Consumed by the new economy, and lack of consumer interest, all products and services have all been replaced by what businesses and consumers now call “Experiences”.

Calling something a product or service just doesn’t make any sense in the new economy.  The description is out of date, the words don’t apply to today’s consumers.

Marketers and sales people need to understand:

You are no longer selling and marketing products and services.  You are selling and marketing experiences.

Think about it:  The things that we buy and consume, either as individuals or as a corporate entity, are not products.  These things are not services.

We buy, acquire, endure and enjoy experiences.

Welcome to the new economy, where commerce trades on the experience you have, and the experience you provide.

Consider these experiential products:

• A vacation in Hawai’i
• A new app for your iPhone
• Purchasing a new Nissan Altima
• Attending a play, museum or movie
• Buying a new computer, from the Apple store
• Transitioning to SAP CRM
• Buying new laptops for your sales force

Which of these are products, and which are services?  Answer: None, and all.

You see, no product exists in a vaccum.  No service stands alone without products.  These things are really events, or experiences, made up of a series of products, services and interactions.

And so many things are outside the scope of either products or services.  For example: what if you donate to a non-profit?  What about that last iPhone app, or a new piece of software – what is it exactly, product or service?Answer: Neither.

What we want, what we pay for and what we get can all be summed up in one way:  experiences.

Today’s customer (whether a corporation or a person, and by the way they are NOT the same) wants an experience.  Perhaps an experience that is fantastic (like visiting the most beautiful place on the planet, Hawai’i) or excruciating (transitioning to SAP CRM, because your CFO chose the low-bidder on the job).

Even a traditional product purchase, like buying a new car, requires a series of events that create an experience that circumvents the “product” (whatever the hell that is, anyway).  For example, when you buy a car, unless you have $28,433.00 cash, you are going to need financing.  Maybe you will lease the vehicle.  Maybe you will talk to the finance manager, or the sales manager, about your options.  Then, you get to choose a variety of different experiences (not options).

And, if the vehicle ever breaks, you will need service.  However, that service (even routine maintenance) involves products (like an oil filter).  But all these necessary events are put together under an over-arching umbrella of experience.  That experience includes:

• Your Service Advisor (soon to be changed to “Experience Manager”)
• The price of the work
• The quality of the work performed, including the products used, and the quality of the waiting room
• The overall experience of the showroom, the billing, the people and the location