Buy the Book
The Experience Economy
Experience Economy, The: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage: Work Is Theatre and Every Business a Stage
By B. Joseph Pine Ii, James H Gilmore
The Experience Economy marks the debut of an insightful, highly
original, and yet eminently practical approach for companies to script
and stage compelling experiences. In doing so, all workers become
actors, intentionally creating specific effects for their customers.
And it's the experiences they stage that create memorable-and
lasting-impressions that ultimately create transformations within
individuals. Make no mistake, say Pine & Gilmore: goods and
services are no longer enough. Experiences are the foundation for
future economic growth, and The Experience Economy is the playbook from which managers can begin to direct new performances.
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Greetings!
So things are tough, and even tougher when your customer is buying a distress purchase. But where there's pain there are opportunities too.
In this newsletter I want to encourage you to behave as if your organisation were a theatre, for in essence it really is and explain what a Conductor, an Alto and your customers have in common?. Take a few minutes to learn why...
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Work is Theatre
The statement work is theatre isn't so crazy when you think about it. In fact a popular book published by Pine & Gilmore covers the whole subject in some depth and proposes that it really is theatre and I buy into that too.
This came home to me recently when I sat through a 90 minute concert with the University of Gloucestershire orchestra. I'd had a long day in London, was up at 5.00am and then had to drive to get to the concert in Cheltenham by 7.30pm. I was exhausted by the time I arrived there.
Now I'm not a great classical follower. I couldn't tell Bach from Beethoven, or Handel from Holst however I do know a great performance when I experience it. Likewise your customers don't need to be experts on the subject to know that the performance you've just given was either a great success or a flop.
In this case I was kind of making a distress purchase where I had to sit through 85 minutes simply to get to the one piece I'd driven all the way for, to hear my daughter Saskia (the Alto) sing just two songs.
As I sat fidgeting on my seat waiting for Saskia to perform toward the end tof the concert, I started to reflect just how like theatre work really is whether work in a shop, a car dealership, hotel or a facilities management company. It's all about the performance.
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The Conductor
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The conductor (Ian Higginson) tapped his baton upon his music stand and the musicians began their tune-up, preparing themselves for their opening piece. It all sounded out of tune to me as they played random (?) notes to ensure their instruments were ready to play. They'd already been practising earlier but this was the tune up, that critical moment before the start.
With a swift movement of the conductor's arms the concert began. As I sat waiting for my daughter's appearance I jotted down ideas of how theatre compares to work. Here's my thoughts:
- The musicians are the workers
- The theatre is their workplace
- The conductor is their leader/manager
- The concert is their performance
- The audience are their customers
- Their colleagues at the door selling tickets and welcoming guests are the support staff
- The charity for whom the fund raising event was for are the benefactors (shareholders).
- The father in the audience with a daughter singing, was the distressed purchase customer - putting up with the bits he didn't want simply to get to the part he really did.
- The music scores or song sheets are the processes and procedures to follow
- Their musicians' willingness to give of their own free time was their commitment
They also had to cover their costs, but aim to make a profit. They had to promote themselves and market future events. Even on the back of the programme the local Indian Restaurant had placed an advert for a special post concert meal offer.
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The Alto
Saskia sang just two songs perfectly, a performance to be proud of. Suddenly for me, the paying customer, the pain of endurance on a hard seat after a very long day made it all worth it.
She reminded me of the employee who connecting with a customer can make the distress purchase feel painless. It takes perfect timing, being prepared to follow a well thought through process and a lot of practice.
I may not remember the 5.00 am start, the long drive from London, the uncomfortable chairs or even the boring bits, but I do remember how I felt when the part of the customer experience that was really important to me was delivered faultessly.
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Your Customers
So here's something for you to consider:
- How often do you gather your team like the master conductor, tap your baton and get them to quickly mentally tune up ready for their performance? If the answer is I don't, then what could you do to harmonize the team for the performance of their lives - today?
And the second part to the same question, how will you keep that pre performance tune-up meaningful on a daily basis?
- Have you worked out where the most painful parts of the transaction are and what it is that the customer is really looking for from your performance?
- To what extent do you focus on the whole performance and not just the script?
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if you'd like to attend one of our management workshops entitled "Your Business is Theatre" contact me via email or call me on 0784 328 4310 to find out how to engage your whole organisation around delivering a performance to be proud of.
Thanks for reading. Once again I'd appreciate your feedback via two questions in two minutes on how you found this newsletter. Please take my micro-survey here.
Kind regards,
Mark Gregory
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