Dr. Joseph Michelli is a world renown speaker, consultant and author of the critically acclaimed “The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary.” I wanted to share with you one simple concept he talks about that I think is vital for small business owners. And that is the power of creating an experience for your customers/clients. Let’s look at the Starbucks example.

Dr. Michelli shares this information: a single cup of unprocessed coffee beans costs $0.04 (that’s four cents). If you process and package those beans, make them suitable for turning into a drinkable beverage, the costs goes up to $0.08/cup. Now, filter some hot water through those beans, and you can now sell that cup of coffee for $1.00. Not a bad profit margin.

Now, what if you took that simple cup of joe, and built an experience around it. Created a home-like environment with cool music, places to chill out and read, etc. You probably figured out where I’m going with this. Now, you can sell that cup of coffee for $4.00! Think about that for a moment. FOUR DOLLARS for a CUP OF COFFEE! Gas doesn’t event cost that much for a whole gallon! An added bonus I realized this week while shooting a gig here in Las Vegas, is that even when the people putting on the seminar offer FREE coffee in the back of the room, people will still go to the Starbucks in the hotel and drop $4.00 (or more) on their tall, triple shot, caramel macchiato, no foam, whatsy-hoozit. Even when there’s no Starbucks “experience” per se (e.g. table, music, etc.) It’s pretty much just a Starbucks stand. They’re so used to paying $4.00, it’s just accepted.

So, the question I pose to you: are you providing your clients with an “experience”? Particularly for those of you who market your services to a high-end clientele, providing that experience is key in commanding top dollar.

One of the “experiences” that we provide our clients is making every shoot a fun shoot. We act like we’re on a “real” Hollywood movie set, call action, cut, etc. We joke around on set. We make the clients feel like stars. Whenever possible, we’ll provide fun outtakes as well. A Cinematic Studios shoot is vivacious. Fun. Energetic. And memorable. That’s just one example. Here are some other examples of what you could do:

• Provide 5-star hotel service to clients who come to your offices
• Instead of muzak for on hold music, play a stand up comic routine (make sue whatever you do, fits your brand)
• Put fun gifts and/or treats in with the final product you ship to your clients

What are the experiences you provide for your clients? Please share.