We are staying at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which is a vast hotel. One of the things that's been really interesting about our stay here is that they've done a fantastic job of sort of weaving in some surprises.
It's all under a dome, and there are over 50,000 trees and plants inside the hotel, growing live inside this dome. But anyway, it's this amazing environment that you walk around, and it feels like you're outside. It smells like you're outside. And so there are many natural surprises baked into just wandering the hotel, trying to find your room.
But beyond that, they do all kinds of interesting things: light shows and music shows throughout the day and the evening. They've got a riverboat. But what I find fascinating is they don't tell you that all these things are here. They let you discover them, they let them be a surprise. And I thought, as we were watching this light show last night, that was a surprise.
We often talk about clients who don't like surprises, and they don't when it comes to deadlines or budgets or things like that. But I think everybody likes delightful surprises, surprises that demonstrate that someone's thinking about them and that they are going a little above and beyond. And I don't know that we are thoughtful about baking in that kind of surprise into our client interactions.
And so my challenge to you is when was the last time you surprised a client by just doing something that would delight them, that showed that you were thinking of them, that you cared, or something a little something extra that they're not expecting for no other reason than to make them happy. And if your answer is, which I guess I'm going to think, most - for most of you- we don't do that very often.
My suggestion is that you spend some time thinking about how you could delight your clients and surprise them in a way that makes them feel special, appreciated, and seen.
Drew McLellan, CEO of Agency Management Institute, offers agency owners a weekly agency management tip.