Archives 9/1/2006 |
Blog 9/1/2006 12:46pm - It's still about the experience I belong to a marketing website where anyone can share experiences and ask questions. Every day I get emails from the site when someone posts a question. And every day I see the same type of question asked; "What's a good name for my plastics business... We have a Real Estate Company and looking for a good, catchy name.... and so on. But rarely do I see anyone ask a question about the experience. In case you didn't know, I firmly believe it's still about the experience yet many in the marketing world are caught in a sort of limbo. They are concerned about doting the "I" and "T" but forgetting that it's more than just good food, or a cool name. A good name will get you so far, but it doesn't mean folks will come in your store, and more important, it doesn't make them come back. And I've known places that made great food that didn't make it too. This morning I took my wife and son to a local cafe/market by our home in Mass. It was not planned. I was actually going to get the paper and thought they might want to ride along on a rainy morning. They did. When we got there, I asked my wife if she wanted tea. She thought it was a great idea. The Market place we went to is an older single story blue building with a hand painted sign, limited selection in the merchandise section, with a cafe in the back. It's a nice place, somewhat inviting but cold at the same time. My wife and I have been there a number of times but never together. The first thing my wife said was she was going to find the in-house toy that our 18 month old son likes to play with. It's an old (I mean old) Fisher Price toy that has a bunch of buttons and switches that make noise when you push, pull, or slide them. It even has a rotary phone dial on it to tell you how old it is. She got a tea and something for the baby. I hadn't planned on anything but got a toasted bagel with butter. It was okay, not amazing. So we spent a half-hour there sitting amongst a lot of single people who were surfing the web on laptops. Oh, and two ladies complaining about life at the table next to us. When we left and were back in the car, my wife said how much fun it was. She even went as far as to say we should make this a regular thing. I asked here what made it so fun. She said that we were together, and Max was having fun and we sat and had coffee, etc. She never mentioned anything about the quality of the coffee, or the bagel she had, or anything else. It was totally about the experience. It's something to remember when you are looking to make something successful. I've gone to plenty of places that were all the rage in NYC. And I've waited along time for a table, and served mediocre food. But the places are happening. And when you look around it's about the experience. No the food might not be great, but the place has a buzz. You can have a great place with great food that does not survive and you can have an okay place that is considered fun that does. So it's always about the experience first. The day before that we went for breakfast at a local place called Roosters. Walking into Roosters is like walking into a time machine, circa 1972. Old tables, old walls, old. But the experience is great. Great because it's a real breakfast place. Rarely is the breakfast exceptional and most time, just good. At one point my wife noted that she was eating the most undercooked poached eggs she's ever eaten. Yet she finished them and she'll order them again. Neither her or I complain when things aren't great, because the best thing about Roosters is the experience and while it might sound like the food is the number one part of the experience, it's not, just part of the experience. If the food was, Roosters wouldn't have a steady crop of folks coming in and out all morning. So it's got something else going for it. Remember Krispy Kreme donuts? At one time all you heard was how incredible they tasted. Did they? To me they tasted chemically. Their glazed donuts tasted funny, not like a real glazed. Yet Krispy Kreme marketed the experience. Hot, fresh donuts. They were small so you could eat them in one bite if you dare. And they sold them in boxes of what seemed like a thousand so it was cool. They even had a sign in every store that lit up when the donuts were just made. But once the experience wore off, so did Krispy Kreme. If it was really about the taste, they'd still be where they were. But today it's hard to find a store. In fact they just closed their flagship store in NYC leaving only two. As marketing people, sometimes we need to stop looking from the outside in like we are smarter and act just like everyone else if we want to learn what success is. It has always been about the experience, not much more. Comments (0) Add a comment |