Do you remember a time you received a gift? Perhaps it was a birthday or Christmas present. But it was one wrapped up so enticingly in pretty paper, with bows and sparkles, you almost hated ripping it open. The package itself was almost as good as the gift.

That’s how your branding (the pretty wrapping) and customer experience (the gift or deliverable) should be. People expect to be wrapped up in an experience. They need something enticing them to rip the paper off and dig into what’s inside.

When you finally get them as a customer, are you continuing to be that gift you use long after your special day is over – or are you the one that gets put on the shelf and forgot about?

To make sure you are the one they come back to over and over, you need to deliver a compelling experience not just good customer service. On a basic level, that means you are delivering the basic expectations your customers have. That you are giving them exactly what you said you would.

Moving it up a level means delivering your product in a way that feels less like a process and more like an experience. You don’t want to just make it right, you want to get it right – each and every time.

To level up again, you need to grow that loyalty. Are you only courting new customers or are you rewarding the loyalty of those you’ve already gotten?

When you can create an emotional tie with your product or service, you’re increasing the chance that that customer will think of your first every time.

What you put out you reap. Customers want a compelling experience. They want to feel reciprocity in their loyalty. They expect you to be different than your competitors. They crave a personal connection or interaction. It’s about creating that emotional tie.

Let your story and brand make you the total package. Be so compelling – like the shiny bows – that they can’t resist tearing off the wrapping to see what you have to offer.