I recently returned from a short family vacation in Virginia. One on the highlights was a brief visit to Colonial Williamsburg. I was catching with a friend on Twitter and mentioned my trip. Here is the exchange that ended up in a fun dialogue with @colonialwmsburg:
This picture was of my son Thomas. There were a couple of stocks at Colonial Williamsburg. Made for a fun shot that I shared on Instagram and Facebook.
Kudos to @colonialwmsburg for 1. engaging and 2. having a keen sense of humor. Here’s the video that they shared:
A very funny spot focused on families. But this one targeted towards couples is even more hilarious:
Click Splash Boom
These are excellent spots. They tell a humorous memorable story that drives home a message. Not only extremely visual, but rich from an audio perspective. I particularly like the last couple seconds of each. In life, people tend to remember the first thing they hear/see and the last thing they hear/see. The concept is based on primacy and recency. First and Last Impressions is one of the 12 types of Purple Goldfish (Related Post with a Great Video: #4 of 12 types of Purple Goldfish: First / Last Impressions). Since everything goes better in 3?s, you can add in the peak as well according to the research of Daniel Kahneman. People will also remember the most memorable moment.
Let’s break down each spot by Primacy / Peak / End:
(Editors Note: The cannon shot at Colonial Williamsburg is impressive. My son was enthralled)
Customer Experience Takeaway:
Think about these three critical moments when designing your customer experience.
- First – What is your welcoming gesture or greeting? For example, what comes to mind when you think of beginning your trip to Hawaii? If your like me, its receiving a lei at the airport upon arrival. (Related post: Greeting and gifting could increase your sales by 40+%)
- Peak – Designing a Memorable Experience. What is your signature extra or moment?
- End – Making that Last Impression. What’s the last thing you do before a customer leaves, hangs up or logs off?
Here is a tremendous example of all three from Lolita in Boston (#701 in the Purple Goldfish Project):
(Related Post: Lolita of Boston has a purple goldfish that melts in your mouth)
Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – On the topic of Williamsburg, it also happens to be the home of the College of William & Mary. A great school on a beautiful campus. Little know fact, William & Mary was the first place that legendary Lou Holtz became a head football coach. It also is the only college opportunity that Holtz didn’t truly turn-around. Everywhere else Holtz created a winner, such as NC State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina. To put it into perspective, Holtz is the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. Every once in awhile Lou will be asked what was different about his time in Williamsburg? This is perhaps one of my favorite sports quotes:
Added Lagniappe – My first book, “What’s Your Purple Goldfish” is free to download today and tomorrow on Amazon (7/17 – 7/18). I’m giving it away as part of a webinar series on Creating WOW that I’m doing for Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. Click the free download link here. FYI – you don’t need a Kindle. All you need is the Kindle Reader free app and you can read it on your desktop, phone or tablet. Get your copy now and feel free to share the link. Tell a friend or 3,000 
.
In case you’d like to see an overview of the book:
