I had the opportunity to see the breathtaking “O” show by Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The show takes place inside and over a vast indoor pool where the water is kept at a toasty 29 C. The pool and performers appear and disappear throughout the show through the water in a magical exercise of teleportation. All the performers use the water to make their acts even more dazzling than regular.
As I watched the show, I noticed that Cirque didn’t forget about the details. Performers do the setup of props to move the story forward. The main act always has background performers who contribute in meaningful ways. Even the transitions between acts usually involve a humorous break in the forms of clowns. No moment is wasted.
The obsession with details is one of the things that makes Cirque shows world-class and genuinely puts them in their category. Steve Jobs also had the same approach at Apple forcing engineers to ensure that even the internal circuitry was beautiful.
Businesses need to remember that details matter. The design of your emails, the voice prompts in your customer service hotline, the packaging of your products, and the service is full of essential details that need care. In an era of shrinkflation, your best customers will appreciate the focus on the little things.