Way back in 1998, I read a book by Joe Pine (@joepine), co-founder of Strategic Horizons, LLP,  and Jim Gilmore called The Experience Economy. I was gobsmacked by it. 

I dashed down the hall to my boss at British Telecom. He read it and had a similar reaction to mine. The next thing I knew, he put me in charge of improving the Customer Experience for our company, and the rest is history. 

You could say that Joe Pine changed my life. His insight into how the experience would be vital to business today has shaped my career for 23 years. So, when I got to host him on this episode of The Intuitive Customer, you can imagine how excited I was. 

We talk to Pine about how the pandemic changed in-person events, trade shows, and conferences for the better and what we can learn from going virtual. The future, it seems, will take the best of both worlds. The important thing is to avoid the worst of both worlds. 

Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience

 Starting in March 2020, Pine watched as all the events he had booked canceled. At first, the organizers canceled them. But then, they began to migrate to an online format. It turns out, virtual events, for the interested attendee, could be excellent resources for information. Pine was fascinated at how effective virtual events were and the extent of their reach. 

However, they weren't a replacement. The information was great, but Pine and the other event participants missed the interaction with other people in the field and the inherent networking involved.  

Businesses responded to this need with hybrid events. The idea behind the hybrid event is a live event with attendees, and then a simultaneous online event complements the in-person one. Pine's book, Infinite Possibility Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier, discusses how technology can enhance the event's value in business post-pandemic. Whether it's a conference or symposium or a sporting event or concert, the hybrid event could be the format's future.

Here are a few key moments in the discussion:

06:50  Pine explains what the new trend of hybrid events.

08:50  Pine says online experiences like Twitch predict what people will want from events moving forward.

12:31 Colin shares the value of comments given by the audience during a presentation.

15:08 Colin talks about the emotional value people feel connecting to a presenter even when you are not in person. 

22:17 Pine advises that hybrid events should have a producer handle the management of the virtual event.

20:15 We break down the four different possible levels of value for a hybrid event.

25:24 We share the top recommendations and tips we have for using the hybrid event in your experience. 

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Customer Experience Information & Resources

LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 289,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy LLC as one of the best management consultancies for the last two years. Follow Colin on Linkedin and Twitter.

 

Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. 

Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 22,000 subscribers. 

Experience Health Check: You already have an experience, even if you weren't deliberate about it. Our Experience Health Check can help you understand what you have today. Colin or one of our team can assess your digital or physical Customer Experience, interacting with your organization as a customer to define what is good and what needs improving. Then, they will provide a list of recommendations for critical next steps for your organization. Click here to learn more. 

How can we help?

Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.