According to Gartner, 89% of businesses will compete mostly on customer experience. There is a need to create powerful unique experiences to drive differentiation,loyalty and referrals. A little less interruption and a little more action. The solution is G.L.U.E, the practice of giving little unexpected extras to exceed expectations. Doing the little signature things that can make a big difference. Stan Phelps is the founder of PurpleGoldfish.com, a consultancy that helps brands obtain customers that are up to four times as valuable as ordinary customers. He’s a contributor to Forbes and the author of Purple Goldfish, Green Goldfish, Golden Goldfish, Blue Goldfish, and Purple Goldfish - Service Edition. He works with senior leaders to focus on meaningful differentiation to win the hearts of both employees and customers. Driven by client objectives and inspired by bold vision, Stan creates custom keynotes, workshops, and programs that are memorable and on brand, inspiring businesses to become REMARK-able by design. Contact Stan at stan@purplegoldfish.com or call 919.360.4702.

1. 12 WAYS TO WIN CUSTOMERS &
INFLUENCE WORD OF MOUTH
by Stan Phelps, PurpleGoldfish.com

2. Business has changed more in
the last 10 years than it has in
the previous 100. Power has
shifted. The customer has a
bigger voice.
THE
CHALLENGE

3. Truth #1!
According to a study Gartner, 89% of
companies expect to compete mostly on the
basis of customer experience!
Source: Gartner!

4. !
!
… in 2011 it was 36%

5. Truth #2!
Retention is fast
becoming the new
acquisition.!
!
LEAKY
BUCKET

6. It costs upwards of 10x the money to
acquire a new customer than is does to
upsell a current one!
!
!

7. You need to take
c a r e o f t h e
c u s t o m e r s y o u
have… so they’ll
b r i n g y o u t h e
c u s t o m e r s y o u
want.!
Why?!

8. Truth #3!
Because all
customers !
are not !
created equal!

9. A referred customer is upwards of 4x
as valuable to a business!
!
They spend up to 2x over their lifetime compared to
regular customer!
!

10. A referred customer is upwards of 4x
as valuable to a business!
!
They spend up to 2x over their lifetime compared to
regular customer!
!
They refer up to 2x of their friends over their lifetime
compared to a regular customer!

11. Truth #4!
!
There is no such thing as just meeting the
expectations of a customer!

12. Meeting expectations is a myth. It’s like
being on time. No one is ever on time.
You’re either early or late.!
!
No one ever just meets the expectations
of a customer, you either… !
exceed expectations or you fall short !

13. We are living in an age
of equivalency. There’s little
difference between products and
services. Customer experience is the
new battlefield.

14. Two Paths
Diverge

15. My Journey

16. Moment of Truth

18. Why Purple?

19. !

21. Lagniappe
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Meaning - The additional gift
or to give more

22. Now why a Goldfish?

23. The Goldfish represents something small, but it was directly
inspired Kimpton Hotels. A chain of boutique hotels, Kimpton
embodies the doing the little something extra. Stay at any of the
Kimpton properties and you’ll find:
• free gourmet coffee and fresh fruit in the lobby
• complimentary wine tasting in the afternoon
• pet-friendly accommodations
My favorite perk is something a select number of the properties do
for guests. Perhaps you are staying at a Kimpton for a few days,
and you are getting lonely…

24. GIVE A LITTLE UNEXPECTED EXTRA
Guppy Love
Kimpton will give you a pet goldfish for your stay.
They call it “Guppy Love.”

25. Average Goldfish = 3 to 4 inches
A goldfish also represents
something small. But all
goldfish are not created equal.
The average is three to four
inches (8-10 cm) in length.
The world’s largest is …

26. Nearly 20 inches or 50cm
That’s nearly six times larger! How can there
be such a huge difference? It turns out the
growth of a goldfish is determined by five
factors. The growth of your business is
affected by these same five things.

27. 1
WHAT’S THE SIZE OF THE BOWL IN BUSINESS?
= _____
1. The size of the bowl or pond will determine how big a
goldfish with grow. The bigger the pond or bowl, the
more a goldfish can grow

28. 1
SIZE OF THE BOWL
= MARKET

29. 1
2
2. The number of other goldfish in the bowl will also impact
the growth. The more goldfish, the more difficult it is to grow.
THE OTHER IN GOLDFISH IN BUSINESS = ________

30. 1
2
NUMBER OF OTHER GOLDFISH
= COMPETITION

31. NUTRIENTS / CLARITY OF THE WATER IN BUSINESS
= _______
3. The nutrients in the water and clarity of the water
will also determine how large the goldfish will grow.

