Miyoung Jeong, PhD
Ann Marie Fiore, PhD
Linda Niehm, PhD
Haemoon Oh, PhD
Cheryl Hausafus, PhD
Apparel, Educational Studies, & Hospitality Management
Iowa State University
Overview of Curriculum
Purpose:
• Enhance business competitiveness in the areas of small
rural retail, hospitality, & tourism
– By developing experiential strategies for a company’s
website design
Curriculum
• Five lessons (CD-ROM available)
• Two Assessment Tools
– Assessment Tool I. Marketing Plan Framework
– Assessment Tool II. Development of Experiential Websites
• Extension Educator Training Guide
2
Five Lessons
• Lesson 1: Experience Economy Strategies
• Lesson 2. Experience Economy Strategies Adding Value
to Rural Businesses
• Lesson 3. Aligning Experience Economy Strategies of the
Business and E-commerce Website
• Lesson 4. Assessing Experience Economy Strategies of
the Business
• Lesson 5. Assessing Experience Economy Strategies of
the E-commerce Website
3
4
• How can you distinguish successful business from
un-successful business?
– Vision
– Innovation
– Opportunity recognition
– Passion for change
– Customer-focused strategy
• Exceptional staffing
• High quality products
• Superior customer service
• Positive, engaging, memorable experiences
– Experiential value
5
Progression of Value: An Example of Corn
6
Four experiences by Pine & Gilmore
7
Definition of 4Es
• Education: customer's skills and knowledge
through active participation in the experience
• Esthetics: customer enjoyment of an enriched,
unique physical design. Enjoy passively
appreciating or “just being in a setting” of the
business
• Escapism: customer shapes or contributes to the
experience, which offers the customer a way of
taking on a new persona
• Entertainment: watching the activities and/or
performances of others.
8
9
Competitive advantage is:
• A distinct combination of offerings that
customers want and only you can uniquely
provide
• What makes your business more attractive than
your competition
10
How small businesses develop
competitive advantages:
• Traditional ways:
– Delivering goods to customers better, cheaper, or
faster
• Non-traditional ways:
– Enhancing customers’ experiences as a way of
creating value for them
11
Experiences as a key competitive
resource for small businesses because
they:
• Can be very unique
• Are hard to copy
• Are difficult for larger firms to effectively deliver
on a personal customer level
• Can be personalized and flexible
12
According to Pine & Gilmore, a “better”
business means having:
• Differentiated offerings from competitors, such
as experiences
• High quality goods and services
Retail
“Escapist” – Harry Potter party
Pegasus & Pendragon Books:
Berkeley, CA
http://www.pegasusbookstore.
com/
13
Experiential offerings can:
• Address a higher level of customer value
• Uniquely position and differentiate your small
business
• Create value for your business
14
A differentiation strategy must:
• Offer a competitive advantage
• Attract customers by positioning offerings in a
unique and distinctive way
• Be truly different in the eyes and mind of the
customer
• Be of value to the customer
15
Diagram for creating a unique combination
of offerings to achieve differentiation
Adapted from: Kotler, P. (1997). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and
Control. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Pine, B.J., & Gilmore, J.H. (1999). The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre and Every Business a
Stage. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
16
Using the diagram from Pine & Gilmore’s
theater example:
• Consider the following:
– Goods are like props
– Services can be seen as the stage
– Personnel are the actors
– Experiences are added to each element
• All of the elements must work in coordination
with each other for the “play” to be a hit
17
When considering your differentiation
strategy, you must keep in mind:
• All elements make sense and hinge on a
common theme
• How your customer experiences the theme
• All of the details that support your theme taken
into account
18
19
Making something memorable means to
make a positive experience easy to recall
or remember at will
As a business owner, you should aim to
make your business memorable
20
Experiences that may come to mind
when you say, “I remember when….”
