Businesses Are Shifting from Product-focused to Experience-focused
Manufacturers used to strive to offer outstanding products at a competitive price. But in recent decades, sociology has changed the opinion of marketers. Customers don’t buy products, they buy the experience they provide. In other words, it’s the satisfaction of solving a problem, security, happiness, or excitement. We use the physical attributes of a product to justify the purchase, but the emotional result is what we remember. Feelings are what makes us loyal to brands and willing to spend more on them than is necessary.
For this reason, products are no longer the primary focus of some businesses. Their attention and resources are invested in understanding the customer. The goal they’re chasing is to develop products that drive the most satisfaction, as opposed to perfecting a product first, then finding a market for it.
Service Is Now Part of the Product
A growing number of products that used to be sold individually are now packaged as a service. From subscriptions to contact lenses and recipe boxes, to car sharing, music streaming, and Amazon Prime, we’re increasingly renting access to products instead of purchasing them. For businesses, moving from one-off product sales to an ongoing service has two major benefits. It provides the security of a stream of recurring revenue, and the opportunity to learn more about each customer so they can be sold related products.
From the perspective of the customer, services are more attractive because they provide access to quality products without big up-front investments, why buy a GoPro for a holiday when you could rent one for a fraction of the price? There’s also the benefit of flexibility, the convenience of having multiple products bundled into one discounted package, and the ability to have relevant product recommendations.
