How to Create an Experience for Your Customers

This month, thanks to the fine thinking of TEC resource speakers and consultants Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore, I'm sharing highlights of their revolutionary work on the subject of the "Experience Economy."

It entails finding ways to stage unique and unforgettable experiences for customers and, if you are really good, charging them for it!  And then charging them again for the goods or services they buy from you.

For example, Standard Parking of Chicago plays a signature song on each level of its parking garage at O'Hare and decorates the walls with icons of the Bulls, White Sox, Cubs, Bears, etc. Why? Because they don't want you to forget where you parked!

The concept of the "Experience Economy" is offering a new source of differentiated perceived added value and making it very evident in the process. Why is this occurring?  Primarily, because the traditional sources of value-added, thanks to the Internet, are becoming commodities.

Just the other day, John Torinus, CEO of Serigraph and a longtime TEC member, wrote a damning commentary on the business "dehumanizing" capability of Internet "B to B" on a proprietary vendor-customer partnership situation. (Well worth reading. See the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's September 17 Business Section, or callme at 262-821-3340 and I'll fax you a copy.)

The experience economy relies on four mechanisms to generate a memorable customer experience. The idea is that you customize this to your business. We are doing this now in our TEC business for an upcoming annual corporate retreat. The mechanisms are:

Educational Experiences.  For example, devise and implement a unique product or service demonstration. One company had professional actors introduce and explain the technology behind a new product application in the form of adaytime soap opera.

Escapist Experiences.  A good example of this novel approach is the "Back to the Future" ride at Universal Studio in Orlando. Disney was the first to recognize the power of imaginative escapism, but many other companies arequickly catching on.  Cyberspace offers distinctly unique escapism opportunities. Ask yourself if your own current website has any escapist characteristics. If you don't have a website, shame on you!

Esthetic Experiences.  This creates an experience by virtue of your just being there.  Having art openly displayed in a meeting place where your customers typically congregate, and using classical background music to openan important customer meeting are two popular examples. Esthetic experiences are also ideally suited for the Internet.  They are designed to heighten awareness and to stimulate appreciation of your product and services.

Entertainment Experiences.  This remains one of the most convenient experience forms to produce. At issue is your ability to depart from conventional forms of entertainment and provide entertainment that is truly memorable. Forexample, one company flew its key accounts to an uninhabited Caribbean island. There, they enjoyed a semi-survival experience overnight, complete with games and other team challenges.

The notion of the "Experience Economy" is that if you can stage an unforgettable experience for your customers, employing if possible all of the four forms of experience, you have automatically increased your value to them. You have given an additional reason to prefer you to a competitive alternative.

Yes, this takes creative thinking. No, it is not adverse to risk. Any time you venture out of the ordinary, you do risk the potential for failure. But on the other hand, the opportunity to hit a home run is breathtaking.

Joe Pine says companies in the 21st century must realize that they can make memories, and that the delivery of goods and services will be undifferentiated because most everyone has figured out how to do this well. Think of your customers as "guests" and then you begin asking yourself, "what can I do to makethem want to come back for more?"  Ever been to one of these indoor mountain climbing facilities? You pay to climb the  rock wall in order to test the equipment, and then, of course, you buy the equipment. Some stores require reservations in advance!

The excitement of tantalizing experiences themselves is not permanent. The real objective here is to enable a customer transformation. Customers do want to be changed; they do want to improve. Ideally, your experience creations are the first step toward their individual transformation. With that, the next price increasemay actually be welcomed!

Until next time, enjoy the "Experience Economy" and become a part of it.


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Harry S. Dennis III is the president of The Executive Committee in Wisconsin and Michigan. TEC is a professional development group for CEOs, presidents and business owners. He can be reached at 262-821-3340 or at hiduke@aol.com.