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RESEARCH
  ANALYSIS
            According  to  Gartner,  more  than  two-thirds  of  all   enterprise   processes   and
  TRENDS
            companies nowadays compete primarily on the basis of   business,  operational  and
            customer  experience.  Another  study  even  predicts   experience management data
            that  customer  experience  will  overtake  price  and   to  provide  an  exceptional,
            product  as  the  key  brand  differentiator  by  the  end  of   hyper-individualized  customer
            this  year.  The  fact  is,  just  as  Cameron  Beveridge,   interaction  that  is  not  soon
            regional director for Southern Africa at SAP confirms to   forgotten,  SAP  is  convinced
            us as well, the experience economy is alive and  well,   of.
            despite the extraordinary events of 2020. However, he
            points  out,  it  has  undergone  dramatic  changes  that   By  embracing  the  value  and
            business  leaders  must  take  note  of  if  they  hope  to   capability  offered,  the  entire  business,  from  the  back-
            recover  fully  from  the  challenges  brought  by  the   office  to  the  frontline,  can  bring  a  differentiated
            widespread  disruption.  Too  often  companies  leave   customer  experience  to  life.  The  consumer-driven
            gaps  in  their  experience  economy  strategies  that   growth revolution will require all businesses to not only
            undermine  their  success,  he  warns.  In  fact,  getting  it   change their thinking but also adopt a new approach –
            wrong can be costly, considering that nearly a third of   one  that  puts  the  customer  and  their  experience,  not
            customers  in  one  study  said  they  would  leave  a   sales,  at  the  center  of  the  relationship  to  satisfy  the
            brand  after  a  single  bad  experience  and  consumer   expectations   of   digitally   native   consumers.
            expectations are constantly rising.
                                                                 It’s  time  to  enter  uncharted  waters  to  radically  re-
            “Simply having the product or service is not enough; it   imagine  the  very  concept  of  customer  experience  to
            is  no  longer  even  a  differentiator.  Consumers  want  a   survive  and  thrive  in  the  experience  economy.  For
            positive  and  personalized  experience  to  sweeten  the   instance,  those  who  meet  the  consumer's  natural
            deal.  They  want  to  feel  like  brands  are  listening  to   instinct  to  play  with  their  product,  or  who  develop
            them, that they understand them. This has necessitated   products according to such rules, generate measurably
            a shift in value delivery. As a business, you cannot rely   more success and demand. Addressing all five senses
            purely  on  only  your  product  or  service  any  longer”,   is  also  required,  in  addition  to  seeing  and  hearing,
            Cameron Beveridge highlights.                        touch, smell and taste - hence, gamification is not just a
                                                                 question  of  technology.  Rather,  every  gamification
            Ever  since  the  term  Experience  Economy  was  first   concept  is  based  on  "positive  psychology"  and
            coined  by  Pine  and  Gilmore  roughly  20  years  ago,   motivation  to  change  behavior.  The  secret  is
            researchers  have  explored  how  consumer  buying   voluntariness  instead  of  compulsion,  praise,  and
            decisions are increasingly determined by experiences.   recognition  for  overcoming  hurdles  and  customer
            Pine  and  Gilmore  make  the  case  that  in  today’s   loyalty.  So,  the  earlier  companies  start  virtualizing
            economy,  consumer  buying  decisions  are  greatly   offers and data streams, the more they will be able to
            influenced by the quality of the experience they receive   face the competition.
            from the brand, and not just by the brand’s product or
            service.  The  Experience  Economy  was  birthed  out  of   What  social  media  was  for  the  entry  into  the  virtual
            the increased desire of digitally native Millennials, who   community,  "gamification"  is  now  for  the  "sharing
            now form the largest purchasing group, to spend their   economy".  It's  not  a  new  invention,  but  a  real
            money on experiences they can share on social media   competitive  factor  in  business.  The  ‘Olympic  Games’
            platforms rather than products and services.         were  already  invented  in  ancient  times  to  encourage
                                                                 people  to  perform  at  their  best,  to  compete  in  public
                                 With  artificial  intelligence  (AI),   with others, and to receive a laurel wreath as a reward
                                 businesses  can  extend  today   at the end. ◊
                                 their  capabilities  in  ways  that
                                 were once unimaginable; and it                              By Daniela La Marca
                                 is  through  technologies  like  AI
                                 that businesses can truly deliver
                                 a  holistic  customer  experience
                                 that  intelligently  connects  all






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