Pay attention to when they pay attention
I've taken a lot of online courses in my time. Most of them were a blur. I don't mean they were bad. I just... don't remember them. Nothing really stuck out. A lot of of what's out there is like a lot of what's out there. You know?
But there are some I do remember, and remember with fondness!
Like the very first online program I joined. It was my first taste of possibility that making money online was a thing, so I was super enthusiastic. I was a star student. Whenever our teacher gave homework, I jumped on those workbooks immediately (and wrote novels in 'em to boot).
Then she posted in our group: "Surprise!"
As a reward for her three most engaged students, she was treating me and two other classmates to lunch. Like an honest-to-goodness go offline and eat together in person lunch. Not only did we get to connect and meet IRL, but she also did a special mentorship session, just for us.
That was in 2016, and I can still remember what I wore.
Moments are what we remember.
They're what fight the flatness, so to speak, of everything just being "yeah it's okay, same old same old."
They're what transform your program or service into something they're going to remember for years and years and years.
Not the minute-by-minute play-by-play. Not every single detail of every single interaction.
Moments.
And delight isn't created by accident — it's carefully designed.
So how do you create moments that matter? Where do you start?
1— If you're able to create an invisible experience, you're way ahead.
Every new customer comes to you with a cup full of goodwill. Except it's surprisingly easy to spill!
So every bit of friction, every "off" moment, every split second they subconsciously register something as janky —that's a bit of spilt goodwill. (You don't want their memory of your thing to be their panic of "is this a scam?" or "it was too confusing to navigate.")
But if your customer experience were intuitive? If she were frictionless? If she were solid and smooth?
You maintain that goodwill, and that's already a huge leg up on the competition.
But how to you gain more goodwill?
2— Pay attention to what people pay attention to
(whether they realize it or not)
For example:
Their first ever contact with you. Cliché as it is, first impressions do matter. Have I immediately unsubscribed after an underwhelming lead magnet or an abrasive welcome? Yes. Yes I have.
The moment of purchase. Excitement is at its peak — and so is anxiety. It's a tug of war between: Did my money just disappear into the void? and How do I jump in?
First impressions, part 2. They say you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, but that's what your onboarding process is!
Moments of struggle or achievement. What does "you thought of everything" support look like? How can you celebrate (with) them!
These are already what people are going to remember, regardless — mostly because they can go either way.
So!
If you thoughtfully design them? You tip the scales. You get to design what they'll remember — and you get to make that memory a good one.
Let me leave you with some classic Maya Angelou:
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
I don't remember every detail of that first program I joined. I couldn't tell you what she made me write in her workbooks anymore.
But at that lunch my hair was pink and my shirt was green and she made me believe I could.
