When was the last time you experienced the emotions of Surprise and Delight? Did you receive an unexpected gift from a friend? Were you the recipient of an act of kindness? Was there a hand-written note lying in your mailbox? Who went the extra mile to serve you in a manner that made you feel treasured as a customer? If I am honest, I’m having a difficult time remembering a moment in retail, food service, or travel where a simple transaction was made to feel more like a transformational moment. It’s become so rare these days that organizations who emphasize customer service and creating exceptional experiences really stand out from the crowd.

In previous posts you can read some of the research related to hospitality from creating a hospitable classroom where students sense a place of belonging to establishing an organizational culture where the environment ripples with opportunities to serve others; however, in this current post, we are examining the concept of Surprise and Delight that first caught my attention while reading Young and Malm’s The Come Back Effect and reappeared in The Spirit of Hospitality and The Culture Code. As I soon learned with a little research, Surprise and Delight is an actual relationship marketing strategy that “has existed since businesses have been around” but as Greengard shares, has been identified by other names. “Over the past decade,” Greengard explains, “the phrase ‘surprise and delight’ has emerged at the center of marketing. The idea that it’s smart for a business to introduce experiences that slide the dial from ‘mundane’ to ‘awesome’ makes perfect sense, whether it’s in the form of a promotion or a streamlined way to interact or transact.”

Taking cues from the marketing world, I propose that colleges and universities should pursue avenues to Surprise and Delight in departments across campus from enrollment services during the recruitment of high school students to honoring faculty and staff that go the extra mile to recognizing personal moments in the lives of athletic fans, all with the goal of making people feel truly special and appreciated. And for those who want to object based on funding, there are simple ways to implement the Surprise and Delight strategy without breaking the bank; however, it does require developing a Habit of Awareness which will demand an investment in time and energy. “The end goal for surprise and delight shouldn’t be to collect positive reviews on a Web page or land a string of gushing tweets–though these are certainly nice outcomes. It also shouldn’t be limited to an occasional moment of bliss for a customer. It’s all about constructing a more holistic framework for affinity and loyalty by solving problems, improving interactions, and making a customer feel truly special and appreciated,” shares Greengard.

Perhaps in a later post, with your help in the comments below, we can generate some specific ideas for implementing Surprise and Delight on Union’s campus, so let me offer an example that resonated with me because it demonstrated the concept in a sporting environment. I believe that athletic departments offer one of the best opportunities to implement a culture of hospitality, and I would love to see Union become the Chick-Fil-A of NCAA Division II when it comes to hosting spectators and visiting teams.  

“The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department, meanwhile, has used beacons, geofencing, and a smartphone app to take fan interaction to a higher level. For instance, when the football team headed to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl in December 2015, it used beacons and geofencing to deliver a custom message to about 1,500 travelers as they left Madison and landed in San Diego. At the team’s official hotel site, they were also directed to various activities during game week and delivered videos and other content. The athletic department uses the same technology to hold scavenger hunts and push out promotions and coupons for concession stands.”

Realizing that Wisconsin’s budget and infrastructure might be just slightly larger than Union’s, I have complete faith that we can generate ideas of a less costly nature to create a culture of hospitality, not only in athletics, but across the entire campus. Please feel free to share ideas below of Surprise and Delight that you think might allow a visitor to campus to feel truly special and appreciated.

References:

Coyle, D. (2019). The culture code: The secrets of highly successful groups. Random House.

Greengard, S. (2016). The Shocking Truth About Surprise-And-Delight Strategy. Adobe. Retrieved from https://cmo.adobe.com/articles/2016/3/the-shocking-truth-about-surpriseanddelight-strategy.html#gs.y59o08 

Stuart, L. (2019). The spirit of hospitality: How to add the missing ingredients your business needs. Morgan James Publishing.

Young, J. & Malm, J. (2018). The come back effect: How hospitality can compel your church’s guests to return. Baker Books.