Grant Leboff of Sticky Marketing talks about the importance of creating an event with your customer by embracing the experience economy.
Pre World War II, we lived in a product economy. The general populace was not wealthy and was accustomed to buying from a limited range of available products. Post World War II, as the western industrialised world became richer, products became more widely available. Companies started to find it harder to differentiate their offerings.
This led to the move from a product-based economy to a service driven one. Businesses that could not differentiate their product, instead, offered services around the product. So, great customer service, extended warranties, free delivery and price guarantees etc., became ways to attract customers. This resulted in more people being employed to deliver services than to make products; the definition of a service economy.
The onset of the World Wide Web and digital technology means that we are leaving the service economy behind. It is not that service isn’t important, rather, it is now expected. When companies like Amazon can offer a fantastic and seamless service, most of which is completely automated, service, like products before it, is simply becoming a commodity.
Moreover, the web has moved the consumer from being passive to being active. Consumers take control of buying decisions in a way that was never previously known. Television is increasingly becoming a two-screen experience with viewers commenting on shows in real time. Meanwhile, digital channels and catch-up services allow people to take control of what they watch like never before. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and ratings sites such as Trip Advisor, have also provided consumers with a voice they never had previously.
The result is that we are now entering the ‘experience’ economy. We live in a world where products have all become ‘vanilla’. There are now affordable tablets, smart phones, TV’s and fashion labels etc., for almost any income level. Therefore, today, there is more utility in ‘doing’ stuff than ‘owning’ stuff.
This is a huge opportunity. Companies can no longer differentiate by ‘what’ they do. Your event is unlikely to be the only offering available to the community to which you are appealing. There are likely to be many other demands on your audience’s attention and time. Today, companies differentiate by ‘how’ they do what they do and for ‘whom’.
For example, Apple don’t differentiate by what they do. They make media devices such as tablets, smart phones and laptops like many other companies. From a technology stand point, there is little to tell Apple and other leading manufacturers apart. However, people do think of Apple as different. A visit to an Apple store will tell you why. The ‘experience’ in an Apple store is not like visiting any other retail outlet. In other words, Apple are not different because of ‘what’ they do but because of ‘how’ they do it.
There are two fundamental differences between a service and an experience. Firstly, a service is done ‘to’ you, whereas, an experience is done ‘with’ you. So, a football match has always been an experience.
This is because the sense of occasion is not only delivered by the star footballers and managers turning up, it also requires the crowd. Imagine an important game being played with no fans. There would be no sense of occasion. In other words, the crowd is fundamental to the offering.
Secondly, a service focuses on key performance indicators or KPIs. So, guaranteed next day delivery, answering the phone in three rings, a good night’s sleep or your money back are all service deliverables. An experience, however, goes further. Delivering an experience requires a business to define how they want the customer to feel. Charles Revson, founder of Revlon, famously once said, ‘In the factories we make perfume, in the shops we sell hope’.
Today, event companies have to ask themselves, how do we create the event ‘with’ our customer and not simply deliver it ‘to’ them. This should start in the marketing before the event, continue during the event itself and be considered in any post event activity. Encouraging customers to upload videos, comment in forums or on Twitter streams, meet in real or virtual chat rooms, get involved in surveys and debates, rate stands and speeches, help create the agenda and an array of other activities, will start to enable an event to become a truly rich experience.
The best event companies will also define how they want their customers to feel. Are you selling training or empowerment, accountancy or reassurance, candles or romance? Defining the emotional deliverable will mean everything becomes congruent. From the hall layout to the language used in communications to the colour scheme, a richer experience is likely to be created.
Now we have entered the ‘experience economy’ the bar has been raised. Events are not special, simply because they are an experience. However, events can become special by delivering a unique experience. From a marketing point of view, this is imperative.
When people are immersed and involved in an experience they are much more likely to talk about it and share it online. This online ‘word of mouth’ and social proof will be the best marketing an event ever has.
Grant Leboff is CEO of www.stickymarketing.com He is an international speaker and best selling author. His current book is entitled Stickier Marketing.
This article was first published in the April issue of Exhibitions News. Any comments? Email Annie Byrne
