In November, I visited New York City. It was my first time to the city since One World Trade was completed and opened. My travel companions and I decided that we needed to go to the observatory deck. The $34 ticket was not too bad considering the view we expected and the experience of being in the building that has so much emotion around it.

Unlike other observation decks I have visited, there was more of an experience built around this trip. Much of that experience was surrounded by amazing audio visual experiences and technology. Giant video walls showed the history of the building, and listed the number of visitors, along with a map from where in the world they have visited from. You walked through a mock up of being underground as the building was being constructed. It gave a real sense of the question: How does this building stay standing?

Then, you take an elevator up to observatory. The ride up is simply an amazing experience in itself. The walls of the elevators are covered with flat panels. As the elevator climbs, you experience New York City grow from a small village to the sprawling city it is today. The experience allows you to see all of Manhattan as it grows, both out and up. You have the emotional experience of seeing the original World Trade Center appear, and sadly, disappear. Finally, at the end of the ride, it appears as though the elevator has risen directly in the final construction of One World. Then the elevator stops and the doors open. I could go in that elevator dozens of times and not be able to say I have seen the full experience, or have grown tired of the ride. For those who are faint of heart, or don’t like heights, this may not be the best experience for you. It is amazingly realistic.

However, I am writing about this experience not just because I am a technology fan and love such experiences. Rather, it struck me about what an amazing idea the entire concept was. I wanted to see the view from the observatory, that is why I paid the money for the ticket. Yet, in all honesty, by the time I stepped off the elevator I felt as though I had already got my money’s worth. Think about that for a moment from a business perspective. A customer pays for a service or good, and BEFORE they ever get that service or good, they feel as though they have received value for their purchase. This is a real example of a value add from digital signage. If you are able to take an example like this and use it with your customers to show them the value addition, you will be very successful. For sure, you can’t build the same experience as the elevators in One World, but you don’t have to. You have to have creativity and originality. In particular, think about the times that customers would typically get irritated or frustrated. The example of One World is when they are waiting in line to get up to the observatory. Standing in a long boring line makes people frustrated. One World took a potentially bad experience and turned it into a highlight of the entire experience. In your customer’s businesses what are those times? Where can they take digital signage and turn a potentially bad experience into a highlight?

Image via One World Trade Experience