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What makes us say "WOW"?

There is this word-of-mouth continuum developed by Jerry Wilson (1991) who stated that if expectations are not met negative Word-of-mouth (WOM) is the result, if they are exceeded positive WOM will follow and if good or adequate service is delivered nobody talks about it because it is taken for granted.

Negative WOM no WOM positive WOM

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Awful service good or adequate service great service

Let me give you three scenarios based on the same example:

You order furniture for your new home and the company tells you that it will be delivered in 2 weeks' time.

Scenario 1: Unfortunately, you will get your furniture delivered in three weeks time. What would your likely reaction be in this case? Well, having made this negative experience you might be tempted to bad-mouth this company to your friends and relatives not to buy from the same company.

Scenario 2: You get your furniture on time. Your reaction most probably will be that you expected it and you take it for granted. So nothing extraordinary and you wouldn't automatically talk positive about it to your friends and relatives.

Scenario 3: You get your furniture in one week's time. Your reaction most probably will be "WOW", because this came as a surprise to you and you appreciate the fact of being able to make your home more comfortable earlier than expected. Your reaction in this case would most probably be that you will spread the word about this company to your friends and relatives without hesitation, because this company was able to exceed your expectations. So, remember when you deliver on your WOW promise, other people have no choice but to talk about how you are the best at what you do.

Well, this might be a simple example, there is nothing to say "WOW" in terms of the product itself. But just by delivering the items earlier than what actually was expected, it made it special. So, remember we don't always need to reinvent the wheel.

Well, personally I used this kind of strategy when teaching in Italy. I always told my students when they could expect the results of their assignments/exams to be marked. I always knew that I would be able to deliver earlier than actually promised. But the joy of my students getting their marks earlier than promised was always perceived as "great". But the real WOW experience for them was actually that I was the only teacher/lecturer who sent them the results by email or sms which no other lecturer did. So, this was one thing that my students enjoyed besides many other things…….

Now, an assignment for you: watch for people, products, services, prices, places that created this silent thought of "WOW". Write it down in your "WOW" diary and see whether next time you could adapt a similar idea for your own needs in the same or similar way.

What can we learn from this lesson?

1. Never overpromise and under-deliver, since this might have a dramatic impact on your reputation, and that can become costly.
2. Instead: Exceed expectations and people will talk about it … and that for free!
3. Whatever you do: think always "WOW". Ask yourself always: Would that make me say "WOW"? No? Then you need to try harder in order to come up with something more extraordinary.

Thanks for your interest.

Karin Schroeck-Singh