Want a Winning Customer Experience?
Play like a Minor League Baseball Team
Welcome to the Why to Wow newsletter which is all about inspiring the hearts and minds of people worldwide with the Power of Differentiation. In this Why to Wow newsletter, I share my experiences over the last 40+ years helping leaders differentiate their brands and products. I hope it will inspire you to discover and share your own brand’s uniqueness with the world.
My firm proudly works with the Indianapolis Indians, a century-old Triple-A baseball team. It’s not just my opinion that they are the premier organization in the league—just ask anyone in Major League Baseball, which I did as my company was researching them.
Every year, the team packs the stands with over half a million fans. I’ll share one reason for their success (other than great ownership, leadership, and staff, of course). Here it is: They focus on the experience, not the outcome.
Ask an Indians fan about last night’s game, and they’ll tell you, “It was a blast. There was a fireworks display. Their mascot, Rowdie, went into the stands and clowned around with the crowd. It was awesome.”
Now ask which team won the game and what the score was, and you’ll likely hear, “I have no idea. I don’t know where they are in the standings either, but I’m a lifelong fan.”
The Indians organization and other minor league teams like them, including my hometown Fort Wayne TinCaps, deliver an experience, first and foremost. The score? Where are they in the standings? That’s not what is most important; people don’t purchase season tickets for those reasons. They buy for the fun, access, and family-friendly atmosphere. And, by the way, the quality of baseball is excellent as well. I recommend you listen to our recent Difference Talks podcast, as Jason Freier, Chairman and CEO of Hardball Capital, shares his extraordinary story. He operates minor league teams in Indiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee that are transforming their communities for the better.
Creating an entertaining experience requires the courage to fail. Jesse Cole, the founder of the sensational Savannah Bananas independent baseball team, has shared that at the beginning of his journey, he was in debt and losing sleep. Yet he felt driven to create an outrageously crazy baseball experience. Some of his ideas have failed, while others have been huge successes. Today, the team is in high demand, with ballparks nationwide requesting them to visit and put on a show. And don’t waste your time asking who won the Bananas game last night. Who cares? (Actually, they play nine one-inning games a night!)
Difference-maker #1: Obsess on the service and experience you deliver.
It might be surprising that a less-than-favorable outcome (e.g., a mistake or flaw in a product) can be acceptable. Statistics tell us that if we fix a problem for a customer, they will be more loyal than if there were no issues in the first place. Why? Because the customer can see that you truly care and took action.
Difference-maker #2: Amazing customer service requires inspired creativity, just like designing a new product or technology.
View your experience as if it were a product you offer, because it is. Unleash your ingenuity to offer brilliant aha moments or “wows” that just might set you apart from the pack.
Some professions deal with life-and-death situations where the outcome is paramount. But fortunately for most, the outcomes we are involved with are less critical. Differentiate your brand by creating a customer experience that’s so impressive, the outcome is not so important.
Podcasts I Recommend
Here are two great podcasts I recommend if you’re looking for inspiring business insights.
The Executive Edge provides valuable insights for executives, business owners, and anyone interested in improving their professional and personal effectiveness through evidence-based psychological approaches. Host Sue Firth is a psychologist and business advisor who helps executives understand and manage stress while maintaining workplace effectiveness.
Deep Wealth shares real strategies from founders whose exits turned the impossible into reality. Hosted by Jeffrey Feldberg, each episode reveals how time-starved entrepreneurs can build self-managing companies, grow profits, and secure legacy-making exits.