My son and I just got back from a prescreening of the Dreamworks Pictures movie, “Madagascar 2 : Escape from Africa” a fair flick, rated 71/2 out of 10 by both my son and I… “We like to move it, move it” 🙂
This was a press / focus group event at the Rave Motion Pictures in Town Square Las Vegas (nice venue) my son and I won through the local radio station.
Ticket said to “arrive early” so we got there at 8:45am for a 10am show – side note: this is the day after Halloween and it was obvious most kids and adults were suffering from a sugar-induced crash.
We were about 10th in line, and after about 30 mins the line had doubled, people were being herded and a few of the ‘wranglers’ arrived to give out theater entry tickets.
Some folks in front on us (and some folks behind us) were pulled out of the line and taken into the theater, so I asked one of the 20’s something wrangler why they got to go in (and we were still waiting), “Oh,” she said, “They’re on the list.”
Being the kind of customer-focused guys I am, I decided to pursue this (it’s fun too)...
Me: “Um, but we were on a list too”
Her: “Yes, but, they were on the other list”
This gets more interesting..
Me: “So how can I tell the difference between my list, and their list”
I swear to you, with a straight face, she said, “Because their list gets in first.”
Okay, I didn’t pay for these tickets, but I was just made to feel like a second class citizen, and then supplied with an explanation that was based on ‘fuzzy logic’ to say the least.
Are you treating your online customers the same way without realizing it?
Don’t assume that users / visitors know what they should and shouldn’t be doing and what they should and shouldn’t be entitled too in your model, make it clear and obvious and at best understandable by a 4th grader.
And if you do have a subscription model with different tiers, let users / visitors “peek behind the curtain” with trials or tours to show them what they could get if they paid / upgrade i.e. free 14-day offer
Treat everyone equal at the start of the goals tunnel, and you’ll find more will be with you at the end = conversions and loyalty.
And Madagascar 2? Go see it for the penguin and monkeys negotiating, if nothing else…