Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Provide an Experience

(1:11) It's your birthday, anniversary, or some other special event in your life. You decide to celebrate by going out for a nice dinner. You know you're going to spend a lot of money but it's a special occasion.

(1:05) Now imagine that the meal was nutritious and satisfied your hunger but was rather bland and uninteresting. The server was obtrusive or neglectful. The setting was plain and the chairs uncomfortable.

(0:59) One could argue that you got what you paid for, a meal that satisfied your nutritional needs. I would argue that you would come away dissatisfied and might well write a bad review of the restaurant. I can even see you writing, "We had a bad experience and will not return."

(0:51) We purchase products and services because of what they do for us and the experience they create. Further, when we make the purchase, we have an expectation of what that experience will be. Meet that expectation and I am satisfied. Fall short and I am unhappy. Exceed and you've create the world's best salesperson.

(0:41) It is critical that you understand the experience that boaters are expecting when they come into your marina. Then be able to position your marina to deliver that experience.

(0:35) Take time to think about the whole experience of a boater coming to your marina. Move beyond the specific attributes - docks, a certain approach depth, laundry, etc. - and think about what those attributes deliver to the boater. How does a boater feel? What desires are you satisfying? What do they really want? You need to get into the boater's shoes.

(0:23) Read reviews, both yours and those of other marinas. Find out what boaters compliment and complain about. Listen carefully when a boater comes in to complain and understand why they are unhappy. It's only when you understand the why that you can finally fix or mitigate the problem.

(0:13) Find new desires that are not being met. Discover how to meet the desire, improve the experience and then promote that to your potential customers.

(0:08) If you can understand your service in terms of the experience it provides to the boater, then you can work to improve and promote that experience. And that will mean more business.

(0:02) And that's the marina minute.