The Grand Bazaar, or Al-Madina Souk of Istanbul, is one of the world’s oldest, most crowded, difficult to navigate, claustrophobic marketplaces.
Narrow alleys, 4500 plus shops, with 2,500 plus connecting rooms, a mosque, 19 fountains, several squares, 18 gates, shopkeepers, street sellers of different services, con-artists, and anything between 250,000 to 400,000 visitors, every single day!
It goes without saying that few people come here to buy anything in particular.
Why then, do 91,250,000 odd tourists flock here every year?
Well, they come here for the ‘experience’.
Over the years, we’ve clothed experience in different garbs and watched it through different lenses. While all along, time and again, experience has been calling out for recognition.
Finally, the layers of the glass onion have peeled, and time has come to raise a toast to the value of a great experience.
Experience – a 21st century market reality
The 21st century market environment is much like the Al-Madina Souk. Visitors here include Flower Children, Baby Boomers, GenX, Millennials and the iGen. It is a market that believes it is entitled to great experiences. It also is a market which doesn’t make room for second chances.
This market is fuelled by technology. The close bond between customer experience and technology is one of the key realities of this digitally connected space, where you are just-one-click-away-from-your-heart’s-desire.
So, here’s a look at some rules that will determine whether you navigate this market, or get lost forever.
– Technology is the strategic asset that will enable a fluid engagement between people, processes and products.
– Technology cannot be ‘a’ department in your company. It must be the fuel of every department.
– Experience drives engagement and determines loyalty.
– Your vision must be to deliver a complete and positive customer experience.
– Multiple devices are today’s order.
– Multiple experiences through a single device tops in the race for space
– Experiences must be delivered across devices and geared to lean towards hand-held, anytime, anywhere devices.
Almost on every count, experience rules the roost. Let’s face it, folks – experience has always called the shots. It always will.
Maya George is Vice President, Content at The PRactice
