Do you know what guest experience you WANT to stage?

Equilicuá’s Spud Raincoat - Springwise.com

Allow me to be bold.  There is no place in the experience economy for “best practices.”  For those not familiar with best practices, Wikipedia defines a best practice as “a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark.”

In practice this usually means a company will travel around collecting a bunch of neat ideas (best practices) that fit beautifully in the environment in which they are being used.  They will then take them back to their environment which is different and try to fit them all together … sort of like taking a handful of jigsaw puzzle pieces from several puzzles and trying to fit them into a single new puzzle.  Short of a miracle, it does not work.

When it comes to guest experiences, ALL of the pieces need to be aligned.  You can’t borrow bits and pieces and hope for a coherent result.

Start with a clean sheet.  Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What impressions to we want our guest to leave with?
  • What have our guests told us they most value in the experience we now provide? They can probably get your product or service elsewhere.  Why do they come to you?
  • Begin with who you are. The experience you create needs to an outgrowth of who you are. Are you the sleek European brand with a long tradition of elegance or are you the solid, dependable domestic known for solid value? What do we value in ourselves?  What experience is within our realm of capability?

Only when you have a handle on these can you begin to lay out each potential moment in the guest’s experience.  This process can even change the nature of your offering.  A European rain poncho maker worried about their customer’s final experience with their product  … when the customer throws it away.  This thinking resulting in Equilicuá’s Spud Raincoat biodegradable poncho made from potato starch infused with seeds and designed for planting at the end of its lifecycle.

You may not go that far, but you are likely to have a better experience if you begin with the guest in mind.

Have you thought about the experience you want to stage?

Have you thought about the experience your guest wants you to stage?