How to Reverse-Engineer Ordinary
The first time I walked into a Buc-ees, a cashier enthusiastically greeted me. I was shocked! (Shocked in a good way.)
If you’ve never been to a Buc-ees, think of it as a gas station and convenience store. Actually, that’s a totally inadequate description because Buc-ees stores are so, so, SO much more.
In facts, when I just typed “gas station and convenience store”, I chuckled a little because Buc-ees has the cleanest and, quite frankly, most opulent bathrooms, the best selection of addictive junk food (I’m dreaming of you Buc-ees Nuggets), a pretty tasty hot lunch selection, and a super fun gift store.
Think of the gas stations and convenience stores you’ve been to. Are there any that you love? Any that you can’t wait to go to? Can you think of any convenience store bathroom that you’d sachet into wearing a formal evening dress and Louboutin heels? You could do that worry-free in a Buc-ees store. 😉
There are so few notable standouts in this category that Buc-ees is heads and tails better than its peers. How did the chain get to be like this? I don’t have any inside information, but I suspect they reverse-engineered everyday customer experiences.
(If you are wondering what this has to do with member organizations, hang on just a bit longer.)
One example of a typical customer gas station experience is cringing through a grimy, small, stinky, and somewhat scary bathroom visit, wondering if the door is really locked. I can imagine Buc-ees management saying, “OK, what does the opposite of that normal experience look like?” They might have made a list, and then for every item on that list, developed the antidote. Today, Buc-ees stores have bathrooms that are a destination themselves.
But they didn’t stop there! I imagine they listed ALL of the everyday, normal customer experiences people have at everyday, regular gas stations and convenience stores. Perhaps the list starts with:
No personal greeting.
Weary travelers making a cold meal of M&M’s and Slurpees.
The aforementioned bathroom experience.
Too many cars, too few pumps.
Tight aisles & tiny selection.
I imagine they took each item on the list and asked, “How do we make this a great experience?”
Member organizations, online community, and conference leaders can do the same thing to become heads and tails better than their peers. Here are the steps:
Ask, “What are members’ or attendees’ typical experiences?”
Rank order the items on your list from negative to neutral to positive.
Starting with the negative items on your list, ask:
What does the opposite of typical look like?
How can we make this a great experience?
How can we take action right now? I.e., what can we do that takes little to no extra time or money?
Everyone from the tiniest, volunteer-led organization to the largest member community can reverse engineer normal into extraordinary.
