There’s much spoken of the need for the ‘wow factor’ in our work and how without it we risk being invisible. But I have to tell you I’m totally over businesses that lead with ‘wow’ only to follow up with…er, nothing actually.

Here’s an example. Recently Jane took our son to a very tall, pointy building in the centre of Sydney as he’s been longing to see what it’s like up there. Through the eyes of a child, the prospect of visiting this well-known attraction was undoubtedly wow on a stick. Jane was pretty excited too, it has to be said.

Sadly, though, their experience revealed that the Board of Twits who ran the outfit had clearly decided the height of the building was wow enough and stuff everything else.

It seems their thinking went something like: Nice food? Nice surroundings? Why bother? This building is over 300 metres tall and punters only come once!

Too right they will and they’ll be sure to share their experiences with others. Dumb move guys.

As business owners we can certainly benefit when we have something that really stands out, but a memorable and positive experience needs much more than superficial sparkle. Those who are truly wow-worthy understand that it has to be real and it must permeate everything.

The pursuit of wow is just the beginning. It’s how we apply it that creates the magic.

So what constitutes your ‘wow’ and how do your customers get to experience it?

Want more articles like this? Check out the  business marketing section.

Share your secrets, unleash your rants or fess up to your failings via a comment.

Oh yes, and if you’re heading up a towering building in the centre of Sydney, do yourself a favour and take your own sandwiches, a packet of wipes and a good book to read in the queue.