• Situation of personal significance such as
– Getting engaged
– Winning an award
• Rarity, surprise, or suspense such as
– Spotting a mountain lion when on a neighborhood
walk
– An acrobatic circus show
21
Experiences that may come to mind
when you say, “I remember when….”
• Special design or sensory features such as
– Decorations of a party or holiday
– Incredible natural beauty of nature like the colors of a
setting sun
• Intensity of emotion such as
– A really scary roller coaster ride
– An exciting moment in sports
22
Memorable experiences lead to Word-of
Mouth (WOM) advertising, which is:
• Positive communication by the customer to
friends and relatives
• A cost effective promotional strategy
• Often referred to as “free advertising”
• Considered a more persuasive message when
coming from a trusted source
• Likely to reduce perceived risk associated with
patronizing a new business
23
Creating memorable experiences
requires the following specific techniques:
• Repetition of information
• Personally relevant experiences
• Making sense of unexpected information
• Physical performance of an action rather than
simply observing
• Multi-sensory (e.g., sight, smell, sound)
experiences
• Emotionally arousing experiences
24
Memory making techniques are
embedded in Pine & Gilmore’s experience
economy strategies by:
• Creating a theme and harmonizing the cues
around the theme reinforcing the business
message
• Offering educational and escapist experiences
that actively engage the customer
• Providing rich, multi-sensory settings
• Arousing customers’ emotions
25
26
A multi-channel business:
• Markets or sells through more than one
distribution channel
– Physical stores
– Catalogs
– Direct mail
– Websites
27
A multi-channel business:
• Role of a Website in a multi-channel distribution
– Marketing the business to the existing and potential
customers online
– Online sales transaction
– Customers’ developing impressions about the
business
28
Business image refers to:
• Message the business projects including the
experience it creates for the customer
Business impression refers to:
• Customers’ perception (belief or feelings) about
the business including experiences fostered by
the image
29
Your Website is the customer’s first
impression of the business:
• It is a lasting impression
• It affects the customer’s further exploration of
the Web site
• It sets up expectations of the business for the
customer
30
A consistent image between the physical
business and its Website helps:
• Customers recognize and recall a business
• Customers perceive the same distinctive 4E
offering of the business
• The business “connects” with the targeted
customers
31
Experiential offerings should be
reinforced through the business’ Website in
order to:
• Attract more customers
• Set up appropriate customers’ expectations
32
An example of Mundt’s Candies:
• The educational experience offered by the
historical setting and historical information
shared in the store is reinforced on the Web
site through:
– Content about the history of the company
• http://www.mundtscandies.com/
– Content about the history of its signature candy fish
• http://www.mundtscandies.com/candy.html
33
An example of Mundt’s Candies:
• The educational experience offered by the
historical setting and historical information
shared in the store is reinforced on the Web
site through:
– Content and images of traditional candy making
processes
• http://www.mundtscandies.com/more.html
– Content and images of historical sites of the Madison,
Indiana area
• http://www.mundtscandies.com/flavors.html
34
An example of Mundt’s Candies:
• The educational experience offered by the
historical setting and historical information
shared in the store is reinforced on the Web
site through:
– Link to the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
• http://www.historiclandmarks.org/
35
36
Why should we have a marketing plan?
• To align with mission statement and long-term
strategic plans
• To review and think objectively through all
steps in the marketing process
• To assist in the budgeting process to match
resources with marketing objectives
• To create a process to monitor actual against
expected results
• To help position the firm competitively in the
marketplace
Building blocks of a 4E-based marketing
plan:
38
Internal audit of offerings: Evaluating the
4Ps
• Identify current strengths and weaknesses
including the 4Es offered to the customer
• Evaluate the 4Ps in conjunction with the 4Es
– 4Ps of the firm: Property, Product Presentation,
Promotions, and People
Internal audit of offerings: Evaluating the
4Ps
• Identify current strengths and weaknesses
including the 4Es offered to the customer
• Evaluate the 4Ps in conjunction with the 4Es
– 4Ps of the firm: Property, Product Presentation,
Promotions, and People
40
Segmenting, targeting, and positioning:
• Positioning: placing a business clearly in the
minds of customers by instilling a strong, salient,
and positive image
41
What are 4E offering strategies?
