Are You Experienced…
Posted on July 16, 2008
Filed Under Gregg Gallagher, Marketing, Organization & Culture, Strategy |
…have you ever been experienced?
There’s been a lot of discussion over recent years as to the notion that the nature of the U.S. economy is transforming (yet again) from that of being primarily a service economy into an experience economy. This theory was first laid out by Pine and Gilmore in their book, “The Experience Economy”, which put forth that business would create value around - and charge for - the experience or feelings surrounding the buying and/or use of their product. Examples they cite include Disney (where the consumer is purchasing the entertainment experience), Starbucks (where the previously commoditized coffee has been incorporated into an overall retail experience providing higher value) and Saturn (where the experience of buying a car has been made easier, and thus attracting a heretofore neglected demographic - female car purchasers).
The author’s theory that this is a fundamental, transformational change of the U.S. economy is, in my opinion, a bit overstated. The vast majority of the exchange of products and services continues to be done under the traditional models where the charges fare based on the traditional evaluation of the tangible value of the goods provided or services performed.
However, I do believe that the “experience dimension” should be considered for it’s potential application across the entire value chain of a company’s business model. For example:
- Making the use of a product more efficient or entertaining (e.g., the Apple iPhone)
- Improving your operations and customer interfaces so as to become “easier to do business with” (e.g., Nordstrom’s)
What ways can you be improving the experience of doing business with your firm?
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