Brian Solis Keynote | X: The Experience When Business Meets Design

TL;DR

Brands should treat experience design as the new marketing by intentionally improving every customer interaction, not merely competing for attention. Brian Solis contrasts Disney’s carefully integrated cruise-ship details with Virgin America’s inconsistent experience when customers move from a flight to a phone call. Read on to see why old mindsets fail in new environments and how thoughtful details can keep customers close to a brand.

Transcript

people sales customer support or customer relationship management do not think this they do not they're not measure - you're not budgeted - but someone's got to change the game right in the same way that I guarantee you every author is going to look at this and just think that there's a template to do this and I think it's because we just sort of m... Read More

Key Insights

• 👶 Experience design should be the new focus of brand marketing, prioritizing the customer's experience over attention-grabbing tactics.
• ❓ Technology and digital platforms have conditioned consumers to expect seamless and personalized experiences in every interaction.
• 🪘 Brands must adapt to a fragmented and rapidly changing consumer landscape, where traditional marketing approaches are no longer effective.
• 🚗 Mobile and digital-first experiences are reshaping industries like insurance, finance, and healthcare, and brands must keep up with the evolving expectations of mobile-savvy consumers.
• 🤕 Success in the digital age is rooted in challenging conventional norms and adopting unbiased perspectives to see the world as it truly is.
• ❓ Brands that prioritize customer experience and understand the importance of storytelling and empathy will create authentic connections with customers.
• ⁉️ Innovation and change start with individuals who question the status quo and challenge themselves to see things differently.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Brian Solis call experience design the new marketing?

Competing for attention means little if it does not change or improve the customer’s experience. Solis argues that marketing should help customers stay close to the brand, talk about it, or make it part of their lives.

Q: What is an experience according to Brian Solis?

An experience is created through the thoughtful ideas and small details that connect every moment when someone does business with a company. Those intentionally designed moments give customers a reason to remember why the interaction was special.

Q: Why is attention a poor measure of marketing success?

Attention alone does not matter if it fails to shift how customers feel about the brand. A more meaningful result is whether people want to remain close to the brand or talk about it afterward.

Q: How does Disney demonstrate intentional experience design?

Solis describes a Disney cruise-ship cabin that transforms to accommodate a family, reducing the need to buy multiple rooms. Its divided bathroom also lets one person use the restroom while another brushes their teeth or showers, showing how practical details can be intentionally designed around customers.

Q: What does the Virgin America example reveal about customer experience?

The flight may feel exciting through its music, atmosphere, and distinctively dressed attendants, but the experience can break down when a customer has to call the company. Solis uses this contrast to show that designing one impressive touchpoint is insufficient when the rest of the organization is not integrated with it.

Q: What is “medium-ism” in Brian Solis’s keynote?

Solis uses “medium-ism” for applying old mindsets to new platforms, techniques, and paradigms. He argues that these approaches will not work in a new world because established norms make it difficult to challenge convention.

Q: Why does Brian Solis compare brands with music artists?

The comparison illustrates how quickly attention and relevance can disappear. Solis says a brand can become a temporary satellite in a consumer’s ecosystem, present for a moment before the next thing replaces it.

Q: How should businesses respond to a changing digital economy?

Businesses and individuals must learn new expertise, thinking, and techniques instead of continuing practices simply because they worked before. Solis recommends paying attention to digital breadcrumbs, big data, and small data while benchmarking against new possibilities rather than yesterday.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The traditional approach to marketing, focused on attention-grabbing, is no longer effective if it doesn't enhance the customer's experience.

• Brands can learn from the music industry's struggle to retain relevance and constantly compete for attention in a changing landscape.

• Medium-ism, the reliance on old mindsets and paradigms in new environments, hinders innovation and change in the business world.