Overpriced?
That, my friends, is a picture of where, just last Friday, I paid eight dollars for a cheeseburger and a cup of hot chocolate. It was freezing that day. Anyone with a few bucks in their pocket would have been glad to pay anything for something hot; But eight dollars for a single cheeseburger and a small cup of hot chocolate? You can get three times as much food at Wendy's. Not to mention I have yet to see a Wendy's without indoor seating (brrrr.) This place, called the Shake Shack, sits on one end of Madison Square Park (no relation or proximity to The Garden) and, despite lack of refuge from the harsh Winter, draws a line of customers that any brick-and-mortar business would be envious of in this economy. What is it about this no-frills, fast-food (gasp,) cheap outdoor seating restaurant that people seem to love? During Summer you'd better have a flexible lunch hour and lots of napkins if you want to partake of The Shack's somewhat limited gastronomical offerings, because you'll spend most of it waiting on line and salivating with the rest of the fans.
Bingo! That's exactly what this place has been able to create; Not customers, not consumers, but fans! Customers have wants. Consumers have needs. Fans, on the other hand, have desires. They desire not only a product, but, more so, an experience. The Shake Shack is well aware of this desire and how a major part of the experience is a communal effect created by doing something we normally hate to do - wait in line (just take a look at the background that loads on their site.) It's no secret that Apple too has created fans. The iPad is neither wanted nor, some may argue, needed. The iPad will sell by virtue of Apple fans' desire. In the same way, The Shake Shack sells cheeseburgers... lots of them. The question therefore is, "how has a plain looking place like The Shake Shack created such desire?" The product, without question is solid. That's a given if any sort of longevity is to exist. The answer lies in The Shake Shack experience. The perception is that being part of this young New York landmark is equivalent to being in the know. It's an initiation into cool. Burgers, shakes, and hot chocolate are pretty boring without the "cool" personal experience. As are most voiceover and freelance talent (boring without personality that is - not shakers by any stretch of the imagination.) However, it's not you that has to be cool. It's the experience of working with you. Take the focus off of yourself and you too might be able to sell a "combo meal" for well over market price.
As an experiment (and to practice what I preach... shudder,) beginning tonight throughout the rest of this month, I will remove the present styling and design from my voice-over website and simply leave a header, sidebar, and content area with links. That's it. Let's see what happens.
See you "on line."
-Anthony