• Encompassing tangible goods, instrumental services,
and the 4Ps (Property, Product Presentation,
Promotional Application, and People) that contribute to
the experiential offering
• (Re)designing or selecting goods, services, and
experiences to better meet the needs and preferences of
the selected target market segments
• Addressing the SWOT for your organization
• Thinking about how you can specifically enhance value
for the customer through 4E aspects of your total
offerings
42
Guiding principle for the 4E offering
strategy by Pine and Gilmore (1999):
• Theme the experience
• Harmonize impressions with positive cues
• Eliminate negative cues
• Mix in memorabilia
• Engage the five senses
43
Pricing strategies:
• Affect the demand for a business offering and becomes
an unavoidable focus of competition
• Should be done carefully in a way to maximize profit
margin and, at the same time, minimize the customer’s
switch to competitors
• Need to include the new business offering
• Should reflect how much customers are willing to pay for
the new offerings
• Are determined by trial and error in many cases
44
Advertising strategies:
• Create the customer’s initial expectations about
the company’s offerings and such expectations
bring the customer to the business
• Should best reflect the business offerings,
especially the newly added 4E elements
• Must be consistent with the positioning theme
• Must be convincing to the chosen target
customer groups
45
Assessment Tool I
Marketing Plan Framework
47
Purposes for the business Website:
• To provide Information
• To generate online transactions
48
Website features and functions strongly
influence customers’ perceptions of:
• Information and service quality
• Ease of use
• Pleasure
• Website design quality
49
A successful Website:
• Attracts more and repeat customers
• Makes customers feel the site is trustworthy,
dependable, and reliable
• Generates customer satisfaction
• Engages customer in a unique Website
experience forming a strong bond to the
business.
50
The Website should create
“telepresence”, which:
• Gives the customer a sense of being
someplace else
• Depends on how closely the Website simulates
the business’ physical location
• Provides rich Information necessary to form a
clear business impression
• Allows the customer to interact online as they
would in the physical location
51
The three key components of Website
design:
• 3Is
– Information
• Written or verbal content of the Website
– Interface
• Elements creating the site’s appearance
or sensory appeal
– Interactivity
• Safe and easy online transactions along
with the 4Cs (Connections,
Customization, Communication, &
Competition)
52
53
Information:
• The first of the 3Is, pertains to the
written or verbal content of the
Website.
54
Information provides details about :
• The business
– such as its background history, mission, location, or
policies
• Business offerings
• Experiential value offered by the business
55
Information content must be:
• Accurate
• Current
• Concise but with sufficient details
• Easy to understand
• Relevant to the customer
56
Information aspects of the Website:
• Subject matter - the topic of the Information
• Source - the creator of the Information
• Style of expression - the way Information is
delivered
57
Information aspects and the 4Es:
4Es
Educational
Experience
Esthetic
Experience
Escapist
Experience
Entertainment
Experience
Subject
matter
General or
specific
background on
goods, services,
or company;
4Ps contributing
to Educational
experiences
Elements of, or
emotions
created by,
goods, services,
and 4Ps leading
to the Esthetic
experience
Elements of the
4Ps or the
resulting sense
of a different
time, place, or
personas
defining the
Escapist
experience
Events held and
elements of the
4Ps supporting
the
Entertainment
experiences
Source
Firm, customer,
expert
Firm, customer,
expert
Firm, customer,
expert
Firm, customer,
expert
Style
Factoid,
motivational,
testimonial, or
tutorial style
Poetic, imageryproducing style
Creative,
fantasy-based
style in the
‘voice’ of a
character
Witty, humorous,
or amusing
style
3Is
Information
58
59
Interface:
• Elements creating the site’s appearance or
sensory (sight and sound) appeal
• Communicates a consistent business image
• Communicates/reinforces the experiential
nature of the business’ offerings
60
Interface elements:
• Multimedia aspects
– Still pictures (.jpeg) or graphical images (.gif)
– Animated digital or graphical images
– Music or sounds (.wav)
• Design aspects
– Background design elements
– Page layout
– Design qualities of lettering
61
Considerations for image selections for
the Interface:
• Will the image load quickly?
