Creating Superfans Podcast Episode 304: Brittany Hodak

Brittany Hodak [00:00:02]:
Hello, and welcome to the Creating Superfans podcast. I’m Brittany Hodak, a speaker, author, and entrepreneur obsessed with all things customer experience. Here’s the thing. If your customers aren’t telling their friends about you, you’re in trouble. This podcast exists to help you turn more of those customers into those loyal fans that don’t just come back but also tell their friends. Last year, I launched a book called Creating Super Fans where I introduced something I call the supermodel. It’s a 5 part framework that’s all about customer experience. SUPER is an acronym.

Brittany Hodak [00:00:36]:
It stands for start with your story, understand your customer story, personalize, exceed expectations, and repeat. And over the 3 seasons of this podcast, I have talked a lot about that first step, s, start with your story. If you go back to season 1, in episode 19, my guest, Rory Vaden, does a really deep dive. And then in last season, season 2 episode number 13, in a solo episode, I share 10 often overlooked opportunities for you to share your story. Now, today, we’re talking about the second pillar of that supermodel, you, which is understand your customer story. Something that I often say is super vans are created at the intersection of your story and every customer’s because that is where you can overpower apathy, which is one of the strongest forces that exist in all of our lives. Story is how you make someone care more about you than your competitors. But if you’re not showing them that you truly understand theirs, they can feel like just another number, just another customer who’s nameless or faceless that really you’re just trying to like get the money at the end of the day and obviously that’s not how we want our customers or our prospects to feel.

Brittany Hodak [00:01:52]:
So today, we’re gonna dive into you. Understand your customer story. What does it mean? How can you do a better job of it? And why is it more critical than ever before in this world that is increasingly driven by commodities? Earlier this year, I was speaking at an event, and I met a gentleman who ran a law firm. And he was talking to me about how one of the things that he’s learned over the couple of decades that he’s run this firm is that the person who sits at the front desk, who’s answering phones, who’s greeting people that walk in off the street, has to have an incredible amount of empathy because most of the people who walk into his office or who pick up the phone and call his office are not doing it because they’re having a good time. They’ve either just been sued or they’re going through something really challenging. They’re maybe considering suing someone. So it’s a really emotional time. And he said when he interviews people for that receptionist position, one of the questions that he always asks is, have you ever been sued? And most people say, you know, no.

Brittany Hodak [00:02:57]:
I’ve never been sued, and they think that’s a great answer. But when he sees someone’s face drop or their heart sinks a little bit and they say, yes. I was sued once. Let me explain. He said he can almost always see, like, the hope drained from their face. They think that’s it. I’m not gonna get this job. But in reality, those are the candidates that he considers most strongly because it’s impossible to truly understand what it feels like for a customer or a prospective client in that moment if somebody hasn’t been through the extreme emotional turmoil that comes with being a party in a lawsuit.

Brittany Hodak [00:03:38]:
And he said, you know, obviously, I’m never gonna not hire someone because they haven’t been sued. But when I have 2 pretty equal candidates and I know one of them has been through that life changing experience, I wanna favor them because I know they’re going to have that empathy. Now one of the things that I talk about in my book, particularly as it comes to this you pillar of the supermodel, is the idea of empathy and authority working together. Too often, we are excited about showing our authority. We wanna lead with the accolades, the strengths, the products, the benefits, but as Teddy Roosevelt once said, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It’s the idea of leading with empathy because that empathy opens the door for authority, and it makes it much more powerful. When you can, as my friend Phil Jones likes to say, earn the right to make a recommendation because of something you heard someone say, they’re going to take that recommendation much more seriously. Alright.

Brittany Hodak [00:04:45]:
So this is a little bit like a turducken of an acronym because I’m about to share an acronym inside of an acronym. But when I talk about understanding your customer’s story, story is a secondary framework that stands for struggles, transformation, options, reservations, and you. And if you follow this framework, you will absolutely demonstrate to your prospects and your customers that you truly understand their story. So grab a pen or your notes app because we’re gonna go through all 5 of these and talk about what they mean at different stages of your customers and prospects’ journey. First up, s, struggles. One thing to keep in mind is that your customer always has other options. Even if you think I’m the only person who provides the solution that I provide, I’m the only one who can help them with this thing, I’ve got news for you. There are still other options, whether it’s to ignore the problem altogether, whether it’s to take all the money that they should have taken to solve the problem and, like, throw a big party for their friends.

