(Extracts from trendwatching.com)
In 2019, billions of consumers live inside a supercharged merry-go-round of human experience.
And it isn’t just traditional experience providers that are fueling these new expectations. Today, it can feel like every pet shop, dentist and local accountant are competing to win in the Experience Economy. If you’re not including extraordinary experiences in to your brand, you will get left behind.
WTF happened? And in this environment, where do you start when it comes to delighting your guests, diners, shoppers, passengers, visitors (need we go on)?
Always different, always the same…
The highly evolved Experience Economy of 2019 might feel dizzying. But press pause for a moment and it’s possible to get a handle on it. That starts with seeing how it’s founded on a few core, eternal truths about human nature.
Driving the endless search for new in-person experiences are a set of basic human needs that are as old as human beings themselves. The human needs for play, community, personalization, authenticity and more.
And, of course, the need for status. You can see that status quest – for a special story to tell oneself, and the crowd – in the frenetic search for yet another experience that is fresh, unique, cultured, anything to make people take notice. You can see it in the half a billion daily active users that Instagram Stories racked up in January 2019.
But once you understand that this avalanche of experiences all revolves, in the end, around basic human needs, you have the not-so-secret code. Then the question becomes: how can you create experiences that will tap into and serve those needs?
Let’s run through the well-worn trends. Ethical travel, immersive dining, and peer-led urban tours.
We all know there's nothing new about brands creating experiential spaces for the purposes of brand building.
One question to get you started:
Who in your community is suffering most from social atomization? Who lacks a safe space to get together, meet new people and try new things? Remember to challenge conventional (demographic!) thinking on these questions. For example, contrary to much popular opinion studies often find it's actually young people, not the elderly, who most often report feelings of loneliness.
That's one of the most wonderful things about tearooms, they allow people to come together and enjoy each others company and why Tina's Traditional prides itself on creating extraordinary experiences through dining, tea and immersive events. Check out www.TinasTraditional.com for more information.
