The Experience Economy

The experience economy is defined as “an economy in which many goods or services are sold by emphasizing the effect they can have on people's lives.” Experiences are their own category, just like “goods” and “services.” Generally speaking, you need a combination of goods or services to make an experience possible. Customizing a good automatically turns it into a service, and customizing a service turns it into an experience. Experiences should be robust, cohesive, personal, dramatic, and transformative.

The experience in each Auxiliary Services operation/department includes many components. For example, the way a unit looks, feels, sounds, the way the staff look and act, the way the food smells, tastes, the way merchandise looks, feels, etc. We must ensure, from pre-opening through closing, that each of these experiential details is in place and activated to provide a superior experience for our guests.

The example below shows the evolution of coffee beans from commodity to experience.

Resources:

• Welcome to the Experience Economy <- e-Book, read now
• The Experience Economy in Auxiliary Services <- PowerPoint, read now
• The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II <- order the book, or
  • Contact the Auxiliary Marketing Director for a copy of this book (limited supply available)