steelcase blog

Experience Economy Expert…

… that’s what I am as of two weeks ago, as I became ‘certified’ through completion of a week-long class taught by the original experts, Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore,… co-authors of The Experience Economy and Authenticity, and co-founders of Strategic Horizons.  I learned a ton.  Methods and frameworks that can apply to my business, and all businesses for that matter.  The foundational model, upon which the course and their books are based, is called the progression of economic value (POEV).  This ladder of value starts with commodities at the bottom, then goods, above that services,… with experiences and transformations at the top.

This model depicts the long-term structural shifts in our economy which have occurred across history.  As you know life was much simpler at the start, with everyone primarily doing everything for themselves,… from raising animals, to growing food and chopping wood.  As trade emerged, we advanced into an agrarian economy where most workers were involved with extracting things from the earth,… commodities as diverse as food and coal.  The innovators of the time then developed machinery that could produce more output with less labor.  They also figured out the processes required to take commodities and make them into goods,… creating the next higher level of economic value (how you get paid), and the dawn of the industrial economy.

I’m not going to share the details of each stage of progression, as then you would have no reason to read the book.  I will say it has opened my eyes to the exciting potential for creating new economic value based on leveraging the changing desires/expectations of individuals/organizations.  The bottom line principle here is that as things become mechanized, standardized, commoditized, new forms of value will emerge.   And the cycle just repeats itself for each step of the POEV,… a goods company can design new value through services, a services company can design new value through experiences, and so on.  What’s valued next…?

Real or Fake…

… it seems like I ask myself that hundreds of times during any week, either directly or indirectly.  Why is that…?  I guess it’s because I hate to be deceived,… I’m not much different than anyone else, in that I want to know the truth.  Don’t tell me you support my idea if you really don’t.  Don’t say your product can do something that it really doesn’t.  Don’t promise me something that you can’t really deliver.  Don’t claim as fact something that isn’t.  And on and on.  It’s not only deceitful, but it wastes my time.  The reason behind this reaction was recently driven home in a conference I attended called Think About, put on by James Gilmore and Joseph Pine (the writers of one of my favorite books – Authenticity, which explores the growing importance of being ‘really real’ to your customers.).  The main subject of the conference was, you guessed it - Authenticity, and they were ‘real’ in admitting the agenda was built around their new book that is just now being released.

About 100 people from a wide range of companies stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort (talk about an experience), which is adjacent to the world famous Grand Ole Opry.  I took one evening to attend the Grand Ole Opry,… and am glad I did – country never sounded so good…!  The authors define ‘authentic’ as being original, genuine or sincere, in other words being real.  And claim that this demand for authenticity is the new business imperative,… “when consumers want what’s real, the management of the customer perception of authenticity becomes the primary new source of competitive advantage.  This should cause companies to sit up and listen, as revenues/profits flow from competitive advantage.  So what does one do to make your company, your product, your service, your offering more ‘real’ to your target customer…?  I think it’s in providing them immersive opportunities to directly experience whatever your company is selling.

One way to evaluate how well you do this is to imagine yourself inside your marketing brochures or corporate ads (“if only I could check into the ad for that hotel vs. the hotel itself”); has your experience with your own company felt like what the image or copy portrays…?  If not, you need to ask yourself how you can change, your company or your ads, to represent a greater alignment between what you do and what you say you do.  If they are in alignment, then the trick is to explore various approaches which allow the customer/consumer to experience this reality.  Once they do, your company’s offering will stand out from the many others in this world of abundant similarity.  If you can leverage these touch points of reality, you can build a loyal following.  And the more real they are the more committed they will become.  I think web sites like Second Life Life or Logic + Emotion represent a wonderful community-building platform for interaction and exposure, to connect with other individuals or companies with similar interests.  But let’s not delude ourselves into thinking this is real – it’s fake.  As such, it’s not an authentic engagement with your company and/or its offering.  Make what you are real to your customers, and they will reward you.  Are you believable…?