Eivind Bårdsen | Graphic and logo design from the Sunshine Coast

Do you strive to achieve wowability? Do your clients strive to achieve it for their brands? Coca-Cola, Apple, Nintendo, Singapore Airlines and the bike shop close to where I live all have it. Do you?

According to Imran Syed, the author of Wowability, companies achieving it exceed expectations in one or more contact points and are more likely to be their customers’ preferred brand.

Contact points turned into wow-points

A contact point is a point where the consumer interacts with a brand. This can be functional contact points such as price, durability or technical specifications; emotional contact points such as perceived quality, service or ‘feel’ or communicational contact points such as advertising or design.

Syed argues that companies which can exceed expectations and turn their contact points into wow-points will be higher up on the consumers preference ladder. In order words, exceeding expectations leads to more sales and possibly better relationships with customers or clients. If a company barely lives up to expectations, there is no reason for the customer to stay with that brand.

There is a bike shop close to where I live. It’s not the only one of its kind in the area, and their prices are not exceptionally low. What is exceptional, however, is their customer service. It is a small shop with only two or three employees, and they seem to know everyone of their customers personally. The owner always remember which bike I bought, asks how my studies are going and asks how my girlfriend is doing. He even always remember my name—and my girlfriend’s name!

The bike shop has clearly chosen their main wow-point, and I have never even thought about going to another shop for repairs or equipment.

Choose your contact points wisely

How you position yourself in the market has everything to do which contact points you choose to excel with. If your competition focuses on price, maybe you should focus on quality or service. It is also important to find out what your customers want. Price may not be an important contact point at all for them. Sometimes, the best idea is to find new contact points that can interest the consumers. This is what Apple did when they decided to focus on industrial design in a category full of functional grey computer boxes.

The bike shop has identified that their customers want great help. Help with choosing a bike, help with repairs and help with choosing extras such as pumps and lights. The shop exceeds expectations in helping their customers. That is their position.

As a designer, you can choose between a number of contact points to turn into wow points

Do you want to be the designer who always uses the latest technology? Do you want to be the cheapest in your area? Do you want to focus on environmentally friendly design? Do you offer the best service and problem solving skills? Are you the most exclusive designer in your niche? What is your specialisation?

Do you turn design into wow-points for your clients?

Functional contact points such as technical ability and price are easy for others to match. That is why it is important to complement skills with emotional contact points. It is hard to match or copy your personality, personal style or how you communicate.

Communicate your position through design and copy

When you have chosen which contact points you want to focus on, it is important to let people know about them. A wow-point doesn’t work if no-one knows about it. Show your position through your logo, the design on your website and other branding material. Show your position in your website’s copy, in the way you write emails and blog comments and in the way you talk with your customers or clients.

Once you exceed expectations in one field, it is important to keep at it. Don’t let your wow-points turn into commodities.

What do you think? What are your wow-points? Have you ever been wowed by a brand? Please share your experiences in the comments.

Inspiration: Wowability: How to achieve it and why it matters by Imran Syed, Published by John Wiley & Sons, Singapore.