Ok for Retail Businesses
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Not impressed with this book as there is great emphasis placed on retail businesses. Many examples are drawn from Disney, Hard Rock Cafe and other American stores and doesn't seem to cross over into other industries/markets/services.
I have read both Building Experiences books by Colin Shaw and would highly recommend them both over this. (Also Jan Carlzon's Moments of truth is highly recommended).
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How to Sell the Sizzle
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Authors B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore look at the ways that corporations create engaging experiences for their customers to boost sales. They amass examples that confirm the developing trend toward an "Experience Economy." Their premise is that the post-industrial economy has evolved beyond delivering commodities and services, and is now poised to deliver "experiences." These experiences can include everything from a meal at a theme restaurant to a Disneyland vacation. The premise is interesting, but before you hit the trend button, realize that this is not the first time marketers have courted customers with powerful retail experiences. However, it may be the first time sellers have used virtual reality and Hollywood-style animated props. This intellectually interesting book dares to be far out and to pursue the concept of engaging customers to its extremes. We recommend this book to business owners or marketers more as a theoretical introduction to the "Experience Economy" than as a marketing manual. If you feel intrigued and engaged, that's the point. For more information, please refer to Disney World.
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A useful consideration of what we intuitively know
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This is well crafted book and provides several examples to illustrate the points made. The book tends to sag towards the final three chapters. There are numerous messages one comes away. Highly recommended for business students and practitioners, specially in light of the new 'digital economy' taking shape.
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Business as Performance Art. Yes!
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As co-author of the cluetrain manifesto (www.cluetrain.com), I'm often asked by companies how they can implement the ideas we talk about. This book is a great place to start. Unfortunately, the listing here leaves out the subtitle: "Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage." That's what got to me. Acknowledging the role of serious play in serious commerce is long overdue, but The Experience Economy makes up for lost time. While most business books are little more than literary Sominex, this one will stretch your head in new dimensions. Even if you disagree with bits, it'll wake you, shake you, make you think. At first, I was put off by the notion of the Internet as "the greatest force for commoditization known to man." This is only true when the net is seen as an extension of the broadcast model: think TV. But that's the wrong approach, as the authors later make clear: "Cyberspace is a great place for such experiences, but many businesses still don't get it. They're heading into the commoditization trap, trying to figure out how to better sell their company's goods and services over the World Wide Web, when in fact most individuals surf the Net for the experience itself." E-commerce as performance art, I love it! So step right up, boys and girls, and get your ticket to the Pine & Gilmore Masque. The show's just about to begin!
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The Most Disappointing HBS Book I've read in Years
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It was painful getting through this book. Partly because of the content, but mainly because of the writing style of the authors. That aside, let's talk about why I didn't like the book. First, the economic arguments for the 'Experience Economy' were flimsy at best. It seemed to me they were overly selective in choosing their supporting arguments, mainly because they needed to make their work seem larger and more broadly applicable than it really is. Second, much of their 'new economy' is really just an as-yet-little-discussed market segment. And many of their groundbreaking ideas traditional (and fundamental) marketing. Third, I found the religious (sorry, world-view) over- and under-tones of the last two chapters almost insufferable. Quite frankly, for two authors who talk about the importance of customization and segmenting according to world-view, they should have known better than to discuss religion in the manner they chose. Don't get me wrong, the book did have some very interesting points. I found the 'work as stage'concept and the review of 'experience development' concepts fascinating and applicable. I cannot, however, recommend this book to you. If you want the critical insights, borrow it from someone who did buy it, and read Chapters 2,3,6, and 7. Oh, and mind the typos, a few of them happen at the WORST possible places (like the misdrawn table 5.2).
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