to take small steps, test them out and then take further steps to improve. This way, any transformations in the show are methodical, tested and appropriate.
As exhibitors, we can make changes a bit faster. If we improve our displays to include a visitor experience while we’re waiting for the rest of the show to catch up, we’ll be miles ahead of the game.
There are many steps you can take to accomplish an experience-focused display. Here are a few:
Let your customers expect the unexpected. Offering good service and friendly booth staff becomes the baseline for superior customer satisfaction. Once that baseline of what is acceptable has been established, you need to find ways to improve. Little tweaks often have great results. For example, if you have an appointment at your booth, make sure to have the meeting area cleared, a sign welcoming the guests and a cup of their favourite brew waiting (you can learn their preferences by calling an assistant ahead of time).
Be a good host. Your booth people should forget about selling and adopt the attitude of a host. This shifts the focus away from “pitching” to welcoming.
Encourage interactivity. Sight, sound, smell, touch and taste are important in creating a good experience. Think about your booth and establish “experience points” where the visitor can get involved. Try hospitality, real products and services (yes, services) rather than photos, the sound of a well-oiled machine working, the smell of fresh flowers or coffee brewing and large show-stopping graphics.
Create an environment. Your physical space should be more than a showroom; it should be a place where visitors feel comfortable enough to interact openly and honestly.
There are lots more you can do, but at the very least, try these four. Remember, companies and organizations that keep their customers’ expectations higher than their wants will win.