PDF Summary:Fans First, by Jesse Cole

Most businesses treat their audiences as customers—people who make a transaction and move on. In Fans First, Jesse Cole explains how to transform customers into devoted fans who stay loyal, spread the word about your business, and actively participate in your success. Cole argues that creating fans requires obsessing over every detail of their experience, from eliminating small frustrations to designing memorable interactions at every touchpoint.

Cole outlines his Fans First philosophy and explains how to implement it in your business. He discusses how to identify and remove friction in the customer experience, create shareable stories that generate word-of-mouth marketing, and design experiences that exceed expectations. This guide explores Cole's strategies for building a fan-centric culture and includes practical steps for mapping out your audience's journey and scripting memorable moments.

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Now, let's explore some strategies for implementing the fan-centric philosophy.

The "Fans First" Approach

To implement the Fans First Approach, Cole says you must create a unique, indelible experience. This means defying your industry's conventions and embodying something greater. It involves being enthusiastic about your work and forming a group of superfans who are eager to deliver at every moment and touchpoint.

(Shortform note: Some experts argue that creating a business around striking experiences and superfans isn’t the best way to earn customer loyalty. In their Harvard Business Review article “Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers,” Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman, and Nicholas Toman argue that when it comes to service, companies earn customer loyalty primarily by helping people resolve their problems quickly and with minimal effort, rather than by trying to delight them with special gestures or exceptional treatment.)

Attention and the 5 E's

To craft a memorable event, Cole emphasizes five E-related elements. When your vision, the Five Es, and the Fans First focus are all working in your favor, you won't have to sell. Instead, you can do something that's both more significant and more enjoyable: sharing the love. If you take this approach, there's no need to seek out your supporters. They're there, ready for you.

(Shortform note: While Cole’s approach may work well for consumer-facing businesses, it may not be as effective in complex B2B sales environments. In these markets, purchasing decisions often involve multiple stakeholders, lengthy evaluation processes, and significant investments. Even with a well-aligned vision, the Five Es, and a Fans First focus, you may still need to proactively identify and educate potential supporters.)

Another key element of the Fans First approach is capturing attention. Cole argues that capturing attention is more effective than conventional marketing. It gets people talking about you and is the ideal method for raising awareness of your brand. Word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective method to raise awareness. A study by Ogilvy Cannes reveals that 74% of people consider recommendations from others a major influence on their decision-making. Furthermore, a Nielsen study shows that 83% of individuals place more trust in advice from their loved ones than in advertising.

(Shortform note: Capturing attention is more effective than conventional marketing because it drives word-of-mouth. When people have a remarkable experience, they want to share it with others because it gives them “social currency.” Social currency is the value people gain from sharing information that makes them appear knowledgeable, connected, or interesting. When people share unique experiences, they feel like insiders, which boosts their social status. This desire to share remarkable experiences is why capturing attention is so effective.)

Implementing a Philosophy That Prioritizes Fans

To implement the Fans First philosophy, Cole recommends eliminating friction by seeing things from your fans' perspective. Friction is anything that reduces the enjoyment of fans' experiences. Macrofrictions are significant obstacles that are simpler to identify, while microfrictions are the small details that irritate fans, whether or not they realize it. Every payment required is a source of discomfort for supporters and presents obstacles. Microfrictions can significantly affect fan interactions with your business. After learning to identify them, you'll notice countless minor and preventable annoyances in every direction.

(Shortform note: While removing friction is generally beneficial, there are situations where it can backfire. For example, Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely found that people value things more when they put effort into them. In their experiments, participants who built IKEA furniture, folded origami, or assembled LEGO sets valued their creations more highly than similar pre-assembled items. This “IKEA effect” shows that effort increases attachment. So, in some cases, removing all friction can actually reduce people’s connection to a product or experience.)

To remove barriers, review your fans' purchasing experience, how easy transactions are, and what your receipts include. Simplify these as much as you can. Examine any areas that might cause frustration or delay, or make things harder for your supporters. To spot microfrictions, examine them in every context. Visit your website to check how simple it is to use. What occurs when you select a hyperlink? How simple is accessing the details you need? To purchase an item? To find your phone number? After they locate your number, how does it feel for fans to call you?

