How does data translate to experience? In today’s world, we speak a lot about the use of Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, cloud, and much more to drive intelligent Business, but we often seem to lose track of the fundamental power of experience to drive our customer interactions and sales.
As human beings, we create a lot of data, and it is increasing exponentially every day. The PBS program Nova Wonders recently shared a truly mind-boggling statistic: we now create 2.5 billion gigabytes of data per day. This is equivalent to 250,000 Library of Congress’s worth of data, every day. And since this statistic was derived when the show was produced, it’s likely even higher today.
We are now living in an experience economy. So how do we harness the power, the opportunity, and the insights in this raw data while also improving the customer’s experience? Previously, you might have read my perspectives on the relationship economy, which posits that all transactions, personal or commercial, are based upon building trusted 1-to-1 relationships. The experience economy is not a new concept; it merely augments the relationship economy premise. The experience economy posits that both consumers and businesses want more than just delivery of products and services; they expect that an exceptional, positively charged, and memorable experience will come packaged with their purchase or use of a commodity.
In a July 1998 Harvard Business Review article, “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” authors B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore summarized this concept: “From now on, leading-edge companies – whether they sell to consumers or businesses – will find that the next competitive battleground lies in staging experiences.” Wisdom in 1998… 21 years ago… speaks truth to us today in 2019.
Over the past two decades, the experience economy has more than taken off, it’s become the expectation.
