How do you fuel anticipation?

Anticipation. (For the 30+ crowd, you should be singing by now.)

What a powerful and often over-looked marketing tool. How could it enhance our customer’s experience? Think about these buying situations:

A couple books a cruise 9 months in advance.
A client gets fired up during the discovery process but must now wait 3-6 weeks for a logo design.
A bike enthusiast puts in his order for the new Harley which will be off the line in 15 months.

Let’s face it, we want them to be counting the days. To be watching the clock. To be talking about the pending delivery to their peers and colleagues. We want them to be hungry for the pay off, right?

Here’s my question to you — how do you keep a client’s enthusiasm bubbling while you are back at the shop, toiling away? This is a question we still wrestle with at MMG. We’re not as good at this as I’d like us to be.

Looking for a great example of someone who does do it well? It won’t shock you to discover that Disney is always working on improving in this arena. Most people book their Disney vacation at least 6+ months in advance. They have an extensive Vacation Planning Kit, which includes a DVD that I guarantee you gets watched many times before the actual journey begins. By adults and kids alike. But they decided that wasn’t enough anticipation buzz.

So, they’ve just launched their new Customized Maps which allow you to create your family’s personal journey through each of the theme parks. After you’ve spent time deciding which attractions, shows and restaurants you want to visit — they will send you 5 full color 14" x 20" maps that are made to your specifications.

Wow.

Add up the time spent choosing the locations, marking each map and then the time studying the maps once they arrive. That’s building anticipation!

Fair enough, we’re not Disney. But it is a very potent reminder that even though we have a client’s money — we still need to search for ways to keep them at the edge of their seat.

How do you keep your clients psyched up while they wait?

Flickr photo courtesy of Mike ~heart~ Tiffy.