Elevate Business with Peak Moments

We’re launching our Creating E.P.I.C. Moments series with… you guessed it: the E in E.P.I.C., which stands for El(l)evated. Here’s Dana Meeks, teaching us how and why to elevate business through elevated (or peak) moments…

Dana Meeks teaching how to create peak moments. She’s joined by Courtney Henry of GrowthMinded. The Ellevated Outcomes client ecosystem used her marketing business as a case study in how to elevate business by creating peak moments.

“Give me an E!”… “E!” “Give me an L!”… “L!”

I’m as spirited as a high school cheerleader, here to kick off the first pillar of our E.P.I.C. moments series: Elevation. Why? Because when created with intention and purpose, elevated moments can transform your business.

As defined in the Power of Moments, elevated moments are experiences that rise above the routine, break the script, and spark feelings of engagement, joy, surprise, or motivation. Simply put, elevated moments feel different. They jolt us out of autopilot and make us remember how something felt because they stand out. They become peak moments.

Before you get squirmy thinking: this sounds expensive or over-the-top, I assure you: these don’t need to be big, grandiose gestures of EPIC proportions (pun intended). Elevated micro-moments, defined as small, intentional experiences, can be even more powerful than grand gestures.

                     You don’t need a big budget to create big feelings.

Why Peak Moments Elevate Business (in other words: why you should care)

If elevated moments can transform your business, it’s worth understanding why.

Ellevated Outcomes’ favorite definition of strategy is the allocation of scarce resources to the highest priorities. Given that, I want to highlight a mistake that most business owners make with their limited resources:

Most businesses focus on the negatives instead of amplifying the positives.

Humans are wired to fixate on the negatives. As stated in the Power of Moments, “Negative feedback packs a heavier punch than positive.” We fixate on one negative comment or review in a group of positive ones, or we ruminate about the problem client that we just can’t seem to please vs. the sea of satisfied ones.

A study by Forrester, a leading research and advisory firm, revealed companies spend ~80% of their resources trying to improve experiences of unhappy customers. 80%!  As a small business owner, this is not a wise use, nor ROI, on your resources.

Here’s the kicker: that same study found that elevating positive experiences – making satisfactory or good ones great – drives 9× more revenue than fixing negative ones. Why? Because the happiest people in any industry spend more money with their favorite brands (and who doesn’t like that?).

In short: if you’re pouring energy into calming the perpetually unhappy, you’re missing the chance to delight the satisfied! Creating delight and building peak moments for neutral clients to become exceptionally happy clients creates more growth than managing dissatisfaction. Simply put, you can earn 9× more revenue by elevating the positives than by eliminating the negatives.

How to Elevate Business with Peak Moments

Opportunities to elevate are everywhere. They’re woven into the everyday interactions you have with prospects, clients, employees, vendors, and partners. A few examples:

• At Ellevated Outcomes, we elevate our prospect process by sending personalized videos with each proposal to show how our work would look specifically for the person we’re speaking to. (And to keep things real, you should know: they’re not always perfectly polished! But they’re personal, specific, and intentional, creating a delightful surprise).
• A wellness company welcomes new clients with a handwritten card: “Thank you for investing in your wellbeing. Here’s a playlist or breath practice to use while you wait for your first session.”

These moments feel different because they’re thoughtfully designed to break the script of everyday life. And neither of these examples require a big budget.

An easy way to create  elevated moments within your own business is by using the 3S Method, a formula to construct impactful moments of elevation

The 3S Method: Recipe for Elevated Moments

Mix at least two of these ingredients to create a defining, elevated moment:

1. Sensation– Engage the senses & create moments people can feel: incorporate sensory details like sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste
2. Surprise– Add the unexpected: offer something thoughtful and unanticipated that catches people off guard in the best way
3. Specificity– One Size Fits One: personalize the moment so it feels designed just for them. Include details that reflect who they are and what matters to them.

Khrys Baltodano founder of Hola Yoga, designed her studio around elevated moments, especially Specificity. The studio has a team of Student Experience Coordinators that greet you by name when you walk through the door.

One of my favorite examples of this method at work is this scene from Ted Lasso. Ted turns an average morning greeting to his boss, Rebecca, into an unexpected, memorable, thoughtful and eventually pivotal moment for their relationship. Ted incorporates all 3 ingredients of the 3S Method into this carefully constructed ‘Biscuits with the Boss’ moment. Can you identify them (and hopefully have a little laugh as well)?

Your Assignment: Create a Peak Moment

This week, identify one area in your business where you can elevate the positives. Ask yourself:

• Could my prospect process use more warmth or personality?
• Does my client experience feel routine, where it could feel memorable?
• Have I recently done anything to show genuine appreciation to my vendors, subcontractors or professional partners?

This could look like:

• Sending a client welcome gift of a plant with a personalized “I can’t wait to grow with you” note
• Starting off a virtual meeting playing a song by the individual’s favorite band or genre
• Emailing a behind-the-scenes “sneak peak” text of your workspace in action during a lull in the product delivery process to maintain client excitement

So go on: spot your opportunity to elevate business, and design 1 “just do it” action to rise above the routine.

Add a little surprise, a touch of sensation, and a dash of specificity. Watch how those small, intentional choices transform how people feel about working with you. Because those who focus on genuinely elevating their experiences, versus eliminating the negatives, don’t just get noticed. They create fanatical loyalty and lead you to 9x-ing your revenue too.

I’ll be right here, cheering you on!