Pretty Much World's Worst Place To Lose Your Wallet
01.29.19
No Story Means No Demand
Good people will go hungry if what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
You’ve gotta admit, the folks at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hit the jackpot when they coined “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” as a positioning message. Just think: You only had to hear it once to memorize it. You’ve said it a bazillion times and so many others have, too, that it’s a catchphrase and punchline used around the world, thus proving the power of R&R — Remember and Repeat. Man, they totally nailed it.
You’re super-talented, but do you think you can come up with a statement for whatever you’re promoting that mentions its name twice? Let alone meets R&R standards? Not easy!
But that’s not all I love about it. See, every time you hear those seven words, pictures form in your mind. And they tend to be, well, filthy! Because that’s where your mind goes and it’s right where Vegas wants it to go, as that imagery syncs perfectly with their overall “taboo” positioning. Cool, no?
But here’s what I love best about WHIVSIV: It’s a big, stinky lie. And everyone drawing paychecks in Vegas knows it.
Dominators know there’s a simple formula at play here that applies to every business — and person — in existence: When no positive story is told, no demand is built. Meaning, the people you serve today better have something good to say about it tomorrow. Otherwise you might not have many tomorrows to look forward to.
Let’s imagine that this is your first day back after a long holiday weekend in Vegas. All of your friends, family and co-workers knew you were there and expect you to regale them with at least one good “what happened” story. But what if, for you, what happened in Vegas stayed there? What would that say about you?
Truth is, if you told nobody about your trip to Vegas — including the names of the hotel you stayed at, the restaurants and clubs you hit, the casinos where you played, the shows you saw and all the crazy adventures you had there — it would mean that Vegas met your expectations and gave you what you paid for. Competitively speaking, that’s a disaster.
See, nobody in the history of the world ever told someone else about a time when he or she got what was paid for and expected. Because it would be the worst story ever told! Businesses are so good at what they do these days that we can pretty much assume we’ll be satisfied with whatever we get and whoever we buy from, right? But there’s a price to be paid for this that can be expressed as that simple formula you read 20 seconds ago.
Because you had no stories to tell — and made no noise whatsoever — Vegas will attract exactly zero new visitors as a result of your experience.
Thankfully, Vegas workers understand this (after learning the hard way, as you’ll read in the book).
That hotel desk clerk who upgraded you to a suite when he saw it was your birthday? The blackjack dealer who whispered that it’s not smart to stand with a soft 17 when she’s got a face card up? That Elvis impersonator who posed for a selfie with you (yeah, like you’re not going to show that to people back home…). These things are intentional. Vegas workers are required to do stuff like this. And you know why.
Put your honesty cap on and think about the customers your business served last week. Or the people you served last week that are important to your career. Do they have anything to say about it today? No story. No demand.
Meeting expectations is the mistake non-dominators make as a matter of standard operating procedure.
Whose job is it to make sure people have stories to tell that match your desired positioning? You don’t need me to tell you that.
Stay tuned.