A "Rock Your Customers" ThinkAbout

Greetings from Story Mavericks & WELCOME Back to GET REEL. 

I hope this communique finds you enjoying the summer of 2010 both personally and from a business standpoint. I think I'm a little over due in connecting with you again.  Time fly's doesn't it?  Speaking of time moving on, it's been seven years since I began a journey investigating The Experience Economy, as a way to standout from a growing crowd of video production companies. 

See Definition of Experience Economy Here

 
One of the milestones for me in seeking new ways to differentiate our production company, was attending a business learning conference in 2004, simply called thinkAbout.   thinkAbout is an annual two-day learning experience, offered by Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore (Strategic Horizons), the two individuals who first identified, what is now referred to as The Experience Economy.  The thinkAbout conference explores the important role experiences are playing, in helping business to get different and ultimately create new economic value. While I would strongly recommend you, or someone from your company, attend this years event, I thought we could share a little private thinkAbout through this letter.  Are you game ?

Do You Dare to Think Differently ?
My goal in these letters continues to be sharing some of my discoveries of the past seven years, blended with thinking on the important topic of customer experiences, to provoke some new thinking about your business communications.  I appreciate you taking a few minutes out of your busy day to spend some time with me. I hope you'll find the content meaningful.   So let's begin our own little thinkAbout. 

Goods & Services No Longer Enough
Like many other professionals in the 'customer experience field' and a growing number of senior business leaders , I believe that one of the keys to developing a successful long-term business strategy can be found in the concept of a customer experience.  The word 'experience' more than ever is at the very center of most marketing discussions. On-line video and social media, two disciplines of  marketing,  are exploding from a growth standpoint.  Why? Because what customers (people) WANT, and yes, VALUE more, are experiences that engage them in a personal way.  Goods and services are no longer enough to sustain long-term economic growth.  Meaningless marketing soundbites are no longer enough in a connected world, where your customers are sharing their business experiences with each other.   

More Food For Thought

 I guess it would be an understatement to say that many of us are still facing some formidable business challenges.  Have you considered the fact that many of these challenges are not exclusively tied to the economic downturn of the past couple of years, but rather to changes that have been taking place in the very fabric of our economy for over a decade?   I'm sure you'll agree, that The Internet has changed the game of business for most of us.    Certainly not cutting edge thinking, but sometimes I wonder how many businesses take time out of their crazy hectic day, to do some quality thinking on just how different the business world is.  I agree,  easier said than done. We're just plain busy, trying to recover or maybe survive, from an economic meltdown, caused by short-term and reckless thinking.  "Business as Usual is a Bust". 

In A Nutshell

The Internet has resulted in depersonalized goods and services & lower business margins.  In almost an instant, we can visit any number of websites and research prices for any good or service we want.   Did you know that you can even buy a Christmas tree on-line?  While consumers have benefited from the commoditization of goods and services through downward price pressure, businesses are left to find new ways to differentiate and create new value. Do you agree? 

Experiences Create New Value
 

A great place to begin to look at new ways of differentiate and create new value starts with understanding the customer experience your business offers.  Compelling and differentiating customer experiences extend far beyond what most business marketers refer to as customer service.  "Experiences are memorable events that engage individuals in an inherently personal way."    Great customer experiences are intentionally designed, evoke emotions, and stimulate the senses.  They are not as many businesses think,  just the physical-(Product/Price/Quality) aspects of your goods and services.

Connecting to Customers
Applying experience - based thinking to business and most

importantly finding new ways to connect with customers, on a deeper more emotional level, is a vital component of standing out from today's crowded market place of goods & services.  The concept of experiences, though more easily understood directly in the consumer marketplace, also applies in the business to business world.  The following website link is to TST, Inc. an engineering & architectural firm, based out of Fort Collins, Colorado.  I've met a couple of their executives on my Experience Economy Journey and they are a great exemplar company, that has applied the concept of experiences to their offerings.

 TST, INC

       

A Great Opportunity

The fact that less than 5% of all businesses are truly customer centric and customer's trust in businesses is at an all time low, presents a great opportunity to stand out from competition by deliberately designing an emotionally engaging customer experience.  A commitment to a customer centric strategy develops long-term sustainable value - revenue - through customer loyalty and advocacy.   Creating new value through your customer experience is hard work and requires some long term thinking, admittedly difficult in today's business climate. 

Connecting Lights, Camera, Action to Experiences

You might be asking yourself  what does all of the above have to do with video production or a company who's main offering since 1987 has been video production .  Fair question.  A couple of thoughts -

Information ie. marketing messages are also commoditized.   Let's face it,  we're overloaded with them from e-mails, social media spaces, blogs, - over 3000 such messages daily.   30 billion videos were viewed on-line during the month of March according to ComScore. 

The challenge of getting someones attention and then attracting them to your business is more daunting than ever.  When it comes right down to it, as businesses, we are competing for our customers time and attention.    

Experience - based thinking is a solution that if applied to the development of marketing content including video, can yield a greater return on investment.  Here's a few topline suggestions to consider when developing video/marketing content.

• A video should be viewed as an interaction that inspires action not just reports information.  Most importantly, it is a communication tool that should establish the context of an experience offered by a business - another words be who you say you are.  Be Real, Be Authentic.
• Your communications, video included, should tell a compelling story of your company.  Let's face the fact that we all love a great story !
• A video should be considered a standalone  experience from a design or production strategy standpoint.  It should incorporate concepts and principles of  well designed (compelling) experiences.

In conclusion, thanks again for sharing your time with me.  As always, if you're interested in having some conversation on marketing, customer experiences or video just drop me a line or give me a shout.  Let me leave you with a final thinkAbout Thought from Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore- "The Experience is The Marketing."

Best to ya and best wishes in staging experiences that Rock Your Customers ! 

Bill