Reduce Your “Time to Magic” At Work—And Serve Customers Like A Magician

We all know the feeling. A magician steps up, commands our attention, and in a few swift moments, we're astonished. They perform their act so effortlessly that we are instantly captivated by their performance. We don't see the hours of practice or the complex choreography behind each act, but that's the point. This illusion of effortlessness is the magician's effect—and it's this kind of magic that businesses should strive to deliver to their customers.

Harnessing the “Time to Magic”

A tweet by Warren Shaeffer, co-founder and VP at Medium, recently caught my attention:

The advice I most often give to anyone building consumer products:

Reduce time-to-magic.

Your product can be complicated under the hood, but to the user it should feel simple, delightful, and magical — as fast as possible.

Some examples:

• Tik Tok allegedly boosts a user’s…

— Warren Shaeffer (@wwshaef) June 17, 2023

He’s advocating for something I've long taught to magicians and business professionals alike: reducing the "Time to Magic." This concept essentially aims to shorten the period between the first customer contact and the moment they experience the "wow" factor of your service or product.

Measuring Your Magic Moments

When training the magicians on my team, particularly those interacting with the audience in public spaces, I stress one key principle: "Seconds to Smile." The best performers can elicit smiles and laughter from their audience within 10-15 seconds of meeting them. The magic itself is secondary to this first spark of joy and connection.

What would you call this in your business? Moments to Wow? Minutes To Connect? Aisles To Impress? Days To Delight?

Think about how you can measure the time that goes by before they walk in (or pick up the phone, or visit your website) and the first moment you amaze your potential clients or employees?

In a business context, you must ensure that every touchpoint with the customer, from the first point of contact, is streamlined to elicit positive emotions and reduce friction from the start. Having a way to measure this is a crucial first step.

Identify Your Business’ “Magic”

Let’s continue to translate this principle into the realm of business.

First, we must recognize that every business, like every magician, has its unique "magic." This magic is the combination of your product or service, your brand, and the unique experience you create for your customers. To harness this magic, we must first understand its nature. What is the "effect" you want your customers to experience? What unique value do you offer? (Learn more about my process for identifying your purpose .)

And most importantly, how can you present this value in a way that feels effortless and delightful to the customer?

When we Think Like A Magician™, we can shift our focus from the complexity of our operations to the effect we create for our customers. Just as a magician's audience applauds the illusion rather than the hidden work behind it, your customers appreciate the value you deliver, not the complexity of your operations.

Expedite the “Moment of Magic” - and do it ethically.

Once you've identified your unique magic, the next step is to expedite its delivery. The goal is to create as many "magic moments" as possible throughout your customer's journey, beginning with their first interaction with your business.

The goal for you as the business owner/operator is to find something wondrous about your business that the customer can experience as soon as possible. It could be the way someone is greeted, welcomed, processed, acknowledged, questioned or supported.

Making that first impression surprising in a positive and delightful way creates a lasting memory that’s going to anchor the rest of their experience.

The goal isn’t to trick the customer into perceiving something better than reality. The reality of your product must actually match the expectations you create at the start. So ensure to set realistic expectations that still feel magical.

For many business owners who have been doing their work a long time, it’s difficult to see the forest from the trees. It’s difficult to see what you do from your customer’s perspective. Sometimes it can be as easy as walking through your parking lot.

How can you look critically at your business process from the customer's perspective? Where can you improve experiences, reduce friction or create delightful surprises? Every interaction should contribute positively to their overall impression of your brand.

An Example of Reducing Time To Magic in a Restaurant

I love using restaurants as examples because great restaurant owners are constantly experimenting and tweaking their customer experiences. They’re also training their staff to optimize the experiences. And, if they’re really creative, making people aware of their training can be one of the ways they wow those customers. Very meta!

In today’s world, in a restaurant setting, impressing customers with good food is not enough. And besides, if that’s the only good thing about your venue, it’s going to take some time to get there. (Unless you greet them with an Amuse Buche, of course!) So what feelings are you creating while they wait?

Successful venues amaze customers early. They captivate them with friendly greeters, delightful decor, and hassle-free parking. Then they enchant them with exceptional service. Every touchpoint in the customer journey is an opportunity to infuse a sense of magic, leaving a lasting impression that surpasses expectations.

Want another example? Check out what the Georgia Peanut Commission did to amaze their visitors.

What’s The Purpose Of Creating Magic in the Eyes of Your Audience?

Magic is surprising. Magic is amazing. Even delightful! But most importantly: The Experience Of Magic Becomes A Story.

A story people will tell, a memory they will share. For my audiences, experiencing magic is awesome. But telling others about the incredible experience afterwards; holding their crowd captivated with the story of how they once saw a magician do something right before their eyes and in their own hands — well, that’s priceless.

There’s a reason why thousands of businesses have used the word “magic” in their company names or marketing slogans. Everyone wants to create the experience that magicians do: flawless transformation; inexplicable change.

But few business owners and operators know how to add true magic experiences to their customer experience beyond using “magic” as a tagline.

Companies that understand their unique effect and know how to deliver it swiftly and seamlessly become iconic. Their efforts resonate with their customers on a deeper level because they’re going beyond the surface, they’re tapping into human needs to belong and share experiences with others. These companies’ magic transcends their products or services. It becomes a story.

As you work in creating magic for your business, and in reducing the “time to magic” always consider what stories you’re creating in the minds of your audience. Create a true magical experience and you’ll set off a fireworks of positive word-of-mouth advertising.

3 Questions To Help You Identify Your Business’ Magic

My goal, when I speak to business owners, operators and executives, is to get them to apply the principles of magic to their business.

To help you put the ideas from this article into action in your business, here are the questions you should ask yourself as you work to reduce your "time to magic" and create extraordinary customer experiences:

1. What is my business’ magic? What is the effect you want to create in the minds of your customers? What’s magical about your business? Is it your quality, your speed, your service, your innovation, your support? Reflect on what makes your product, service, or brand different from the other options in the marketplace of the mind.

2. When does my business’ magic happen? How do you measure your magic? Is it about “seconds to smile?” or “time to fun?” How can you ensure that your audience (internal or external) experiences a taste of the magic as soon as they engage with your business?

3. Who can I amaze with my business’ magic? Take a critical look at both your employee and customer onboarding process. How can you streamline the processes that you have in place? How can you create more value upfront? Map out the customer journey and identify every interaction point. Examine each touchpoint and find ways to enhance the magic. From initial contact to post-purchase follow-ups, ensure that every step leaves a positive and memorable impression.

With these answers you’ll be able to identify the magic that is unique to your business, ensure it happens early and then maximize your impact, spreading the magic to amaze everyone who interacts with your business.

Reducing your "Time to Magic" is a strategic approach that can transform your customers' experiences and perception of your brand. This is exactly what I teach in my presentations and magic performances for business audiences and why I was so delighted to read Warren’s tweet, which inspired this writing.

Want to read more articles like this? Check out:

If You're In Sales, You Need To Think Like A Magician

Want to Wow at Work? Learn to Think Like A Magician

If You Can Think This Way, You Can Think Like A Magician

Ready to make your business magic?

Let's explore how we can work together to identify your magic, expedite its delivery, and make your customers feel the "wow" of your effect faster than ever. Invite me as a motivational speaker and magician to your next event and let's make some magic happen together.