Companies that try to create holistic experiences by emotionally engaging their consumers are flourishing. Sure, what else?
That is easier said than done. It is about creating a complete experience; connected to your customers, to your employees and your partners. Connection is about knowing where you are in the innovation cycle: delivering technology, products, solutions or experiences. On the Creative Company Conference, last month in Amsterdam, there where a lot of stories about organisations that have made the transformation towards the creation of experiences. What most of these companies have in common is that the company DNA is central in their design. They are delivering authentic experiences. Authentic is about what a customer perceives as real. Pine and Gilmore published this concept in their recent book: Authenticity. But, in my opinion, to understand what customers really want (their hidden needs) requires also that employees have to understand the concept of real. They should know their self-image. That is the precondition to make an emotional connection. And at the end every aspect of your business must reflect your companies DNA. All the customer interaction channels should be consistent to the story you are telling. Competing in the market today demands innovative, emotional engagements. Creating complete, 360-degree experiences is the only way to be relevant for your customers.
