Jasmine Star (00:00:01) - Welcome back to The Jasmine Star Show, where we discuss business mindset, marketing, branding and today we're going to be talking about creating an unforgettable experience in your business. But first, I want to start with a story about my very own five-star experience. I have to tell you, in 2020, my husband and I got news 24 hour notice that we were eligible and able to adopt a baby girl from Las Vegas. And I have to tell you, it was the most exciting, riveting, heart-palpitating, up-and-down experience. And if you haven't heard that story, you can go back and listen to that story. We dropped it in February of 2020. But here's the thing. When we went to Las Vegas, we just booked any hotel thinking, okay, well, we're going to be here just a few nights maybe, and we'll make it happen. Except for the fact that when I got into the hotel, I realized with, like, deep profundity that these hotel rooms were a little dirty, and then all of a sudden, maybe it was like me becoming a mom.

Jasmine Star (00:01:13) - I was seeing, like, hotel rooms in a different light, and I was like, oh, these curtains feel a little, wow, why does it always smell like cigarette smoke? And I started noticing things in an entirely different way. And then I made a decision that I wanted to invite my daughter into our arms for the very first time in a really optimal, positive, healthy, amazing place. And it was going to be at the hotel we booked. And no, I'm not saying like we didn't book like motel six, but it was just like a Vegas Strip hotel. So I googled smoke free hotels, Las Vegas, Nevada, and there was just a couple, one of them, we had to be on the strip for a myriad of reasons. And so we found the Four Seasons Las Vegas. So we go to the Four Seasons Las Vegas and I call and I explain, we just got placed with our daughter for adoption, and we're going to be having a team called Cradle Care bring her to us, and we're going to be experiencing this in the hotel room.

Jasmine Star (00:02:08) - And they were so amazing. They said, oh, well, we must upgrade you to a suite. To which I replied, okay, thank you. We arrived and Little Duty realized that they had upgraded us to the presidential suite like y'all. Like the suite was bigger than my entire house. So we walk in, I was like, oh my God, I feel like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Like I was just like, we came up like this was the craziest thing. And so all of a sudden, we start experiencing what it feels like to be treated with such care. We walked into the room and there was a handwritten note, and there was a fresh bouquet of flowers, and then they had a bottle of prosecco to say congratulations on starting your family. So I was already so over the moon, excited. And then we were placed with our daughter and we met her entering into the presidential suite of the Four Seasons, which was totally and completely unexpected. Speaking of unexpected, we thought we would be in Las Vegas for a few nights.

Jasmine Star (00:03:06) - Well, unexpectedly, that was the start of Covid and the pandemic. And so all of a sudden, statewide agencies started closing down. And that precluded us from getting the proper paperwork to take our brand new daughter across state lines from Nevada into California. So it was always just like, oh, a couple more days, oh, a couple more days. Except for the fact that when you have a newborn and you don't have anything to take care of your newborn, you're at the mercy of whoever is housing you. So here I go again. And I tell the hotel, like or tell. I asked the hotel, do you by any chance have this thing called, uh. And I'm looking at my phone. Diaper Genie, if you don't know, a Diaper Genie is. It's basically a trash can that keeps all the little stinky stank in the trash can. And I didn't know that we needed that. And then I said, oh, well, do you have a bottle warmer? And do you have, like, a tea kettle so that I can warm up some formula? Every single thing was met with pleasure.

Jasmine Star (00:04:00) - Their response when we asked for an extra refrigerator was with pleasure. Their response when they would bring us breakfast was always to bring Luna a little extra surprise. At this time, she's probably 1314 days old, and they would bring her a little tiny teddy bear. They had somebody from housekeeping come up to us and say, can we wash all of her clothes for you? Because we were in Las Vegas and we were shopping for baby clothes because we didn't take any, we didn't have any. So we would get these new clothes and we're like, I read on the internet, I need to wash the clothes before babies wear them literally. Google taught me how to be a mom, except for the fact that I wasn't at home. The Four Seasons became our home. In fact, JD went downstairs and this was the first time we ever had to put in a baby car seat, and he asked the valet to help us do that. And that's what they did. Well, they actually had a sign, a waiver that they weren't liable for putting in the car seat, which can we just have a business talk right there? I clapped that up.

