My personal today's WOW-Moment in Customer Experience

Marketers know the saying:

"Marketing is like asking someone for a date. Branding is the reason why they say yes."

I'd like to add:

"Customer Experience is why they come back for more."

Today was such a day for me. Every 4 months I go for a professional tooth cleaning and I am already happy to visit one of the best dental clinics in Zurich: the The Eram Clinic in Zurich. Their state-of-the-art equipment especially the Air Flow System makes tooth cleaning truly a kind of fun for me.

But this morning, something was different:

A sign at their entrance door told me that I need to use the entrance of a building in the backyard - a former Credit Suisse office. And when I went there, I had my first WOW moment.

It just looked like the entrance of a 5-star hotel instead of a dental health clinic. A beautiful reception, chilled music, beautiful illumination concept, immediate customer service with a welcome drink to enjoy my waiting time in a lounge area that I have never experienced in a "dental clinic".

And please do not mention the restrooms.

I was literally blown away. The dental cleaning was certainly as good as usual, the professional service outstanding, but the overall experience made this morning unique for me. I actually can't wait to go back to a dentist again. So how many people say can say this?

Usually nobody wakes up and looks forward to go to the dentist in the morning - similar like no one wakes up and thinks of their insurance provider. It's somehow a must-do and the experience mostly underwhelming.

Like marketing guru Seth Godin wrote in his bestselling book "This is Marketing", nobody wants your "product". People don't want what you make. They only want what it will do for them - how it make them feel. The way we make "things" - or let's say products or services - better is by caring enough about those we serve to imagine the story that they need to hear.

In essence, most of the good marketers deliver feelings. We do this in different ways, with different services, products, and stories.. And we do this for different people in different moments. But if you can bring the ones you serve the feeling of belonging, connection, peace of mind, status, or one of the other most desired emotions, you have achieved something worthwhile.

Just when I wanted to leave, I met the founder and CEO Zahra Eram who I usually see every two years as she is doing the deep cleaning of my teeth. I told her how amazed I was about the customer experience this morning and she gave me a round trip. Everything in this clinic is designed with so much love to every detail and passion that makes a visit an amazing experience. And no, I am not paid to write about this or to recommend them. It just gave me such a good start in the morning and really wow-ed me.

Zahra even told me that they had no marketing agency involved here or don't really do marketing - people just come - from all over the world - to go to a dental clinic in Zurich. After my experience, I fully believe this.

And here is my point that especially service providers don't really take seriously. Everything you produce - from a product to a service - needs to have the customer at its heart and needs to make the people you serve to feel special.

And sometimes, you find such surprises in places where you never would expect this passion for customer experience.