Transcript Document
The MPI-Kansas City Chapter In conjunction with Lifeteacher.com presents The Experience Economy Work Is Theatre & Every Business A Stage Written By Joseph Pine & James Gilmore Piloted By: Rick Weaver, Chief Inspiration Officer Lifeteacher.com New York, NY Meeting Planning is an Art! Every Business is a Stage! People pay for experiences… Some more examples… March 23, 2004 It's cool to fly JetBlue Don't expect the buzz surrounding discount media darling JetBlue to fade anytime soon. The airline has been successful at luring both thrifty leisure passengers and well-heeled travelers — something that ultimately breeds "fanatic loyalty," according to The New York Times That broad customer base helps distinguish JetBlue from fellow low-cost carriers such as Southwest. "Flying JetBlue isn't just about taking a trip," trend watcher Faith Popcorn said to The Times. "It has actually become something fun to do.” She talked of an extremely wealthy parent at her child's New York prep school who was talking up their JetBlue flight for a family trip to Florida. "When you're that rich and you fly coach you may try to hide it, but he said it with such pride, like he was traveling in the coolest, most trendy way," Popcorn said. Passengers and analysts alike credit the airline for a simple pricing structure, and for making their passengers feel like VIPs. The Experience Economy The basic premise of The Experience Economy is that up to now, we have focused most of our efforts on pricing commodities, goods and or services. We are emerging into a new era of thought where we are finding that what our customers really want is an experience that keeps them coming back for more. Let’s take a look at some EXPERIENCES… www.experiencekc.com Experience Kansas City is your comprehensive guide to the diverse attractions found in the metropolitan area. Whether its swinging jazz, fantastic food, fascinating museums, or some of the best shopping anywhere, all are a part of Kansas City's allure! Now let’s talk about coffee… Commodity - Grower 2 cents per cup Goods - Manufacturer 5-25 cents per cup Service – Corner Diner 50 cents -$1 per cup Experience– Premium Coffee Shop $1 - $4 per cup Ultimate – Café Florian Venice, Italy $5 - $10 per cup How to Design an “Experience” To design a rich, compelling and engaging experience, you don’t want to select and then stay in just one realm. Instead, you want to use an experiential framework as a set of prompts that help you to creatively explore the particular experience you wish to stage. When designing an experience, let’s consider the the Four E’s: What can be done to improve the esthetics of the experience? The esthetics is what make your guests want to come in, sit down and hang out. Think about what you can do to make the environment more inviting, interesting and comfortable. You want to create an atmosphere in which your guests feel free “to be.” Once there, what should your guests do? The escapist aspect of an experience draws your guests further, immersing them in activities. Focus on what you should encourage your guests “to do” if they are to become active in the experience. The educational aspect of an experience, like the escapist, is essentially active. Learning, as it is now largely understood, requires the full participation of the learner. What do you want your guests “to learn” from the experience? What information or activities will help to engage them in the exploration of knowledge and skills? Entertainment, like esthetics, is a passive aspect of an experience. When your guests are entertained, they’re not really doing anything but responding to (enjoying, laughing at, etc.) the experience. Professional speakers lace their speeches with jokes to hold the attention of their audience, to get them to listen to ideas. What can you do by way of entertainment to get your guests “to stay”? How can you make the experience more fun and more enjoyable? Addressing these design issues sets the stage for service providers to begin competing on the basis of an experience. Those, which have already forayed into the world of experiences, will gain from further enriching their offerings in the light of these four realms. Table Talk What’s the best meeting experience you have ever had and why? ROI of the Experience Return on Experience “Most parents don’t take their kids to Walt Disney World just for the event itself but rather to make that shared experience part of everyday family conversations for months, and even years afterward. While the experience itself lacks tangibility, people greatly value the offering because its value lies within them, where it remains long afterwards.” Because your companies stage so many different kinds of experiences, you can more easily differentiate your offerings and thereby charge a premium price based on the distinctive value provided, not the market price of the competition. Price your commodity or service based upon the experience your customer receives from it. Experiences = Value! People pay for experiences… Hoteliers…….stop selling rooms… A/V companies…stop selling equipment… CVBS’… stop selling destinations… Caterers….stop selling food…. DMC’s…stop selling ???… Limo Co.’s.….stop selling transportation… Planners….stop selling meetings… Sell….. Your clients will keep coming back! Experience It!