Brittany Hodak [00:05:58]:
There are always other options. So the first thing that you’ve gotta do is think about what it is that your prospect or your customer is truly struggling with. What’s that problem that they’re trying to solve? Maybe it’s a surface level problem, but quite probably, it’s something a little bit deeper than that. I recently joined Orangetheory Gym, which I am loving, by the way, if you’ve not tried Orangetheory. It’s a fantastic experience. I’ve had a membership to a gym called Lifetime for probably, like, a year and a half now, and I rarely go. It’s a little bit far from my house, and they’ve got great facilities, but I’ve just never I’ve never really felt like I’m happy to be here. Like, this is a great place.

Brittany Hodak [00:06:45]:
And so, you know, I’ll take my kids there, and we’ll go to the pool. But I’ve never felt like I belonged at a class. And something really great that Orangetheory did when I came for my very first sort of, like, introductory, let me try it out lesson, they welcomed me from the very beginning. Like, there was literally a dry erase board sign in the lobby that said welcome, Brittany, and everyone introduced themselves to me. Everybody said hi, and everyone said, you know, what what is it that you that you’re looking for? Are you here just to, increase your activity? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to build muscle? What are you trying to do? And one of the things that I I mentioned was, you know, I really wanna get in a routine because I’ve got a crazy schedule. I travel all the time. I’m constantly flying. I’m constantly in new cities.

Brittany Hodak [00:07:29]:
When I am at home, I have a really unpredictable schedule. I just really wanna try to get into a routine that has some consistency but can also be flexible. And the coach that day, coach Chris, said, I cannot tell you, like, how deeply I feel that. As a mom with young kids, I know that the struggle is real because the minute that you think you’re in a routine, somebody gets sick or somebody needs something at school or you’ve gotta run somebody somewhere. And I was like, yeah. And I think I never consciously connected the fact that, you know, having 2 young kids is is, like, a different level of chaos for life in general with the fact that my workouts were, like, always the first thing to go. Right? Like, you know, if you’ve got people that are depending on you, whether it’s children, whether it’s aging parents, whether it’s pets, when they need something, you have to step up. Right? So the fact that coach Chris was like, I get it.

Brittany Hodak [00:08:28]:
And all of us here are parents. Like, every single coach there at the, at the gym happens to have kids. So she was like, we get it. We understand. This is why we have classes that are at all of these different times, every different day. You can come in super early in the morning. You can come in late, and you can always text us and let us know when you need some extra support. And if you can ever, like, not make it to the gym, here’s how you can do workouts virtually in the app.

Brittany Hodak [00:08:56]:
So that was something I, like, didn’t even articulate that I was struggling with, like balancing the chaos of life. But listening to me talk, coach Chris was like, I get it. I understand the struggle. I understand the chaos. So as you’re talking to your prospects or your customers, listen for cues that go a little bit below the surface. Right? Because somebody could have had heard that conversation with me and and thought like, oh, I get it. You’re struggling to lose weight. You need to, like, come workout more, or you’re struggling to be more fit.

Brittany Hodak [00:09:27]:
You need to, like, put this in your calendar. But she heard what I wasn’t really saying, which was my life is crazy and chaotic, and I wanna do better, and I wanna support system to help me do better. So that’s the s of the story framework. If you can figure out what your customer is truly struggling with beneath the surface, it will allow you to connect with them on a deeper, more emotional level, which, again, will help connect your story to theirs, which breaks through that apathy zone that is so prevalent and so persistent. Up next is t, transformation. Now you’ve likely heard some version of if you want to sell more, sell the transformation that somebody is looking for, not just what the process is, and it’s really great advice because let’s say you are offering somebody a solution that makes something faster. You’re not just making it faster for the sake of making it faster. You’re making it faster so that they get time back that they can use for literally anything they want.

Brittany Hodak [00:10:33]:
Right? So thinking about selling the transformation that you’re offering. A really great example of this is a Nashville based photographer named Fizza Raza. I’ve had Fizza on the show before. It’s the second episode of the first season if you wanna go back and check it out, but she talks about a huge selling mindset shift that happened for her when she realized she wasn’t selling headshots. She was selling confidence. Most photographers talk to you about the very nuts and bolts. Like, this is how your session is gonna work. This is how we’re gonna frame you and, you know, sort of photography focused features and benefits.

Brittany Hodak [00:11:14]:
But Fizzah said, what I’m selling is a feeling. I’m selling something that’s going to create a transformation because on the other side, someone has these photographs where they feel beautiful. They feel confident. So everything from the presale stuff of her website and the ads that she’s running all the way through the, you know, setup call that you have, even reviewing the photographs on-site after she’s taken them are all rooted in, how can I make someone feel more confident? How can I make them feel beautiful or handsome and excited about these amazing pictures? Like, the pictures are the outcome, but the transformation is making someone feel more confident. And, you know, spoiler alert, she knows that if she can make people feel confident leading up to that session, the pictures are going to look better. So because she’s focused on that transformation, she’s actually making the product better because she’s got that singular focus. So what’s the transformation that you are ultimately helping your customers seek? And there may be a few answers. If you deal with various customer types, that thing that they’re looking for could be different.