(Shortform note: Why do microfrictions matter so much? In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explains that when we encounter information that’s easy to process, we feel “cognitive ease.” This makes us more likely to accept what we’re told and feel good about it. But when information is hard to process, we feel “cognitive strain.” This makes us more suspicious and less likely to accept what we’re told. Even if we can’t explain why, we’re less likely to engage with the same offer again.)

In the following sections, we'll explore how to design and deliver an experience that prioritizes fans.

Designing a Supporter-Centric Approach

To develop a fan-centered experience, Cole suggests making every stage entertaining for fans. Your entire business is a performance venue, including everything from your site to billing statements, and it's your job to stage a performance. The first step is to define your stages and chart the path of your audience's journey from the initial interaction to the final one. If you need to become an Undercover Fan or work on the frontlines to get a deeper grasp of that journey, do whatever's necessary to understand what your fans go through throughout the process.

(Shortform note: Cole isn’t the first to suggest that businesses should be run like a performance stage. In their 1999 book The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore argue that businesses should focus on creating memorable experiences for customers, rather than just selling products or services. They introduce the concept of the "experience economy," where businesses stage experiences that engage customers in a personal and memorable way. Pine and Gilmore explore the economic implications of this shift, discussing how experiences can be designed, marketed, and monetized. Their work has been influential in shaping modern business strategies that prioritize customer engagement and emotional connection.)

Next, script out the entire fan experience at every touchpoint and every part of the show. All facets are significant. If you can imagine it, you can control it. Designing how fans engage is an active, evolving task. Outline it; however, remain flexible. Refine your plans, enhancing the experience on each occasion. On each occasion, ask, "Is that the ultimate fan experience? Does this still foster fan creation? Have we just sunk into normalcy here?" That's the way to combine scripted experiences with spontaneity and creativity.

(Shortform note: How much of the entire fan experience at every touchpoint should you script? In Yes, And, Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton, executives at the Second City improv theater, suggest a balance between structure and spontaneity. They recommend establishing a clear narrative spine with key beats, then leaving the spaces between those beats open for improvisation. This approach ensures a consistent experience while allowing for creative, real-time responses to fan interactions.)

In the following sections, we’ll explore some design principles for creating fans, as well as some examples of experiences that are impossible to forget.

Design Principles

To craft an experience focused on Fans First, you must create fans. Cole says they’re the most important part of what you do, as they’ll stick with you for life, drive across the country to see you, and tell everyone they know about you. To establish a fan base, you must be passionate about what you do and share that passion with others. You must be open to experimenting, innovating, defying conventions, and advocating for improvement.

The Importance of Creating Fans

Marketing research supports Cole’s assertion that creating fans is crucial to your success. Studies show that when organizations create “brand communities” of fans, they often develop a sense of identity and belonging that goes beyond what conventional customer satisfaction efforts can achieve. These communities often form around a shared sense of purpose and a willingness to experiment and innovate. When organizations invite fans to participate in this process, they often become advocates who are willing to go above and beyond to support the organization.

Experience Examples

To offer your supporters memorable experiences, Cole argues that you need to exceed what they expect. This requires a group that's committed to delivering at every moment and touchpoint.

(Shortform note: In The Service Profit Chain, the authors argue that the key to exceeding what they expect is to create a “service-profit chain” dashboard that shows your group how their actions directly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty. This dashboard should track metrics like customer satisfaction scores, repeat purchase rates, and employee engagement levels.)

Providing an Experience Centered on Supporters

To deliver the Fans First ethos, Cole recommends creating memorable experiences for fans. These help fans feel as if they belong to something special, motivating them to talk about their experiences with others and helping your business grow.

(Shortform note: Cole’s claim that creating memorable experiences for fans will help your business grow is supported by research. In a review of 60 studies, marketing professor Jonah Berger found that people are more likely to talk about experiences that are memorable and that help them define their identity.)