Jasmine Star (00:04:52) - That's right. You are helpful and you are delightful. But you also take care of legal considerations. Either way, when we talk about five star experiences, the Four Seasons Las Vegas far surpassed it. If you have been following along on my personal and life journey every year on February 2nd, we go back to Las Vegas and we stay at the Four Seasons Just. To commemorate the day that we became a family. And every time we go back, we experience a five star experience every single time we go. So in this episode, we are going to cover why creating inexperience matters each stage of the customer journey, and strategies to provide an unforgettable experience at each of the four stages. Pause here. Please know the full seasons I mean this for and for y'all. I want to remind you. Let me tell you, it doesn't matter if you are a product based, business owner, service based, a network marketer, or an influencer, the details are in creating a killer experience. Well, these are the things that are going to set you apart from your competitors every single time.

Jasmine Star (00:05:54) - So let's dive in. Okay, so why does creating a great experience matter so much? Well, there's a few reasons. Number one, customer loyalty a great experience creates emotional connection, which is everything. When customers feel valued and satisfied, they're much more likely to become repeat buyers. You name it. Number two word of mouth and referrals a memorable experience make customers want to share their experience with their friends, their family and like even better, social media. Word of mouth recommendations are truly, in my opinion, so underrated. And they are so powerful. People are more likely to believe their friends over a person selling them something. So why not have those people tell their friends? I actually read an article from Business News Daily that said word of mouth is even more effective than paid advertisement, resulting in five times more sales. Like y'all. Hot dang. Like word of mouth is five x return on investment over an ad. If those are those numbers and we're back in Vegas, guess what hand I'm playing? The third reason creating an experience matters is that it gives you a competitive edge.

Jasmine Star (00:07:01) - Because here's the thing buyers have options, period, and businesses that prioritize creating great experiences while they stand out from the competition. So when you're standing out like this, well, number one, attract new customers. Number two, position you as someone who goes above and beyond to meet and then exceed those expectations. When you do that, you build trust. Now that we are, we know we're empowered. Why creating a killer experience matters. I want to dive into the customer journey and how you can create an experience at every single stage, regardless of the stages that you're in business. This is not for multi-million dollar businesses or billion dollar businesses, or $100,000. This is for any business, period. And this is going to thing that's going to help you get to the next level. Now I'm going to name the stages first and then we're going to dive into each one. The four strategies are the awareness stage, the consideration stage, the purchase stage. In the usage stage okay. Let's start with the awareness date.

Jasmine Star (00:08:00) - This is the initial phase where your audience first becomes aware of you and your product or your service. In today's day and age, I'm just going out and saying this can mostly be done. I think it should be done and awareness through social media, but it could also be from like events or word of mouth. And now we know this word of mouth. You know those referrals, they're extra. Okay, so this is the first impression somebody has of you and you have seven seconds to make it like seven one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. It has to be that intentional. So here's an example of a service based business owner creating an experience in the awareness stage. So service based awareness stage we're going to be using these same examples as we walk through this conversation. So you could start seeing the patterns between the two. So let's have a career coach. Let's say Emily and she's a career coach now. She is creating an experience in the awareness stage by sharing career advice, interview tips, and ways to advocate for yourself at work.

Jasmine Star (00:08:57) - As her first three pin post on Instagram, she also shares information to help close the wage gap with women. That's going to be her ideal client now. This shows her new followers that she's dedicated to providing tangible support and actionable advice. Now they're ready to move on to stage two, which is going to be the consideration stage with her. Okay, but before we move on to stage two with Emily, I want to take a look at an example of a product based business owner creating an experience in the awareness stage. So Emily service provider, she's a career coach. Now we're going to go into a sustainable goods store and let's call them Brad. Right. You know it's like the brands, they're all about the sustainable goods like Brad. Sounds like that name. Okay, listen, you guys, I just make up these names, okay? Okay. So Brad owns a sustainable goods store, and he creates an intentional experience in the awareness stage by positioning his business as a resource for eco friendly living.

