Once upon a time differentiation towards the competition was made only with price. All products were produced massively in a few companies to gain on economies of scale. This period started with the famous Ford T automobile available in black and black only. Price would depend on production and quantity demanded. The next decades would look for new differentiation dimensions.
To sell and getting ahead today you need to offer more than a good quality product, a minimal service, promotion and an acceptable price level. Going to battle in the digital world with only a nice-looking website and few fancy apps will not do. You have to add the customer experience (CX) dimension. Think for a minute about coffee beans. The cost of them for a coffee cup is roughly a few cents. Now consider Starbucks. If you order a coffee you will pay from 3,6 € to 4,6 € dependent if it is a tall or a venti. The result of this is more than nice margins for Starbucks. But do you just order coffee? In fact you order more, you order also customer experience. Let's detail some of them that may apply to you: entering and smelling the coffee aroma, hearing the authenticity of the coffee made with grinding machines, a simple ordering process, the availability of pastry nicely presented, a comfortable sofa chair to sit and drink your coffee and maybe having some time for your own reading, or just taking a good drink with free wi-fi combining it with some work, etc...
In summary today, the customer and their experience should be the main focus for a company if it wants to sustain competitive advantage. Besides, it allows you to generate more margin, repeat business and continuously improve your offer by listening to the needs of your customers.
Yves Ovelacq ©
Customer Experience Architect