Brittany Hodak [00:12:38]:
But just like in the infomercial where all of a sudden somebody says, there’s gotta be a better way, and then there’s this miracle product or service that makes everything different. Think about that transformation. And if you focus on what that is, what they would wave the magic wand to change, you’ll be able to have stronger marketing on the front end and stronger results on the back end. The next letter is o, options. It is very important to understand all of the other options your prospective customers or even your existing customers might be considering. Because, again, it’s always a huge mistake to assume that you’re the only option or you’re the best option. So much business is lost every year by people assuming that they’re, like, the only choice for their or they’re the only choice for their customer. Because when you get complacent, when you think like, oh, I’m the the obvious choice, the only choice, somebody who’s a little bit scrappier, who is trying a little bit harder, who’s creating better experiences can come in and pluck all of those customers away.

Brittany Hodak [00:13:50]:
So never assume that you’re the only option. Also, don’t assume that you shouldn’t ask about other options. By asking your prospects or even your customers, hey. What are some of the other options that you’re considering? You can help them talk through whether or not you truly are the best choice. Now all of the all of the letters in this story framework model are like nesting dolls. They build on the one that comes before. So by the time you get to o, you’ve already started to uncover what it is that your customer is struggling with. What is it that they wish they could change, that they can make go away? You already know the transformation that they’re looking for.

Brittany Hodak [00:14:31]:
If they could wave a magic wand and have one thing be different, you know what that is. So you’re already in a really good position to start asking about options at this part of the conversation, asking them about things that they’ve considered or maybe haven’t considered. I am always a huge proponent of if you think someone isn’t the right fit for you, making a recommendation or even an introduction to someone who would be a better fit. Because not only is it better for you if you have customers that are gonna be incredibly happy because they’re the best fit customers, but it’s also better for them. And I know as a keynote speaker, there have been several times I have gotten on a phone call with a prospective client, and after talking to them for a few minutes, I’ve said, you know what? I don’t think a customer experience speaker is what you need right now. I think you might need a speaker who specializes in a different topic, and then I make an introduction. Because while I ultimately wanna do a lot of keynote gigs and help a lot of people, what I really want is to make sure that anyone who would entrust their team to me is getting the best thing that they need at that moment in time. So if I feel like it’s somebody needs a change management speaker or a burnout speaker or somebody who is, like, hardcore sales, then I always wanna recommend the right person.

Brittany Hodak [00:15:49]:
So ask your customers. Ask your prospective customers about other options that they’re considering, and have an honest conversation about whether or not you are the right fit for them. Up next is r. R stands for reservations. What reservations might your clients or your customers have? This is another one where it can feel a little vulnerable, but that’s a good thing because, again, super fans are created at the intersection of your story and every customer story. And the more you’re willing to have an honest conversation about their reservations, the more likely you are to land where you’re both super happy with this. Now if you’re in a highly consultative position where you’re doing a lot of in person sales, this looks like a conversation. But you can also help explore reservations if you’re operating in a more transactional sales environment.

Brittany Hodak [00:16:44]:
Like, let’s say you’re selling something online, and there’s not a lot of interaction with a person. The language that you use on those landing pages, the language that you use on those product pages can help overcome those reservations. One good example of this is a lot of companies want you to sign up for a free trial in part because they assume you’re gonna, like, forget, and they’re gonna get to charge you for a month or 2 before you see it on your credit card statement and remember that you signed up for it. And, you know, it’s, I think, like a slimy way to do business, but we know that’s, like, a super common business practice. Right? It’s like, oh, if we can just get them to sign up for the free trial, then we’ll, like, make a little bit of money before they know what they’re doing. Now there are a lot of reasons this is a bad idea. 1, because now you have people whose experience with you is that you, you know, were charging them for a product that they weren’t using, and they are more likely to have a negative association of your product than if they had just simply never tried it at all. But that’s beside the point right now.

Brittany Hodak [00:17:46]:
To help overcome a reservation of somebody who’s been burned like that a couple of times before, there are a few things you could do. You could say, you know what? We’re not even gonna collect your credit card for this free trial, and we’re gonna reach out to you in, you know, 10 days, 30 days, whatever the trial period is to see if you wanna give us your credit card to keep going. So that’s an example of helping overcome a reservation. If you’re not regularly talking to your customers and prospects, you’re probably missing out on a lot of really great information that you can use to help overcome these reservations or get people past the things that might be keeping them from saying yes in this moment. So don’t skip that really important part. And finally, why? Why stands for you? Are you the right person or the right company to help this prospect? Hopefully, it’s been abundantly clear throughout this presentation that I think that if you’re not, you should say something. It’s the best thing, not just in that moment for your customer, but also for you in the long term because you never want somebody, again, to leave with that bad experience, bad taste in their mouth, and be out there telling people why you’re not a great solution or not a great fit. So asking yourself, do the things that you’ve learned through going through s t o and r point to you being a great fit? We’ve all had experiences where we trusted someone, maybe someone we knew, maybe someone we’re meeting for the first time, and thought, yeah.

