A Quality Product Just Isn't Enough...

Recently on LinkedIn I saw a survey discussing how millennials are more likely to pay for an "experience" during a business transaction than a product...

In my humble opinion, I believe this is an incorrect claim as it is presented to pertain ONLY millennials. As far back as I can understand, businesses with long term strategy and success have put a large focus on the customer experience. It is just now that we are using the buzz word "experience" as it relates. As a result we are surveying the public and finding a high rating in the millennial generation, but I am lead to believe throughout my studies that the "experience" has been paramount throughout the generations.

Due to these recent survey results, more businesses have used this methodology to grow at a rapid rate. Companies have invested in their presentation and put emphasis on how the customer interacts with their services and products. The capitalist system in my opinion has done its job to continue increasing *value for each customer. As more companies produce similar products, they will continue to create more value for the customer in the same provided space (being the service or product). Value as it once was described may be changing slightly, creating a disconnect among each generation. Even though these generations may not speak about the experience being paramount, their wallets tend to do the talking for them.

Companies such as the Walt Disney Corporation was founded on "experience" and rose to success at a record pace due the same principles. The baby boomer generation continued to dish out large sums of money to the Walt Disney corporation decades later when Michael Eisner and Frank Wells rose ticket prices and attendance increased. But, the Walt Disney Corporation is not alone. As we stop and think about companies such as Porsche, we understand how their customer experience has always been above the rest. Porsche ranks the highest in its customer retention rate due to its elitist treatment of its customers.

It is quite interesting when discussing companies such as Porsche and dare I say Apple; both who took products and turned them into services. Steve Jobs and Apple saw the need to turn a basic product (your phone, iPod and the internet) into not only a device, but a lifestyle. The product alone, as revolutionary as it was, could not be sold solely as a device, it needed to be sold as the future. Everyone wanted to experience a piece of that future and lined up to be apart of it.

No matter the generation, experience for any customer will always be paramount. It will and always have been the strongest form of marketing from repeats to referrals. It is key to reducing the marketing costs for a company and driving growth. The investment is made upfront, but it can last for decades.