• Will the image look good with other images on the page?
• Will the image look good with the text colors or
background on the page?
• Will the image look good when it is repeated (tiled) for a
page background?
• Will the background color be safe (available) for use with
all browsers?
• Will the background image or color and lettering qualities
make it hard to read the text?
62
Multimedia and Design aspects can be
drawn directly from the 4Ps:
• Images/virtual tours of Properties
• Logos or lettering found in Promotional material
• Photographs of attractive Product
Presentations (packaging)
• Audios of People such as singing wait staff
63
Care must be taken:
64
Multimedia and Design aspects should:
• Coordinate with one another
• Create a compatible image
• Reflect the business image and the 4Es
• Parallel the Information content
65
Design aspects of Interface and the 4Es:
4Es
3Is
Interface
Multimedia
aspects
Subject
matter
Educational
Experience
Esthetic
Experience
Escapist
Experience
Entertainment
Experience
Multimedia
aspects that
capture
elements of the
Educational
experience
offered through
the 4Ps
Multimedia
aspects that
capture
elements of the
Esthetic
experience
offered through
the 4Ps
Multimedia
aspects that
capture
elements of the
Escapist
experience
offered through
the 4Ps
Multimedia
aspects that
capture
elements of the
Entertainment
experience
offered through
the 4Ps
66
67
Interactivity:
• Entails safe and easy online transactions, as
well as the 4Cs: Connections to other sites,
Customization (i.e., access, comparison,
and personalization) of content,
Communication, and Competitions
• Connects customer to other sites
• Customer customizes content of the Website
• Customer communicates with the
business/customers
• Customer competes in games and contests
68
Useful forms of Interactivity:
• Links to other sites
• Customization functions through search
engines or wish list
• Communication functions through service links,
forums, chat rooms, customer reviews
• Contests and games
• Zoom functions
69
The 4Cs of Interactivity and the 4Es:
4Es
Interactivity
Educational
Experience
Esthetic
Experience
Escapist
Experience
Entertainment
Experience
Connections
Links to other
sites that
expand
relevant
knowledge or
skill
Links to other
sites that offer,
or enhance
appreciation of,
Esthetic
experience
Links to other
sites that offer,
or enhance
appreciation of,
Escapist
experience
Links to other
sites that offer
entertainment
Customization
Features that
allow easy
retrieval of
related content,
or comparison/
personalization
of content
based on set
parameters
Features that
allow the
creation of
virtual esthetic
environments or
focus on esthetic
details
Features that
allow the
creation of
virtual escapist
environments
Features that
allow creation
of entertaining
online
experiences
70
Assessment Tool II
Development of Experiential Websites
Assessment Tool II Development of Experiential Websites
• Building on the knowledge gained through Lessons
1 through 4, this assessment tool provides a
systematic way to evaluate and improve the 3Is of
your business Website, to better contribute to the
4Es, and to reinforce value from the 4Ps of the
business.
• 3Is: Information, Interface, and Interactivity
• 4Es: Educational, Esthetic, Escapist, and Entertainment
Experiences
• 4Ps: Property, Product Presentation, Promotional Application,
and People
* Click to download this assessment tool in MS Word format.
