An Experience to Last a Lifetime

There is only so much you can give a customer. While you would like to give them the world, it seems as though your product and service can only hold so much, before the functionality is eroded or the value plateaus. Take for instance the iPhone, it can handle music, videos, applications; it can make calls, read emails, log onto the Internet; it can access directions, store contacts, be a calculator etc. The list seems to go on and on, but does it? Would we really want an iPhone that could brush our teeth, and tie our shoelaces? Maybe some people would, but at what cost to the user? It obviously wouldn’t be small and compact anymore, and the cost would skyrocket to accommodate these new functions. So where does this leave us as a company?

Marketing. No really! The truth is, marketing can turn a business around. In this particular situation, instead of tacking on more functionality, marketers could increase the value of the iPhone through experiences.

Experiences are considered to be personal to a customer and sometimes even complex. They connect a customer to some product or service in a way that only they can understand and value. But it is through these experiences that a customer begins to form a positive perception of our product and leads them to make repeat purchases. Therefore, as a marketer, we should do everything in our power to enhance these experiences thereby increasing the lifetime values of our customers.

I recently had a sensory experience that was unlike any other I have ever felt, seen, smelled, heard, or touched. It is this experience that epitomizes for me the “Sense” aspect of the Strategic Experiential Model, and is what I would most like to share for this week’s blog.

 

Let me start by saying, I have never bought art before. While I am mesmerized by art, it has always been a luxury that does not quite fit into my college budget. However, earlier this summer I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Europe. Throughout this trip I had the fortune of stopping in several of the world’s most renowned art museums (the Louvre, Musee de Orsay, Musei Vaticani, etc.) and I believe it is because of this that my mind was especially in tune with art as I woke up on the morning we went to Montmartre, France.

Montmarte is probably best known for housing the stunning Sacre Coeur Cathedral. So as we approached this historic church, I was unprepared for the scene that was about to unfold. All of a sudden, a local musician sat down next to a harp outside the cathedral and began to play the most beautiful music I’d ever heard. (It’s not very often you get to hear a harp in Austin, Texas) Not only was the music heavenly, but as you turn to look out from the top of this hill, you see the skyline of Paris in a way that cannot be described in words. Breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. But it only got better. As my two girlfriends and I walked past the cathedral and down a nearby street, we realized that the local farmers were setting up stands everywhere for a Nature Festival. We stopped along the way and picked up crepes, coffee, and fresh strawberries with cream. I don’t know if it was because it was free, because it was fresh and organic, or if it was because of the moment itself, but I have to say, that food was blissful! So as we continue walking we pass local artisans who are selling other organic products, some of which are candles. Aromas from these candles filled the air as we passed the Parisians’ stands. Rose petals, Jasmine, cherry blossoms, and vanilla were just a few of my favorites. Finally we came to the end of the street where local artists were painting EVERYWHERE. The rich colors they were using were astounding. All different styles of paintings were being made using oils, watercolors, charcoal, etc. I could not believe my eyes.

As I sat there trying to take everything in, a local artist name Jacques pulled me aside. He had been working on a landscaping piece that was filled with warm reds and oranges. The painting was beautiful. He sat me down and let me touch his art. The bumps and dips of his dried oils created a 3-D image of the Paris skyline. I was captivated. I asked him if he could make me one, and he agreed. As I sat there watching him paint, my friends found his “Box of Art” beside his easel and started going through his collection. These paintings depicted specific sites throughout Paris in much brighter colors. Maybe it was the music, or the candles’ mesmerizing fragrances, maybe it was the way the paint felt under my fingers, or the taste of sweet strawberries still lingering on my tongue, or maybe it was because Jacques had been so charming, but between the three of us, we purchased his entire collection.

Looking back on this moment, I do not regret a single thing. While my bank account was significantly less full, to me, this experience was priceless. And while Jacques would probably call himself an artist by trade, I think he would also make a great marketer. He could have been painting on a street corner, in the park beneath the Eiffel Tower, or outside one of the museums, but instead, Jacques was painting in an environment that touched on peoples’ five senses.  People may say I paid too much or that he was exploiting the fact that I was a tourist, but I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life. I only hope that someday I can create an experience so powerful as this for the customers I someday market to.