I am deeply shocked that this book, or the term “experience economy”, was described by the author B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in the end of last century. To some degree, this is a precise prediction of the current and future life, way better than the other unfettered imaginations in science fictions. Look at the hot topics in today’s business world, the application of “experience economy” can be seen everywhere: marketing professionals are putting more emphasis on experience marketing which is related to public relations and other communication skills; the finance and accounting industry offers more private services such as personal banking, which are actually tailored for the specific customers; even in the relative new area like information systems and supply chain, companies such as IBM and UPS focus their service on customized offerings in order to keep a B2B relationship. How can we imagine a current deal based purely on goods or commodity? No way!
As the whole Michigan is struggling with a great depression, the car industry is changing its operation from the mere selling of vehicles to linking the products to personal experiences. “Automakers increase the range and length of their warranties and offer to lease cars” (The Experience Economy, P9), and some famous brands encourage the loyal customers to publicize their stories about the specific model of vehicles on Facebook page and attract potential customers to click the “like” button. In fact, they are unconsciously applying experience economy related strategies. From this point of view, I believe that the Michigan State will soon find a way to rebound from the awful situation.
My evidence for this standpoint is not only in the field of car industry. I have experienced a kind of really awesome hospitality service during the Halloween holidays last year in Urban Hills, Michigan. Erebus Four Story Haunted Attraction, one of the world’s largest haunted houses, is located there. I went to experience the unique entertainment theme house with my friends and therefore gained a wonderful “horrible” memory. If there will be more such kind of experience economy based businesses emerging in Michigan, I am quite confident that the state will soon recover from the depression.