Jasmine Star (00:09:48) - Now, Brad creates social media posts and blog posts and video content, giving tips on recycling, energy conservation and waste reduction. Now his ideal client. Well, they're aware of Brad and they're aware of his mission. And they kind of like warmed them up enough to move to the consideration stage. Now here's an example of a network or an affiliate marketer creating an intentional experience in the awareness stage. Right. So we have Emily. We have Brad now Amanda. Now Amanda is a rep for a makeup company, and so she's not in the awareness stage. She's going to set up a booth at a local market. Now she creates a branded booth where attendees can take fun pictures with their friends. Like a photo booth, right? And then she encouraged them to share those photos on social media, which they probably would have anyway. And then she encourages him to tag her in her stories for a chance to win a giveaway. Ah, good job. By taking the time to create a memorable first experience, her booth guests are now interacting with her on social media and now headed into the consideration stage.

Jasmine Star (00:10:47) - So we'll take a breath here. Emily, Brad, Amanda. All of their ideal clients are in the awareness stage. Cool. Great. Now we're all seeing how they're all in the same stage, but the way that they're going after their dream customer is different. Now. The key in the awareness stage is to capture their attention, show your value proposition, and then spark a little curiosity. You want to move them to the second stage from the awareness. I am aware you exist to the second stage and that's the consideration stage. Now the consideration stage. This is going to be where potential customers are. They're kind of shopping around. They're actively evaluating products or service. They're weighing their options and they're examining the value proposition of each one time out. This is you against your competition. So Emily, Brad, Amanda have competition. And their customers are weighing all of their offers against each other. Now, in the most simplest terms, these customers are looking at what you offer versus what your competitors offer.

Jasmine Star (00:11:47) - So here's an example of a service based business owner creating an experience in the consideration stage. So we're going to go back to our career coach Emily. She's continuing her great experience in the consideration stage by offering Q&A sessions and resume audits for her followers. This is the phase where she also invites her followers to attend a masterclass showing her coaching style, demonstrating her knowledge and building trust with her audience. When her followers attend her class, it will help her ease into hesitancy and handle objections that her audience might have. Oh, actually. Okay, hold up timeout. Speaking of masterclasses, I'm inviting you to a one hour masterclass that I'm hosting. Shout out me and Emily doing our thing. How to create a promotional launch plan to double your revenue in 60 days. Basically, I'm going to do the same thing Emily is doing. I'm going to be showing my style and be demonstrating my knowledge of launching and revenue generation, and building more trust that converts to sales. And during this class, you're going to learn, what am I doing? Uh, in the consideration phase, like, Emily, I'm going to talk to you about what you learn.

Jasmine Star (00:12:49) - Key components of a high value masterclass, how to create a profitable sales page, structuring a conversion driven email funnel. How to use successful key messaging frameworks. Oh, come on, y'all, come on. All you have to do is click on the link in the show notes to save your seat. Or you can go to Jasmine Star. Com forward slash launch. In this class, I'm going to be teaching you the four pillars that got me to my first million dollar launch. How's that for consideration phase. Okay, let's go back to using our examples. Brad, you know, our product based business owner, his customers are in the consideration stage. So he Brad has established his sustainable goods store as a valuable resource in the awareness stage. He's continuing the experience in the consideration stage by offering in-person events at his shop, getting people in the door. Now these events could include DIY upcycling projects, educational sessions, maybe, or even collaborations with other local eco conscious artists. By providing an interactive experience, Brad not only educates his customers but also creates a sense of community around sustainable living.