Brittany Hodak [00:19:27]:
This seems like it’s gonna work, only to find out that it was a terrible fit, a terrible experience. And then we feel, a, like we maybe got duped or taken advantage of, and, b, like that person absolutely put their needs above our own. And it’s not a great feeling, so ask yourself, are you the right person to help? And if not, what can you do about it? Just like we were talking about in the option phase. If there’s another option that feels like a better fit that you think is gonna lead to a stronger outcome, then you should absolutely make that known. Now if you say to someone, hey. This could be a good fit. I’m gonna be completely honest. You’re not a 100% in the, like, middle of the target of people that we are best positioned to serve.

Brittany Hodak [00:20:16]:
But if you are willing to give it a shot, we are willing to give it a shot too. And then if it doesn’t work out, you’ve at least voiced those concerns up front. But oftentimes, what happens when somebody isn’t a great fit and you say I’m referring you to someone else because they leave thinking, wow. That was really remarkable that instead of just, like, taking my money, somebody said, here’s why we might not be the best ones. And it is not at all uncommon for those people to refer more customers to you who are a perfect fit because you’ve taken the time to go through the exercise to understand their struggles, understand the transformation they were looking for, talk through options, ask about reservations. So now that potential customer has a great idea of who could have an amazing experience with you in the future. Alright. That’s the story framework.

Brittany Hodak [00:21:11]:
If you wanna truly understand your customer’s story, think about what they’re struggling with. Think about the transformation that they’re ultimately hoping to experience. Think about the other options that they have to recognize that transformation. Think about any reservations they might have about taking the action necessary to move them from where they’re at to where they’re trying to go, and then, finally, ask yourself, are you the right person to walk alongside them on this journey to get them from point a to point b. And if you’re asking the questions to uncover those, you will know that you can help connect your story to theirs. And if you do this, you will almost certainly be laying the groundwork to turn that customer into a superfan. Now if you want some additional resources around doing this, you can head over to brittneyhoddack.com/ super. This is the landing page for people who buy my book, Creating Super Fans, where they can download, like, I don’t know, 20 different free bonus resources.

Brittany Hodak [00:22:21]:
But now you guys know the secret. You can go to brittanyhodak.com/SUPER whether you’ve bought the book or not. And when you get there, pay attention to chapter 7 because that’s one of the chapters in the book where I talk about this idea of understanding your customer’s story. And one of the things that you can download is a story template. So it’s actually asking you to think about, like, your target super fan persona. If you’ve ever built out customer personas or marketing personas, this is a slightly different take on it. It’s about what you need to do to turn that persona, or the customer that persona represents into a superfan. So you can download that and start to play around with these ideas, start to think about the things that you’re doing.

Brittany Hodak [00:23:05]:
And, you know, I wanna challenge you to start looking for examples out in the wild that show you that a company understands you. It could be a small thing. It could be a big thing. What are they doing to show you that they’re not treating all of their customers exactly the same? I go to a lot of events, and I always appreciate when the event badge holders or pins are different colors. They can let you know things at a glance of, like, you’re a first time attendee or you’re not a first time attendee, maybe what department you work in, maybe what location you work at, just a really simple visual cue. Sephora, in several territories has done something similar that I think is really great over the years with color coded shopping baskets. So you you know, for anybody who’s ever walked into a Sephora, you know it can be a little bit overwhelming because they have tens of thousands of products. And so Sephora will color coat the baskets, and if you pick a basket of one color, it means, hey.

Brittany Hodak [00:24:05]:
I got this. I’m just here to shop. And if you pick another color, it means, can you please approach me and help me out? I may need some assistance in selecting a product. So showing them that you understand, showing them that you’re not treating everyone exactly the same. There are opportunities all around you to get to understand your customers on a deeper level and show them that you care about who they are as an individual. I hope this episode has inspired you to do just that. And as Teddy Roosevelt said, show customers how much you care so that they will care how much you know. That does it for today’s episode of the Creating Super Fans podcast.

Brittany Hodak [00:24:48]:
I would love to understand more about what you love about this show or what you think could be even better. So So if you wanna help me out by leaving a review, that would be incredible. If I understand the things that you love and the things that you want more of, I promise to personalize future episodes of the show to be even more helpful. Thanks for listening, and until next time, remember, don’t just settle for standard, be super.