Goodbye Horses

Beyond the features
Brands jockey against one another over which features can out-do the other. Waging these battles only effects a small segment in the purchasing process. Rethinking the complete experience of how the customer might use the product or service is the deal breaker now-a-days.

Going beyond the features is the first step in changing the image of a brand. Focusing and creating a holistic experience to meet the varying patterns in people’s decision making process should be the motivator. 

**Customer first … but they aren’t always right
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To quote Henry Ford, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.’” The truth is that most people can not articulate the things they need or want. To imagine what they might use in their daily lives is even harder. 

Today we should ask WHY the customer needs to cede a product, and take a closer look in how they behave and what gives them happiness … or even what makes them sad. Discovering something unexpected delivers a possible new experience and can place a brand — front and centre. 

Into the horizon
Marketers have traditionally taken a short-term perspective to their brands goals. In the past top-down, overly control businesses have been the norm. Seeing beyond short-term strategic goals was not the task of Marketing and Brand Departments. This thinking in silos has hindered many brands.

Another step in the “experience brand” is to break down the internal walls. Draw on expertise across functions and disciplines to drive thinking, realize new possibilities, and forge connections between people. A unified purpose will be noticed by the customer.

More then one sense
Till now we have shifted from product features to product experiences. From customers requirements to customers hidden wishes. And thinking in silos to bringing all people to one table. 
The newness of everything has lost its lustre. We have reached a time that all interactions converge not to a single point, but to various places in a person’s life. 

It is now time to examine the complete picture. Brands need to take into consideration environmental, physical, digital, and even behavioural expressions of brand. Even how does the employees interact with both the customers and each other. Ever point of the experience is under the microscope. Say goodbye to fixed positioning and focus on a purpose that is flexible. Taking this perspective can create a brand which adds real value and an experience that is memorable.