Dare To Be Different

Focusing on experience can work for many types of businesses, from manufacturers to service firms. Even old-line industrial companies that deal only with other businesses can work to get retailers of their products to provide appropriate customer experiences, says Schmitt. Only pure commodity sellers and companies in highly regulated environments, such as government contractors, are unlikely to gain from improving customer experiences.

There are risks in relying on experience, however. When experience becomes entertainment, consumers expect it to be continually updated, notes B. Joseph Pine II, co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP, an Aurora, Ohio, thinking studio that helps businesses design new ways of adding value to their economic offerings.

"You can also choose themes that are inappropriate," warns Pine, who also co-authored The Experience Economy (Harvard Business School Press). For instance, a company whose customers value speedy and attentive service would err if it designed a laid-back experience. "But the easier way to go wrong with experience is to fail to refresh it. All experiences need to be refreshed, because the second time you experience it, it's not going to be as good."

The process of analyzing, improving and refreshing a customer experience need not be expensive. Entrepreneurs can even continue to use the same ad agencies and packaging designers, or their in-house equivalents, says Schmitt.

The marketers will have to work with a different goal in mind, however. "You can't focus on the features and benefits with a unique selling proposition anymore like [you could with] traditional advertising," Schmitt says. "Now it's about how you create an experience."

This article was originally published in the September 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Dare To Be Different.