Jasmine Star (00:13:53) - And then he makes it an experience they're not going to forget. Y'all. Product. Physical space. This is so powerful when you can create an experience that changes somebody's consideration, not just about you, the thing that you're offering, but like overall the sentiment towards the business. Now we're going to go back to an example of a network or an affiliate marketer creating an experience in the consideration stage. Now, Amanda, she's going to be our makeup representative. She continues building relationships with attendees from that local market. Remember that like photo Booth, she personally thinks every guest who tags her on their post in their stories, and then she offers them a free sample based on their needs and interests. Yo, come on, let's go. When she sends the free samples, she's also going to send a 10% off code on their first order. So now her followers are considering becoming customers and ready to move on to the next stage of their customer journey. Now, the key in the consideration phase is to deepen the connection and guide your audience towards making a decision.

Jasmine Star (00:14:51) - The third stage is the purchasing stage. Yes, this is my favorite. The purchase stage is when customers make a decision to buy the product or service. Now I want to stop here and kind of think about a couple things before somebody is actively buying. What have you done to foster that relationship? Right. You created the awareness and then you created the consideration. Oftentimes we think that somebody who sees us. And then buys. It's hardly ever that. So when you can create an experience around the awareness, somebody finding your business in a cool way is so much different than somebody seeing an ad pop up. When somebody makes a consideration. This is cool because when somebody walks into your store or they experience a photo booth, or if they come to one of your webinars, it's no longer, oh, they're asking for money. They're being empowered to make a decision. Is this a fit for me or not? They're already making a decision so that when you make an offer, you have to sell less.

Jasmine Star (00:15:42) - They're just making a decision. Now this stage also includes transactions, right. So I want to point out like a website ease. Like you have to make it so easy. It's so important if you're shipping anything, even if you're onboarding, all of that is an experience. So this stage is the most important because you want your customers to feel confident that they're making the right decision when they're purchasing your product or service. So here's an example of a service based business owner creating an experience in the purchasing stage. So we're going to go back to Emily. The career coach Emily provides an excellent client onboarding experience by providing welcome packets that outline the coaching process in the meeting times. She's setting expectations, and she's presenting a personalized plan tailored to each of her client's career goals. By getting instant access to those resources, making man her clients, they feel really good about their decision, and they're ready to take action in the last stage. Now, the last stage is the usage stage, and that's where she really wants them to focus, because that's where her clients are going to get results.

Jasmine Star (00:16:39) - So now here's an example of a product based business owner creating an experience in the purchasing stage. So in the purchasing stage, Brad prioritizes a seamless shopping experience with a reusable branded shopping bag or reusable cup after the customer's first visit. Oh okay. Cool. So this aligns with the companies and the customers mutual eco friendly values. And you know, like in order to get the cup or like get the bag, you would capture emails and then you could build out your customer email list. Okay okay okay. Let's see what's happening here. Now this not only enhances the purchase, but it also reinforces the store's commitment to sustainability, turning a transaction into a memorable experience for first time customers. Okay, so now here's an example of a network or an affiliate marketer creating an experience in the purchasing stage. In the purchasing stage, Amanda, our makeup rep. Well, she includes a handwritten thank you note. She carefully packages orders with nice packaging and she provides quick shipping. Now, these are thoughtful touches and they make a big difference in the overall buying process, making customers feel like they're receiving gifts in the mail.

Jasmine Star (00:17:43) - Totally tray chic I love it now. Plus these details you know, with the nice packaging, they make customers way more likely to share it in their stories like that. Unboxing and wrapping. Oh, now the key in the purchasing stage is to simplify and add personal touches to the buying process. So customers feel like confident and they feel supported. Okay, just a little bit of a recap before we move on to the final stage of the customer journey. The first stage is the awareness stage. The second stage is the consideration stage, the third stage is the purchasing stage and the fourth stage is the usage state. Now the usage stage of the customer journey comes after the customer has already made a purchase and begins actively using the product or service. So we're going to take a second here. A customer service is not getting them to the point of transaction. It is getting them awareness, empowering them to consider the product before the offer is made so that when you make the offer, they're just simply making a decision.

