Internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor Joseph Pine has been talking about the importance of meaningful experiences for a long time. In fact, he and his partner recently re-released their best-selling 1999 book, The Experience Economy, on this very topic.
The book establishes that goods and services are no longer enough for consumers: companies must offer experiences that are memorable and engage each customer in an inherently personal way. We’ve seen this phenomenon play out in today’s landscape, where consumers of all kinds are eager to enjoy the experiences that may have been unavailable during lockdown restrictions.
In this week’s episode of The Let’s Go Show, Chase and Joe take a second look at our current Experience Economy, by deciphering what makes experiences necessary for businesses, the role technology plays in these experiences, and how this all translates to the post-pandemic world we live in today.
Joe begins with a lesson on differentiation focused on Starbucks. The company learned, for example, that supplementing a cup of coffee with a certain ambiance will draw customers in for several hours at a time. In contrast to the average deli around the corner, this experience allowed Starbucks to charge several more dollars for a cup of coffee.
Though the experience of going to Starbucks to get a coffee may have been commonplace pre-pandemic, there is now pent-up demand for these experiences, Joe explained. However, he asserts that this demand raises the stakes even more, as people are looking for the most meaningful experiences rather than merely satisfying ones.
About halfway through the episode, Chase and Joe consider the role of technology in designing and delivering the exceptional experiences we’ve all come to miss. Customization, Joe affirmed, is a key value-driver for businesses that technology can make possible. Data enables providers to better customize their goods and services, which, in turn, elevates customer experiences from ‘great’ to ‘amazing’.
Technology also widens the scope of most experiences. As Joe notes: “It enables us to fuse the real and the virtual with virtual reality […] including hybrid experiences of both real and virtual at the same time for different people, and even different places.”
Despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, one thing’s for certain: the concept of the Experience Economy is more relevant than ever. Just as leading businesses like Starbucks place renewed effort into the experience of their retail locations, this approach is being applied by leading landlords and property teams looking to create truly seamless and exceptional workplace experiences for their workers.
To hear more on how the Experience Economy is transforming the workplace, listen to The Let’s Go Show’s latest episode.
Related Reading
- Learn how collaborative, intelligent, and thoughtful workplace experiences are becoming the standard in our latest guide
- Learn how experience is impacting the physical workplace of the future and today
On Today’s Episode
Chase Garbarino, CEO and Co-Founder at HqO, the only end-to-end operating system for commercial office buildings.
Co-author of The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine II is an internationally-acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor to Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups alike.
Want to learn more? Listen to the Let’s Go Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.
