Dear World,
This week in class, we talked about customer experiences and how researchers in the past and today create them for customers. We read an article on Monday called “True Colors” about two hair dying products and learned that it’s not just about the product a company is selling, it’s about the experience the consumer gets when using the product. On Wednesday, we discussed Bernd Scmitt’s Strategic Experience Modules, or SEMs, which breaks customer experiences into five categories: sense, feel, think, act, and relate. Sense, the first category, appeals to the consumers’ five senses. Next, the feel category appeals to emotions like happiness, sadness, or anger. Third, the think category takes a cognitive approach and appeals to the intellect. Fourth, the act category aims to affect bodily experiences, lifestyles and interactions. Finally, the relate category connects people to his or her ideal self, other people, and cultures. The ultimate goal for a marketer is to use all five of these modules to create a holistic experience. I found this model very interesting in class because as a consumer you rarely put yourself into the shoes of the marketer and wonder which strategies they use to capture your attention. But after having a general overview SEMs model, you can take any type of ad or experience and break it down into one of these categories.
This week in class, we talked about customer experiences and how researchers in the past and today create them for customers. We read an article on Monday called “True Colors” about two hair dying products and learned that it’s not just about the product a company is selling, it’s about the experience the consumer gets when using the product. On Wednesday, we discussed Bernd Scmitt’s Strategic Experience Modules, or SEMs, which breaks customer experiences into five categories: sense, feel, think, act, and relate. Sense, the first category, appeals to the consumers’ five senses. Next, the feel category appeals to emotions like happiness, sadness, or anger. Third, the think category takes a cognitive approach and appeals to the intellect. Fourth, the act category aims to affect bodily experiences, lifestyles and interactions. Finally, the relate category connects people to his or her ideal self, other people, and cultures. The ultimate goal for a marketer is to use all five of these modules to create a holistic experience. I found this model very interesting in class because as a consumer you rarely put yourself into the shoes of the marketer and wonder which strategies they use to capture your attention. But after having a general overview SEMs model, you can take any type of ad or experience and break it down into one of these categories.
So what exactly is an experience? It’s defined somewhere along the lines of “a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something.” And what is a customer experience that is particularly meaningful to me?
My best customer experience is not a particular product, but a service that allows me to enjoy myself every time I go – Wal-Mart. When I got my car senior year in high school, the first thing I did was drive to a nearby Wal-Mart. I fell in love with Wal-Mart in middle school when I started going grocery shopping with my parents every couple of weeks. Everything was cheap so I could afford buying accessories that I didn’t need (headbands, cute stationary, etc.). The store stocked several varieties of every product so I was given a choice on which one I wanted. For example, if I wanted a bottle of shampoo, I probably had over 10 brands to choose from. Also, everything on the shopping list was pretty easy to locate in the store. Above each aisle, general items are listed so all you had to do was look up, read, and locate. I was getting to that age where I wanted to buy things for myself but felt bad if I asked my parents to pay for me, so I would save up money from my weekly lunch allowance and ask a friend to bring me another time to pay for my stuff. My parents also opened up a restaurant when I started high school so there was never any food in the fridge. I started to buy some groceries here and there for days I didn’t feel like driving to the restaurant to get dinner. So Wal-Mart was easily one of the first destinations I made in my new car.
Along with the in store experience, I really enjoy Wal-Mart’s newest commercials with Mr. Rollback. Mr. Rollback “rolls back” prices and helps make items in the store more affordable to average people like me. Wal-Mart does a great job at making customers feel like they are thought about and cared for with Mr. Rollback because he makes an effort to understand that we are looking for more affordable things to buy in this weakening economy.
Even today, as a college student, I love going to Wal-Mart because it gives me the same experiences I got when I was in high school. They are easily located with their giant blue and yellow logo, prices are always the lowest compared to any other supermarket I go to, and the stores are almost always the same on the inside so I don’t have to relearn how to make my way around the store.
Best,
CJL
