It was the winter of 1988.  I was 16 years old, living in New Zealand and a virgin.  A Rocky Horror Picture Show virgin.  For the uninitiated, that means I had yet to have my first Rocky Horror experience.  I knew nothing about the rice, toast and water guns.  Not even an inkling of the costumes both in and out of the audience!  All I knew was, I had the ok from my host parents to go the theater in downtown Wellington for the live midnight show!  Seriously what 16 year old wouldn’t have jumped all over that?!?  We piled 7 or 8 of us into a small sedan and away we went!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in 1975 to a resounding thud!  I kid you not, the cult classic almost never got off the ground.  It was relaunched as a midnight movie in NYC in the spring of 1976.  There was something magical about the midnight timing.  It was soon noted that the movie had a following of regulars – fans, if you will.  Somewhere along the line, these fans where shouting out lines, dancing in the aisle and dressing up as characters.

By 1979, mainly because of the fan interaction, the movie was a viral phenomenon.  (Imagine that – something going viral before the age of internet…)  Everyone wanted to be in on it and have the Rocky Horror experience. Rocky Horror became the phenomenon it is because the theater owners were brave enough to allow the fans to take ownership of the movie experience.

Today, social media is what everyone is buzzing about in the marketing world.  Marketers talk about how the brand story can no longer be solely defined by the company.  You must now allow customers/fans to have a part in the story telling.  They talk about not only encouraging, but finding ways to promote fan interactions – be it by twitter, facebook or blogging.

Fan interaction is not a new thing.  Rocky Horror would never have become what it is without it.  Any marketer today would give their left ear to have the fanatical, interactive, word of mouth spreading, fans Rocky Horror had in it’s heyday!  What is new are the tools fans use and the speed of how things can go viral.

Are you allowing your fans to own part of your experience?  Today, as in the past, it takes brave, smart leadership to allow chapters of your brand story to be told by your fans – the growth of your company depends on it.

I’ve been thinking about bathrooms lately.  Bathrooms speak volumes about your business!  It gives an intimate look into your thought process and perceived work ethic and can be easily overlooked by a busy business owner.  (Stay with me – I promise this will make sense!!)

It was Monday morning and I was busy cleaning and getting ready for an afternoon meeting.  Time was getting short and I was running through my head what absolutely needed to be done and what could get away “with a wink and a promise”.  Looking at the rug in the meeting room I knew I could literally sweep the dirt under it and my client would never ever know.  Likewise I could put all the unread newspapers under the couch and she’d be none the wiser (neither of which I did by the way).  But what I knew, without fail, was the bathroom had to get a complete head to toe cleaning.  I also knew, it was highly likely that my client would never even catch a glimpse of my bathroom.  That didn’t matter, the bathroom had to spotless.

Years ago, I went to a newly opened hair salon.  They had beautiful signage, obviously thought about the decor and layout and made every effort to insure a great customer experience.  Until it got to the bathroom….  In the bathroom so many extra robes were hanging from the door it made it difficult to open and close, some of the bulbs were burnt out and the pedal garbage can was broken so you had to open it with your hands.  I was just happy I didn’t have to contend with the bathroom doing double duty as a storage room full to the ceiling with boxes.  With this one experience my perception of this salon changed.  Where before, I was impressed with their attention to detail – their lack of attention in the bathroom had me wondering where else things had fallen through the cracks.  Now I was on the alert and subconsciously looking for areas to find fault.  Before my bathroom experience, the small flaws wouldn’t have even hit on my radar.

Now if you think I’m making to much of a big deal over this, I bring before you Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos.  Their business is all about the experience.  The lavish decorating didn’t stop at the bathroom door.  The huge mirrors, upholstered chairs and thoughtful lighting is carried all the way into the room and it is always spotlessly clean.  These bathrooms even have actual, breathing bathroom attendants – when was the last time you saw a bathroom attendant!  Their business model is to promote escape and luxury.  Now imagine your at the one of the casinos and the bathroom you walk into was the same as your local McDonald’s.  Your experience and perception of the casino has now changed hasn’t it?

(PS: This is not a slam against McDonald’s bathrooms!!  As any world traveler knows – they almost always have the cleanest, free bathrooms in the world – and yes it is part of their marketing and customer experience strategy!)

My point is:  Every business has a “bathroom” – a place that is accessible to all clients but where few may actually enter.  Once a client accesses these areas, it’s vitally important for the overall company experience and message to show through.  People can and will make judgements on your company and service based on your “bathroom”.  Go run and take a look at your bathroom – is it passing the test?

Lululemon, Lululemon, Lululemon!!!  There I said it!!  In the last few weeks it seems that every time I get into a conversation about marketing and social media the words “Lululemon – their message is tight!” comes out of my mouth.  Let me explain.

I knew of Lululemon, but they didn’t really hit on my radar until I did some research for my Inner Girl Athlete and Under Armour post.  In that post, if you recall, I mentioned how Under Armour had a position open for a Women’s Marketing Manager and that I had applied for the position (still no word there).  In doing my homework I researched other women’s athletic apparel makers, including Title Nine and Lululemon.  I also started following their Twitter feeds and became a fan on Facebook.  Not only did Lululemon blow me away, but I’m quickly becoming a super fan when I’ve never spent a dime with them or own a single piece of their apparel!!

When it comes to having a clear vision of who they are and how to communicate that vision with their “guests” they have it nailed!  A quick visit to their website and you will find the words – goals, outgoing, upbeat, energetic and fun – permeate the site.  Here’s the really cool thing – had I only ever gone to their Facebook fan page, blog or Twitter feed I still would have received that message.

Their message isn’t just about putting out the word but actively living the lifestyle they preach.  Lululemon runs challenges that they not only promote but actively engage in as well.  For the month of February they ran “A Challenge a Day”.  A couple of my favorite challenges were #21 – leave a positive message in a public place and #22 – hold downward dog for 5 minutes.  They posted the challenge with images of themselves participating in the challenge.  Fans then participated by commenting on how they met the challenge.  The challenges spread Lululemon’s overall message in a fun, upbeat way.

Here is how Lululemon knocks the socks off with their Social Media efforts.  They very, very actively listen and take part in the conversation people are having about them.  They are constantly looking for feedback on their products.  You can give your input in several different ways – a form off their website, an in store form or comments on their Facebook fan page.  And I know they are listening.   Look at their fan page, someone from Lululemon almost always comments on the customer feedback.  They let the commenter know they will pass the word on to the designers, etc…  Usually Whitney does the honors.  I love that I know Whitney is taking care of me should I have an issue.  I now no longer feel like one of many but like I have a personal connection – an inside line so to speak.  Mind you I’ve never met Whitney but I know she hears me.

Lastly, in terms of using Social Media in a way that I love, Lululemon posts on their fan page new products.  I know many people do that, but here is where Lululemon stands out – they attach a small story to it.  They give you a review – what the product is – ie rain jacket etc.., an image of a real person (usually someone in their office) with the person’s measurements so you can envision how it fits on you and then they tell you why they made it.  I love knowing their thoughts behind the piece – it lets me feel like I have a peek into the inner works of the company – I then can feel like I own a piece of the process – especially if some part of the new design came from feedback I gave them! (check it out here)

There are so many other ways that Lululemon makes a complete circle with their message and I urge you to check out their site, blog and facebook fan page to make the connections for yourself.  Now I’m off to find one of their retail stores to experience the message in real time!