UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging, Revised and Updated

Introduction

“Good afternoon!”

It was the start of an exchange that would set off a chain of events that would shift my opinion of a billion-dollar establishment with one simple act. Let me explain. It’s no secret I “enjoy” Las Vegas. After going there 15 times in the past four years I consider myself an unofficial tour guide and resident of Sin City.

A place that you definitely cannot miss on the strip is the Wynn—very fancy, very pretty, and very expensive. Since the place cost $2.7 billion to build, I assume selling 99-cent hot dogs isn’t going to make that money back.

I really didn’t care about the Wynn. Not in a negative way, it just wasn’t on my radar. After getting comfortable staying at MGM Grand, The Venetian, and other places, I didn’t really see a need to change, until that Saturday.

I had a meeting at Wynn during the BlogWorld conference. I strolled in through the majestic doors with a friend of mine. As soon as we walked in we spotted a man (Wes) using a large carpet-cleaning machine. He wasn’t in our way, so we really thought nothing of it, but he thought differently.

He stopped what he was doing. He looked up . . . and smiled. Not one of those “it’s part of my job to smile” ones, but a genuine, warm, authentic smile. And then he said, “Good afternoon, and welcome to the Wynn, please enjoy your day” all the while looking us right in the eye, like it was his mission to ensure that we knew he meant business.

His welcome changed my entire perception of the Wynn. Almost ...