Yes, authors LaSalle and Britton do present their models - the "Experience Engagement Process" and the "Experience Event Matrix" - as vehicles for businesses to understand consumer experiences. These models do not represent original thinking. In their own words, the Experience Engagement Process is adapted from a consumer decision-making model developed by Johan Arndt and consists of five stages - discover, evaluate, acquire, integrate, and extend - through which the customer moves during consumption.
As a prospective buyer of this comparatively expensive book, you should consider your own level of knowledge about consumers. If the following "insights" are unknown to you, then the book is an okay survey primer of basic thinking about American consumers. Its findings are not new news in corporate America, 2003.
As an example, in the 20 pages devoted to explaining the "Experience Engagement Process" model, you will learn that :"In the United States today, consumers are inundated with literally billions of 'discover messages'. In fact, some believe we're suffering from information overload. . . " In summary of the 'discover' portion of their model, the authors conclude that: "Knowing when, where, and how to put your offerings in front of the customer is key to creating an effective discovery experience. Consumers today are so inundated with advertising and promotion that they've become blind to much of it and are often unimpressed by what they do notice. . . To attract today's consumer, the discover phase must be less about the offerings themselves and more about the Value Experiences those goods and services can provide. This is true in any market and with any type of customer, no matter where the impulse to buy begins. Your job will always be to facilitate discovery by speaking directly to the fit between your product or service and the value your customers are seeking. Once you have their attention, you can move them to the next phase of the Experience Engagement Process."
Being an experienced marketer and informed businesswoman, I know the above information and wanted something more from this Experience Engagement Process model.
In my opinion, many of the examples used in the book contained flawed analysis. Let me give you two examples:
In a discussion of the importance of understanding aesthetics as an important product attribute, (P. 89) LaSalle and Britton sight the fact that when one "walks into the fresh product department of a grocery store your eyes are treated to a landscape of color - bright oranges, vibrant Red Delicious apples, sunny yellow bananas, and fat purple grapes cascading over the edge of their bin. Everything looks perfect, and on closer examination every piece of fruit and every vegetable nearly is. In the produce business, great care is taken with appearance because grocers know that visual appeal sells their products. That's why some fruits are dyed to give them a brighter, more appealing color . . ." This is factually correct, but it ignores the exploding market in organic food, fueled by growing numbers of women and men consumers who are concerned about just what companies actually spray on food to make it look so beautiful.
Today's consumers determine value with competing and often conflicting preferences. I expected a reference to the very successful, aesthetically-appealing Whole Foods Market as an example of the sophistication necessary to address these conflicting preferences. Alas, I was left in the dyed-fruit aisle.
Home Depot offers my second example of what I believe is over-simplistic analysis in this book. The authors endorse and wholeheartedly embrace the "guy-focused" atmosphere of Home Depot. (P. 132) The book acknowledges that a new, more feminine Value Group is interested in the design services for kitchen and bath, but Home Depot has successfully managed to make "the ladies feel at home, without losing the atmosphere equity it worked so hard to achieve with its male customers."
The authors ignore the fact that today's woman wields a lipstick in one hand and a hammer in the other. Women now make half of the purchases in Lowe's and Home Depot stores. Lowe's recently surveyed single women and found that 9 out of 10 feel comfortable using power tools, and 77 percent own at least one. Home Depot this year began offering how-to-classes catering to its female customers. More then 43,000 women nationwide took part in its first Do-It-Herself Workshops. More important, in 2002 single women bought 18 percent of homes, while single men purchased 9 percent.
This is the reality that the Home Depot business faces today, and I'm not sure that the authors conclusion that the "guy-focused" atmosphere should be protected, is the best long-term strategy. I suspect that Home Depot has already figured this out and will devise a winning solution. Besides, the "ladies" enjoy some sawdust on occasion.
Sorry to sound nitpicky about facts and sources, but the Paris Miki retail chain (p.116) is not a $750 billion company, substantially larger than Rite Aid (p. 117) at $14 billion and referenced on the following page. And in turning to notes about the "medical devices service company" discussed on p. 126, the "Ric Deterding, telephone conversation with authors, 24 February 2001" note told me nothing about the original source. What authors? What book? These are just two examples of sloppy journalism.
Frankly, I expected more from a book published by the Harvard Business School. Unless understanding consumer buying habits is totally new territory for you, buy Gerald Zaltman's "How Customers Think: Essential Insights Into the Mind of the Market." He will teach you something you don't already know.
Linda Enke
www.leadingindicators.com
After I read the book, I appreciate some examples very much, only some small adjustments have made, the total result would be different. For example, there¡¦s an example is talking about how the product display on the shelf. Stores always place the products in a very high shelf which customers are difficult to get the one on that top of the shelf. This would waste resources if customers have to ask the staff for help in every time. So that, the store place a ladder near the shelf which the customers could get the product themselves.
The most interesting example in the book is talking about the dessert¡XBanana. The dessert is not a very special one, but it is very expensive and many customers come to the restaurant just for this dessert. This is because the dessert was made in front of the customers. This special serving way creates an extraordinary experience to the customers, and this the dessert seems has a special value to the customers.
To turning the ordinary products into extraordinary experience, one of the critical points is trying to understand the customers¡¦ needs and provide something exceed the customers¡¦ expectation which could delight the customer and make a memorable experience to the customers.
After I read the book, I appreciate some examples very much, only some small adjustments have made, the total result would be different. For example, there¡¦s an example is talking about how the product display on the shelf. Stores always place the products in a very high shelf which customers are difficult to get the one on that top of the shelf. This would waste resources if customers have to ask the staff for help in every time. So that, the store place a ladder near the shelf which the customers could get the product themselves.
The most interesting example in the book is talking about the dessert¡XBanana. The dessert is not a very special one, but it is very expensive and many customers come to the restaurant just for this dessert. This is because the dessert was made in front of the customers. This special serving way creates an extraordinary experience to the customers, and this the dessert seems has a special value to the customers.
To turning the ordinary products into extraordinary experience, one of the critical points is trying to understand the customers¡¦ needs and provide something exceed the customers¡¦ expectation which could delight the customer and make a memorable experience to the customers.