Assessment Tool II.1 Website Information
–
Accommodation/B&B
• http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/
• http://www.bbonline.com/index.html
• http://www.usinns.com/
–
Restaurants
• http://www.webaward.org/winners_detail.asp?yr=all&award_level=best&
category=Restaurant
• http://www.roadfood.com
–
Retail Stores
• http://www.redwoodcoastchamber.com/retailshops.asp
• http://www.webaward.org/winners_detail.asp?yr=all&award_level=best&
category=Retail
–
Rural Tourism
• http://www.pafarmstay.com
• http://calagtour.org/AgTour.ASP
Assessment Tool II.1 Website Information
• Now evaluate your business Website by determining
how well the following features enhance the 4Es. Give
your Website either a plus ‘+’ if the feature already
enhances the 4Es of the site or a minus ‘-’ if the feature
can be improved to enhance the 4Es. Identify which of
the minus (-) features to focus on in your beginning
efforts to enhance the 4Es of the site.
Assessment Tool II.1 Website Information
Educational Experience
+ -
Comments
+ -
Comments
1. Interesting information about my
company’s history
2. Detailed information about the
qualities or background of my
firm’s offerings
3. Special details of the services
4. Historical or cultural information
about the surrounding area
5. Customers’ testimonials related to
my company or its offerings
6. Educational tutorials related to my
company’s and/or its offerings
Esthetic Experience
1. Poetic information about my
company and/or the 4Ps
2. Imagery-producing information
about my company and/or the 4Ps
Assessment Tool II.1 Website Information
Escapist Experience
+ -
Comments
+ -
Comments
1. Creative, fantasy-based
information about my company
and/or the 4Ps
2. Information about offerings that
allow customers to feel as if they
are in a different time and place
Entertainment Experience
1. Witty, amusing information about
my company and/or the 4Ps
2. Entertaining information about the
4Ps
Assessment Tool II.2 Website Interface
Educational Experience
+
-
Esthetic Experience
1. Still images of the 4Ps
1. Still images of the 4Ps
2. Still images of
goods/services
2. Still images of
goods/services
3. Animated images of the
4Ps
3. Animated images of the
4Ps
4. Animated images of
goods/services
4. Animated images of
goods/services
5. Business logo
5. Business logo
6. Navigation buttons
6. Navigation buttons
7. Music or sounds
7. Music or sounds
8. Background image
8. Background image
9. Layout of page
9. Layout of page
10. Lettering
10. Lettering
Comments
Comments
+
-
Assessment Tool II.2 Website Interface
Escapist Experience
1. Still images of the 4Ps
2. Still images of
goods/services
3. Animated images of the
4Ps
4. Animated images of
goods/services
5. Business logo
6. Navigation buttons
7. Music or sounds
8. Background image
9. Layout of page
10. Lettering
Comments
+
-
Entertainment
Experience
1. Still images of the 4Ps
2. Still images of
goods/services
3. Animated images of the
4Ps
4. Animated images of
goods/services
5. Business logo
6. Navigation buttons
7. Music or sounds
8. Background image
9. Layout of page
10. Lettering
Comments
+
-
Assessment Tool II.3 Website Interactivity
4Cs
Connection
Customizati
on
Educational
Experience
Links to other sites
+ -
Esthetic Experience
Links to other sites
Search engine
Search engine
“Create your own”
“Create your own”
Wish list
Color matching
Wish list
Communic
ation
Competitio
n
Comments
Customer service links
Customer service links
Forums
Forums
Chat rooms
Chat rooms
Customer reviews
Customer reviews
Contests
Games
NA
NA
+ -
Assessment Tool II.3 Website Interactivity
4Cs
Escapist Experience
Connection
Links to other sites
Entertainment
Experience
Links to other sites
Customizati
on
Search engine
Search engine
“Create your own”
“Create your own”
Wish list
Color matching
Customer service links
Customer service links
Forums
Forums
Chat rooms
Chat rooms
Customer reviews
Customer reviews
Contests
Games
Contests
Games
Communic
ation
Competitio
n
Comments
+ -
+ -