Jasmine Star (00:18:42) - But the experience extends beyond that. That I think is so powerful for so many people. And I've made this mistake too long thinking that once they became a client, customer or user, I was like, great, no, no, no. During this stage, you're going to want to focus on providing ongoing support, making sure they are more than satisfied. It's going to be important to continue the engagement that you had with the customer the same way before they decided to spend money with you. It's got to be the same now. This just shows that you deeply care about them and it's not just about the sale. Okay, let's go back into examples. An example of our service based business owner creating an experience in the usage stage. Now Emily, our career coach, she's giving a great experience in the usage stage by planning ahead with her coaching sessions. She encourages each client to fill out a questionnaire before the meeting so she can prepare, and they can maximize their time together. Outside of her coaching sessions, she can offer career growth, live trainings, resources, and templates to give her clients to have a great usage stage experience.

Jasmine Star (00:19:41) - Now, here's an example of a product based business owner creating an experience in the usage state. Now in the usage stage, Brad extends the experience by hosting a monthly sustainability challenge via email. These challenges offer creative ways to use his sustainable products, and you know he's an encourage customers to share their experiences in that dedicated online community. Now, this unique approach, well, it doesn't just add elements of fun, but also strengthens the sense of belonging in a community that's passionate about sustainable living. So here's an example of a network. Or an affiliate marketer, creating an experience in the usage stage after customers receive their orders. Amanda checks in to make sure it's exactly what they wanted, and lets them know that she's happy to record any tutorials for them now. Okay. She also makes sure to like, give love on their selfies. So she's following now her new clients, and she's engaging with them on social, and it's going to give them a boost of confidence. Now, the important thing that Amanda continues to do is to support and serve after the sales made, making her customers feel appreciated and connected during that usage stage.

Jasmine Star (00:20:43) - Now, the key in the usage stage is to provide ongoing support and resources so your customers get the best results. When you get results, you get evangelist. When you get evangelists, they start telling other people. When you get other people telling other people, yeah, that's the word of mouth that gets those five x returns. Okay. So let's review. We talked about why creating an experience matters. And those work to improve customer loyalty, to increase referrals by word of mouth, and gives you a competitive edge to help you stand out against your competitors. Okay. And then we talked about the four stages of the customer journey, which are number one, the awareness stage, which is the first impression somebody has of you and you have seven seconds to make that first impression. So it needs to be intentional. The second stage is the consideration stage, which is when that potential customers are shopping around and weighing their options and making a decision. The third stage is the purchasing stage. Now this is when they become a customer.

Jasmine Star (00:21:39) - From completing the transaction to shipping to onboarding. Dial that in the fourth stage is the usage stage. Now this stage comes after the customer has made the purchase and begins to actively use, you know, your product or service. Now I have two action steps for you. Let's go. Because you know this podcast, we ain't about listening and we're not about learning. We are about listening, learning. And then here it comes. We're about doing. These are the two action steps. First, I want you to think about how you can create or uplevel an experience for your audience. In one of the four stages. I'm not asking for all four. Just pick one stage and pick one thing tiny little micro steps. Secondly, I want you to sign up for my one hour masterclass, how to create a promotional launch plan to double your revenue in 60 days. The four pillars that I'm going to be teaching you are the exact four pillars that help me create my first million dollar launch. You could save your seat at Jasmine's dot com forward slash launch, and I will also link it in the show notes.

Jasmine Star (00:22:35) - I hope you enjoy this episode, and if you would be so kind to leave a review or tag me on stories. I personally love connecting with you. When people are posting behind the scenes of their dog walks, then making dinner, then packing lunch, them listening on the subway, them at the beach, them in their cubicle. Okay, I'm like, no judgment y'all. It makes me feel connected to you. And I like to personally say thank you when you do that. So many blessings. Thank you for listening and watching The Jasmine Star Show.