A topic that seems to be popping up a lot these days in the off-line marketing community is creating “Meaningful Consumer Experiences.”
Isn’t it great when an emerging trend has the right combination of words that sound different enough that it could be considered breaking the “status quo” while vague enough that it allows snarky online critics the ability question if it means anything at all? Sometimes I feel like whoever creates these phrases does it on purpose. (Maybe it is the same guy/girl that came up with “synergies”)
Before we dive into what exactly “Meaningful”…well…means – let’s first isolate and dissect a consumer experiences. Do consumer experiences happen only at the point-of-sale or do they go beyond that simple interaction and branch into the pre and post-purchase behaviour? If you buy something and are dissatisfied, it is hard to argue that the return process isn’t part of the consumer experience. If you are still enchanted by a product or brand 15 years after you bought it (retro-chic anyone?) isn’t that still part of the experience?
My first challenge to the community is to question if consumer experiences can really be managed by marketing? They can encompass so much and are different for each individual that can extend well past the life of a product that it makes you wonder if this is something that is ever in the control of the marketer.
Now – we move onto our quest for meaning. How could a company create meaning for an individual whom they have never met? Even if market research was sophisticated enough to start asking about what is meaningful to consumers, the context in which an experience takes place may hold different levels of meaning for even the same individual. We are starting to get into some very tricky territory for a brand to enter – but the alternative is that it can be a very powerful connection that goes beyond functional and emotional brand equity.
One potential example that I found was Method Cleaning Products (taken from PeachPit Book Review) :
Co-founders Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry started by taking an ordinary experience—cleaning the house—and making it more meaningful. As Ryan says, “Our goal was to make chores less of a chore. We thought we could do this by creating experiences that expressed our consumers’ love for their home and tying that to our products. If people don’t have to look at cleaning as killing germs, but as doing something positive for their home, the power of the experience goes deeper than the activity. It’s touching something primal.”
So is Method onto something new with pursuing a strategy for a meaningful consumer relationship? Is this just a rehash of positioning? Are there examples of other companies that are trying to use this strategy? Are the succeeding?
Please Share examples and comments about what value Meaningful Consumer Experiences can add to marketing – or if you think it is just another group of buzz-words that are having their moment in the sun.
Link to book on the subject: Make Meaning by Steven Diller, Nathan Shedroff and Darrel Rhea
