When it's just magic.

I feel I work in a high-risk industry.

That may feel somewhat melodramatic, but I would argue that live Customer Closeness sessions are not for the faint-hearted. 

In a previous life, I worked in a Year 6 classroom.  I’d make plans and practice my resources to feel prepared, but I thought nothing could compare to the harsh judgement of 30 cynical and world-wise 11-year olds.

As it turns out, the harsh judgement of eight women giving a warts-and-all account of their recent experience of a brand is right up there! And when your audience is the Executive Board, rather than Ofsted, it’s time to put on your big-girl pants and (mentally) shout ‘we’re going in!’.

When you have an event where the alchemy really works – where all involved are genuinely captivated, where the group is truly ‘performing’ (both customers and client teams), it becomes something uniquely memorable for everyone there, a reference point that lives on beyond the session itself.  

Having recently facilitated one such event, I’ve tried to analyse the component parts in an attempt to replicate this most magical of unicorns. Here my observations:

• Start the relationship early (with both teams – customer and client):  In this case, having a full briefing on the design concept underpinning the new range was priceless.  And the rather inconvenient timing of a tube strike on the event day led to numerous calls between my team and the respondents – which showed our commitment to helping them defeat the odds and (thanks to the Elizabeth Line) achieve 100% attendance on the day

• Treat people like people:  Sounds obvious, but so easily overlooked – given that both parties had battled through the throngs also using the Elizabeth Line, allow time for all to breathe on arrival!   In this instance, a gleaming trolley full of rather tempting refreshments stood waiting.  I’d rarely welcome people into my home without offering at least a cuppa, so why would welcoming them to an event be any different?

• Identify the common threads: What does a highly successful senior leadership team at a top UK retailer and a group of eight women that have no background in fashion have in common; a lot as it turns out.  But to establish this requires an openness on both sides – in this instance a joke about a pair of heels that looked fabulous, but hurt like hell, immediately broke down barriers and set the tone that after all ‘we are all women!’

• Adult to adult conversation: When I started in this industry at the tender age of 21, clients were something to keep on the other side of the mirror and reluctantly accept a few illegible questions from at the end of the session.  Closeness has moved us on a million miles, but it still requires a degree of courage to share your creative vision and invite honest feedback.  However, as this session demonstrated, if you are willing to take that leap, it can lead to true collaboration and a degree of investment in your success that goes way beyond a range critique

At the end of this session, no one wanted to leave. Customers lingered, the client team continued conversations with individual Panel members, the treats trolley sustained the group well into lunchtime.   

That’s just magic.