Experience Marketing

The topic is as elusive as its significance. Nowadays companies are trying to implement third generation strategies through second generation organizations with first generation management. But have we forgotten about the key element of it all- called the customers?

Now the customer over the period of time has evolved to be more demand frenzy, irrational, conscious and educated. Companies can’t fool them by saying “customer is king” or “customer is our partner”. Companies have dubbed words like customer care, customer satisfaction etc to please them (Though I find marketing in tune with sexual terminologies like market penetration, brand intimacy etc, though it’s a topic for some other day). Still at the end of the day we have to ask two questions to us.

1. Is the customer happy with us?

2. How can we match customer’s perception of satisfaction with our existing process?

I will try to exemplify with an example. A customer enters a retail shop, fully drenched with some bags in her hand. Now the immediate service would be to take her bags from her hand and make her comfortable in a seat. But at that point of time, the A.C. is not working or some foul smell is around the shop. So what is the end of the story - dissatisfied customer. Isn’t it? (I hope we can have as many examples as possible on this regard).

So the crux of the topic is “companies should try to extract the intangible aspect called EXPERIENCE part into customer buying”. Since more & more companies are attaching service aspect to their tangible product, hence the companies should try and make a good experience for the customers while buying.

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