Picture it: you, finally, have the opportunity to go to a wonderful five-star restaurant. You’ve been dying to go for ages, you’ve read all of the rave reviews, and your mouth is already watering at the idea of all of the delicious things you are about to try.
Everything looks incredible. Soft music is playing, the tablecloths are pristine, the silverware untouched. The chairs are elegant but comfortable, and you cannot wait to celebrate your special occasion.
But after you take your seat, it all starts to go downhill. It takes them 15 minutes to take your order and, when they bring it, it’s the wrong order. How disappointing – it almost feels like a betrayal!
“Welcome to the Experience Economy,” says Lindy McClymont, Head of Faculty at The LLC Academy. “Economies have shifted, changed and developed over the years: what started as the product economy became the service economy. But in today’s world, the service economy and pure service is no longer enough.”
“At it’s very heart, the Experience Economy is about people, and the relationships they have with you and your company,” says McClymont. “What’s my experience of your company? What’s my experience of your brand? How do I feel when I interact with your brand? The décor of our thought-experiment restaurant may be beautiful, but if we feel ignored, not taken seriously, or treated poorly, we will not be coming back. Worse, we are certainly going to tell everyone in our social circle about our horrible experience!”
“When it comes to providing experiences for your customers, we need to stage experiences,” says McClymont. “And we stage experiences through people. How do you interact with me? How do you deal with me? How do you greet me when I enter? How do you greet me when I leave? How well do you listen to me?”
“The Experience Economy is all about how you make me feel when I touch your brand,” says McClymont. “Do I feel helped? Do I feel educated? Do I feel valued as a customer? In a competitive world where all businesses, all brands are fighting to grow their businesses, it is no longer enough to simply provide a service. We have to move from an economy of service to the Experience Economy, where every single interaction we have with our existing and potential clients is an opportunity to build a relationship with them.”
“This is why upskilling our workforce is so vital,” says McClymont. “A skilled, engaged and enthusiastic employee base who truly believes in our brand and sees themselves as ambassadors for that brand will be well equipped to deliver the experience your customers deserve through every interaction.”
The LLC Academy offers a range of programmes that will help you to achieve your B-BBEE Skills Development requirements while ensuring that your business will benefit from an educated, engaged, and highly skilled workforce, able to fully participate in the Experience Economy. Our expert consultants are ready and waiting to guide you to the solution for your skills development needs.