B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore
The Experience Economy
ISBN: 978-1-4221-6197-5
How does your company stay ahead of the competition? Do you launch new products that improve upon your old offerings? Do you try to swoop in and produce something better than your competitors, either through ease of use, price, or through the features offered? Is better service your differentiator? According to The Experience Economy, you’re about a generation or two behind – not the best position to find your company.
The future of the American economy is premium experiences – the fourth advancement of the economy beyond commodities, products, and services. Novel combinations of those three prior advancements combined with a personal touch, according to the authors, is how your organization will stay ahead of the pack. Services aren’t enough. The “race to the bottom” in discounting prices is a losing proposition. Your business needs to produce something memorable, not just fungible or tangible.
Reading through this book, I was in total agreement with the authors. Future-thinking business functions as a type of “theater” where the interactions between experience creators (the organization) and experience receivers (the customers) makes or breaks the business. Beyond the usual purchases of groceries and other consumables, most of what I purchase either for myself or for my businesses falls under the banner of experiences. Much of what I purchase for my daughters would fall under the category of experiences, between their birthday parties, summer activities, and even some of the toys that they receive for birthdays and Christmas are more of an experience, where you spend time working on creating something not fully assembled on delivery.
Looking forward one more step, the authors mentioned that transformations will be the next (and final) step of the progression of the economy, and I’ve already seen this in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Not only are these businesses – mostly business/life/health coaches – creating memorable experiences for their clients, but they are transforming the lives of their clients. This isn’t to say that other aspects of the economy are going away any time soon. We still need commodities from farmers, goods from factories, and services from providers; this just isn’t where the future of the economy is taking us. Experiences and transformations are where new ideas will live now and years into the future.
So, the question is not whether you can produce something. There are hundreds or thousands of other businesses that can produce what your business produces. Is your business able to take something as simple as a product or a service and turn it into something that clients or customers will remember? Can you turn the mundane or the hum-drum into a true interactive experience? The future isn’t speed or price – it’s producing something that can’t be reproduced overseas for a fraction of the cost, or can’t be replicated easily by a machine or an algorithm. Those who can avoid replacement will thrive in the newest stage of the economy.
Overall: 9/10, would recommend for business owners looking for a way to break through the competition or looking to revive their brand, as a way to survive well into the 21st century.