I remember learning about the industrial economy in high school. The teacher talked about how the world went from an agrarian economy to an industrial one because of machines and factories. Farmers became factory workers.
We learned about the cotton gin, the steam engine and Ford’s production assembly line where each person would do one job like putting on the driver’s side door of the car. Today, in 2019, as we have had more than two decades with access to the Internet, it is clear we are now in the experience economy.
With the rise of technologies, products are harder to differentiate. Experience is becoming the new secret sauce.
Companies can no longer make stuff and sell it. They have to compete through the consumer’s experience, and the product is just an aspect of the value.
Think Zappos
When Tony Hsieh was selling shoes online, he did something no one else focused on by making the experience with the company equal to the product sold. You weren’t just buying a pair of clogs or loafers online, but were engaging with humans who wanted to make your day. Their team was empowered to make customers happy and satisfied, not to sell shoes. Shoe sales became a by-product of offering a fantastic experience.
The value of the company was in the customer experience, and the shoe sales were secondary.
Three Questions to Consider
- Does your brand focus on what you sell, not how you sell?
- Do you sell something that is similar to your competitors, and you are searching for a differentiator?
- Do the people at your company who connect, engage and communicate with customers feel empowered to make the customer’s experience exceptional every day?
Businesses have a difficult time staying in business if a product or service lacks remarkable experiences. Disney has often been used as a prime example where they put as much emphasis on the customer’s experience as they do with the transactional nature of going to an amusement park.
Are you putting so much emphasis on the product (or service) you sell, and not enough love and energy into the experience you deliver? Could you emphasize experience, where your competitors are focused on price reductions?
I recently read about a company who had less than one percent conversation rate of people who came to their website, but if they spoke on the phone to a prospect, the conversion rate was thirty-three percent. Human engagement is hard to scale but way more effective than marketing automation software. Just think about how much easier it is to deal with a human being in customer service than trying to find the right place or form to fill out online.
Can you out serve the competition? Are you delivering a fantastic experience or just a box of shoes I can buy in twenty different places?
Experience is the future of marketing, and it is here today.
There is a new marketing book out by my friend Mark Schaefer called Marketing Rebellion (The Most Human Company Wins). For more about how the reimagination of marketing, check out Mark’s new work. You can also learn about some of his unique insights on his podcast, The Marketing Companion.
Need help finding a way to leverage experience in your business? You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
Photo by Bert Ferranco on Unsplash
