The Strategy of Experience
As you know, the countdown for our Client Appreciation Event is on. We’re less than 2 weeks away, and our team is fine tuning the content and the 4D experience we have in store for September 25th.
And while our CAE planning officially kicked off in May, I need to tell you a little secret: I’ve been covertly but intentionally feeding our clients and our team action-based learning in this year’s theme since February. It all started when two events converged…
1. I finally finished reading Unreasonable Hospitality, a favorite of three of our clients who set the bar in hospitality (Hola Yoga, Mathias Collective, and Cookie in the Kitchen, if you’re wondering).
2. I cashed in a big Christmas present from my husband: a weekend at Blackberry Mountain.
I’d like to explain a bit about the latter. Although I was excited for an admittedly extravagant weekend away, I was skeptical. It is an expensive (to me) weekend. No doubt, a first class experience. And when it comes to luxury, I believe that one generally gets the best bang for their buck in Business Class. So I entered the weekend thinking: “This will be a wonderful(!) bucket list trip. It’ll be a one-time thing, and that will be that.”
So what happened next surprised me…
It was our last morning there, and we were having breakfast (cue the bottomless pastry basket). Out of nowhere, I burst into tears. Dave got a confused look on his face and nervously asked, “Um… What’s happening here? Did I do something? Are these sad tears? Happy tears? I’m sorry!” (I do recommend the husband-proactive-apology in a moment like this, so not a bad approach from his end).
I replied, “I think I’m happy and sad?
I just… can’t remember the last time I felt so taken care of.”
You see: each staff member (even calling them “staff members” feels reductive) anticipated every need I had and every want I didn’t know I had.
These weren’t just things like bringing the right utensils before I asked for them at a meal time. They were things like giving me a ride back to our cabin after we hiked so that I didn’t “get cold.”
This example sounds so silly, but it’s the one I cite because it would’ve never occurred to me to ask for something to make myself more comfortable. Utilitarian needs are one thing; I can request a think I need. But request a thing I want? Just to become more comfortable? I rarely feel like I have “the right” to ask for that. So when someone else proactively extends an offer – an invitation even – like that to me, I’m downright gobsmacked.
So since February, I’ve been hooked on hospitality.
For Ellevated Outcomes clients, I hope that this way of being treated doesn’t feel new (I’m sure you’re sick of me talking about Client Delight, ha). BUT it’s a different riff on it: Client Delight as Hospitality. Hospitality as a strategic pillar in its own right.
So at this year’s CAE we’ve packaged all this up into…
The Strategy of Experience:
Hospitality as Your Differentiator
Luxury just means giving more. Hospitality is being more thoughtful.
-Will Guidara
Dear Clients, we can’t wait to host you, celebrate you, and care for you on September 25th.
