Star Wars and the Amazing Fan Experience

Today is Black Friday. But more importantly, it is the day the first official teaser trailer for the new Star Wars Episode VII was released. This is possibly the only movie franchise capable of overshadowing the announcement of "Jurassic World" (which also released a teaser this week) .

This is a great case study of how a great customer experience builds a solid brand. Star Wars has been around for decades. It is still a big deal today, if not even more so. A Star Wars fan is incredibly loyal. They are willing to shell out incredible amounts of money for movies, posters, collectibles and more. They are even willing to forgive a disastrous prequel trilogy that had the potential to kill the brand. So what is it about the Star Wars experience that keeps fans coming back for more?

First, let's look at the teaser trailer (in case you haven't seen it yet).

There has been an incredible amount of excitement over this movie. Perhaps because fans believe they are due a truly amazing movie to redeem Episodes I through III, which fell flat among fans. This newest movie (at least as much as we can see from the trailer) will go back to the look and feel that fans loved about the original trilogy. It's dirty, gritty, and has a realistic feel to it. The CGI is less "shiny" than we're used to seeing, which is cool. That's what set Star Wars apart in the first place. In a era where Sci-fi movies where everywhere, Star Wars had the most realistic sense to it because of the grime. We all remember Luke Skywalker referring to the Millennium Falcon as a "piece of junk". 

By returning to its roots and listening to the outcries of fans after the prequel trilogy, Star Wars is poised to redeem itself and solidify the brand as the most successful movie franchise ever.

What can we learn here:

First of all, know what your brand is. If you're a dirty, gritty, grimy sci-fi movie, stick with that. It's what made fans fall in love with you in the first place. Make sure your business and everyone involved knows what you stand for. Be the very best representation of your brand that you can be.

Lesson number two: if you screw up and your fans yell at you, listen to them! Don't dismiss their complaints or justify your decisions. Instead, use it as a learning opportunity. Ask yourself (or your fans), "where did we go astray?" Use that feedback to get back on track and make sure you stick to your brand image.

Providing a great customer experience can give your business a boost through fan loyalty. Star Wars is living proof that if you win over your fans, they'll stay loyal decades down the road. Even after a few blunders.

Why Customer Experience Matters

Last year my wife and I were looking to buy a new TV stand. We shopped around to a few spots, and finally found one we really liked. There was a display model set up in the store for us to look at. We assumed that in order to purchase it, we would need an associate to grab one from the stock room for us.

We looked around for several minutes. No associate to be found. We wandered around the store a little to see if we could find an associate from a different department. Finally, we found one. A lady wearing a name tag clearly identified that she was an employee of the store and was currently on eduty. She was off to the side, tapping away at a computer. We approached patiently waiting for her to acknowledge us. About thirty seconds went by, and my wife (assuming the associate didn't notice us) politely said, "excuse me, can you help us?"

There was no response, not even a glace up from the computer screen, from the associate. She continued doing whatever she was doing. Because of my line of work as a customer experience consultant, I was curious to see just how long this associate would let us wait.

Ten minutes. And probably even longer. We waited for ten full minutes before we gave up and left the store.

Sure, we could have been more forward and sought out the help of another associate, but we shouldn't have to. We're in a store with the intention of buying something. It is the job of every employee of that store to ensure we leave with everything we came for. That's how successful stores make money.

Needless to say, we bought our TV stand somewhere else. Not only that, neither I nor my wife have ever set foot in that store again.

This is a great example of why a great customer experience is crucial to your business' success. A bad experience loses you a sale. But even worse, it loses you the potential of future sales. Conversely, a positive experience will score you that sale. It will also likely produce future sales from that customer. A really great experience will generate referral business. All from one great experience. If you are able to provide that great experience every single day, you'll have a very healthy business.

Here at Fortress, we've seen businesses completely change their trajectory solely because they made a commitment to improving their customer experience. What can we help you do to grow your bottom line through a superior customer experience?