Surprise and Delight Marketing

In the late 1950’s TV show “The Millionaire“, an unknown benefactor, John Beresford Tipton, sent his private secretary to deliver one million dollars to a stranger on the condition they didn’t reveal the amount of money they received or the source.

Fifty years later, Roy Flora, President of Microtel Inns, is walking up to hotel guests he doesn’t know and surprising them with free hotel stays— no strings attached (heck, he hopes they tell everyone they know about the gift).

Says Flora. “I look for someone who may be on a restricted budget (perhaps using an AARP card) and say ‘Put away your credit card. It’s on my bill.’”

While not quite as delightful as a million bucks, it sends a message which is likely to be passed on by the recipient to dozens of other folks.

Other examples of this type of marketing:

A visitor to Sioux Falls, SD who has exceeded the parking time limit will return to their car to find a yellow summons with the dreaded words — PARKING TICKET ENCLOSED. Now imagine the surprising message: “The City of Sious Falls welcomes you to our community. We trust that your stay will be most pleasant. Since you are a visitor to our city we will overlook the violation for one hour.”

With almost 430,000 people making use of the service, Procter and Gamble Co.’s reopened its temporary 20-stall restroom in the heart of Times Square in New York City. Open until 31 December, the facilities offered clean, deluxe bathrooms, baby changing stations, stroller parking, seating areas — and of course lots of luxury toilet and Charmin bath tissue (made by P&G).

Roger’s Wireless had a holiday “Share the Joy” surprise for mall shoppers in Ontario, who had to schlep through distant parking lots — free golf carts.

It’s called Surprise and Delight marketing.

The surprise is receiving unexpected value that exceeds expectations. The delight is both emotional and functional. Surprise not only makes for great word-of-mouth marketing, it creates new stories and positive brand awareness.

According to Montreal entrepreneur Andy Nulman, co-founder of Airborne Entertainment, maker of gaming and entertainment applications for wireless phones (the company sold for $110 million), “People get jaded fast. People have seen it all, and they expect it all. They expect that product quality, service and the experience will all be right. And the only way to please people who expect it all is to give them something they don’t expect.”

And there is some science to this strategy. Our brains are apparently programmed to predict the outcome of an event. When an experience exceeds expectations a huge dose of Dopamine is injected into the system, increasing attention levels and giving you a euphoric feeling.

Studies indicate customer delight translates into higher customer retention levels and customer delight cannot be achieved without positively surprising them.

The keys to Surprise and Delight marketing success are :

a genuine “no strings attached” giveaway (we’re not talking” buy one get one free” selling) ;
value that exceeds expectation (you expect a mint on your pillow but not a whole box of chocolates)
creativity
giving at a time of immediate need (a free umbrella in a rainstorm);
providing an emotional positive experience (a wow response); AND
making it personal– from me to you.

Has anyone experienced a surprise or delight from a brand recently?

Sources and Further Reading:

Taking Relationship Marketing for a Joyride: The Emotion of Surprise as a Competitive Marketing Tool [pdf]

Surprise Marketing Tactics Endear (Financial Post by Rick Spence)

Cheap Sleeps (USA Today)

Surprise and Delight (Mythology, the meaning behind the marketing)

Surprise and Delight (Trend Sight)

Surprise and Delight: some hot consumer trends (Livemint.com, The Wall Street Journal)

Image credit: Comments101.com

Related Sellsius Marketing Posts:

Place Marketing: The Best Place to Put Your Ad
Scent Marketing: Leading Consumers By the Nose

Give the Gift of Experience