32. NUTRIENTS / CLARITY OF THE WATER
= ECONOMY

33. 4
24. The first 120 days of a goldfish life will be a factor on
its growth. The better the start, the bigger it can get.
= _______FIRST 120 DAYS OF LIFE IN BUSINESS

34. 4
2FIRST 120 DAYS OF LIFE
= START-UP OR NEW PRODUCT

35. 2
5. The genetic makeup of a goldfish will also determine
how big it will grow. The more it stand outs, the better.
= _______WHAT’S GENETIC MAKE-UP IN BUSINESS

36. 2
ITS GENETIC MAKE-UP
= DIFFERENTIATION

37. Five Factors
#1. MARKET
#2. COMPETITION
#3. ECONOMY
#4. FIRST 120 DAYS
#5. DIFFERENTIATION
Assuming you’ve already been in business for four
months, what’s the only thing you have control over?

38. Five Factors
#1. MARKET
#2. COMPETITION
#3. ECONOMY
#4. FIRST 120 DAYS
#5. DIFFERENTIATION
The only thing you can
have control over
is how you differentiate
yourself.
The little things you do to
stand out in a sea of sameness?

39. 1. Throw-ins (value)!
It took 27 months to collect all 1,001+ examples

40. After sorting through all
1,001+ examples, it became
clear there are 12 types of
Purple Goldfish:
The entire idea of a Purple
Goldfish is explained through
the acronym of G.L.U.E.

41. Purple Goldfish Strategy
is about differentiation
via added value.
Giving little unexpected
extras that drive loyalty
and word of mouth.
The entire idea of a
P u r p l e G o l d fi s h i s
explained through the
acronym of G.L.U.E.

42. G stands for Give
How are you creating a strong first impression?
Check in at any Doubletree Hotel around the world
and you’ll receive a _________________at reception.

43. G = Give
#29
A warm chocolate chip cookie. It’s a signature extra
by the hotel. Since the mid 1980’s, Doubletree has
given away over 300 million chocolate chip cookies.
FIRST IMPRESSION

44. Give
L stands for Little
It doesn’t have to be something huge.
Izzy’s is an ice cream shop in St. Paul,
Minnesota. When you buy a scoop of ice
cream at Izzy’s, you get to _____________

45. Give
L = Little
#582
Pick another flavor for free.
This little miniscoop on top is called the Izzy.
TM
SAMPLING

46. If you can surprise a customer by doing
something unexpected, you will trigger an
emotional response and become talkable.
If you have a crack in your windshield,
Safelite will come to your home or office to
repair the crack.
Give
Little
U stands for Unexpected

47. Chapter 20Give
Little
U = Unexpected
#706
The technician places this interesting looking device onto
your windshield. The device drills into the crack and places
an epoxy resin inside. It takes 10 minutes for the epoxy to
harden.
ADDED SERVICE

48. Chapter 20Give
Little
U = Unexpected
During this time the technician goes back to their
vehicle and retrieves glass cleaner and a vacuum.
They then proceed to clean the interior of your
car and all of your glass. When you come out to
inspect the work, not only does your cracked
windshield look brand new, but your car looks
like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Totally
unexpected and totally memorable.

49. Give
Little
Unexpected
E stands for Extras
Do the little extra. Go beyond just equal to give a little
more. This is extremely important when you make a
mistake in business. Nurse Next Door is a home health
care provider. When they make a mistake, Nurse Next
Door sends a handwritten note of apology with
_________________

50. #438
Give
Little
Unexpected
E = Extras
A freshly baked apple pie.
It is literally a humble pie.
Each year they spend up to
$2,000 with a local vendor.
They know that investment
helps save the company
$100,000+ a year in lost sales.
HANDLING
MISTAKES

51. One Last
Story of G.L.U.E.
According to Disney
historian Les Perkins in
1957,Walt decided to hold
a Christmas parade at
Disneyland. It was going to
cost $350,000.
#537

52. Walt’s accountants sat him down and
besieged him to not spend money on the
parade. Nobody would complain, they
reasoned, if they dispensed with the parade
because nobody would be expecting it.

53. “That’s just the point,” Walt said.
“We should do the parade precisely
because no one’s expecting it. Our
goal at Disneyland is to always give
the people more than they expect. As
long as we keep surprising them,
they’ll keep coming back. But if they
ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten
times that much to get them to come
back.”
Walt’s mantra was simple…

54. Always Exceed
Expectations
Walt even had a word for the concept of
doing the little things to exceed
expectations. He called it “plussing.”
He would drive the imagineers and the
cast members crazy, always asking them
how they could do the little extra to plus
the guest experience.

55. READY TO THINK
OUTSIDE THE BOWL?

56. WHAT’S YOUR
CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIE?

57. - Walt Disney
“The way to get started
is to quit talking
and begin doing”
WHAT’S YOUR
PARADE?

58. FIVE POPULAR KEYNOTES/WORKSHOPS

59. AUTHOR, FORBES CONTRIBUTOR,
TEDx SPEAKER, AND IBM FUTURIST

60. INSPIRATIONAL, INFORMATIVE, & ENTERTAINING

61. LET’S WORK TOGETHER
+1.919.360.4702
stan@purplegoldfish.com
LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE