Customers vs Fans

Walking towards the stadium, feathers from the boas were lining the way. 

Getting closer, a sea of sparkles begins to appear, along with heart-shaped sunglasses and an increasing amount of infectious positive energy.

The struggles of buying this single ticket were real, but now seems to all be worth it as each step leads me into a stadium filled with mostly women. 

Seated next to a woman who had seen Harry Styles perform in London last week, Lisbon the week before, and is now in Toronto, she tells me that she will be traveling to New York next week to see him in concert again. 

And that's when I realized the power of fans. It’s a responsibility because their loyalty will follow you, just so they can be a part of the world you create for them.

In a previous life, we worked in the sports and entertainment business, where fandom was made. Behind those walls there’s no such thing as a customer, everyone’s a fan. Both the employees and customers. 

Why?

First, it’s because they care. A lot. Their devotion is not an option. They love the sport, the players, the artists, the music, the hype, all and everything that goes with it.

Second, because when you work for fans, you HAVE to care. You have people counting on you, and more than that you are counting on yourself and your team members to deliver something special for every single person.

We know that there’s a huge difference between the sports and entertainment business and finance and advisory services, but there are lessons that can be learned and used in your practice. 

The simplest one is to do the work you’d want to do for yourself if you were a fan of your practice. Try taking a step back and think “What would I want? What would make this way better?” and then do that, and you’ll be on your journey towards creating fans. The reason is it comes from a place of insight, your own, and authenticity. Even if the actions aren’t 100% accurate, you can always course correct, but at least it’ll come from a genuine place.

David Meerman Scott, Marketing and Sales expert and author of the book, Fanocracy writes, “The fundamental ingredient for true fandom-meaningful and active human connection-demonstrates a shift in the way a company relates with its customers. Companies that have fans are more forthright, helpful, and transparent. They create new experiences and along the way, turn customers into like-minded, enthusiastic fans.”

Once you do that, then the challenge is to think about how you can scale it to all your clients.

Being someone who serves their fans comes from a selfless place. You are simply doing and acting in a way that you hope will be appreciated and is more than they imagined or hoped for. You are actively going above and beyond with no alternative motive.

And if you do it enough it will catch on with others. The reason is we are all social people and fans WANT to share all the great things you do for them. They are actually looking for reasons to do so, if you arm them with great experiences.