In today’s market, selling a product isn’t what it’s about anymore, and it is certainly not enough to stay on top of the competition.

Nandini Nayak, managing director of design strategy at Fjord (Accenture) explains: “The customer doesn’t want to buy a product from you, they want an engaging experience with the brand. […] The sum of the experience is the product.”

To deliver meaningful value to the consumer, Brian Fetherstonhaugh from Ogilvy & Mather developed this new 4Es formula, quoted in the Danziger article below:

Experience   Exchange   Evangelism   Everyplace

• Experience Beats Product

According to P. Danziger, contributor to Forbes, a brand needs to focus on its in-store experience and the following two factors:

• The amount of time shoppers spend in the store, where if a retailer increases the time spent in the store, their sales increase; and
• The extent of interaction with the store personnel and merchandise, so the greater the shopper interaction and engagement, the higher the sales.”

Morty Singer, President & CEO of Marvin Traub Associates, which focuses on upscale retail, says, “Today, it’s a fusion of retail and hospitality.”

• Price Becomes Exchange

The price is not the only factor in today’s purchases.

Many steps in the customer’s experience can be considered to favor a valuable exchange:

• Respect for the customer’s time
• Special insider knowledge or know-how
• Personalizing the product selection process
• Pay-it-forward gift
• Or simply Thank You

Brands need to build real relationships with the customer.

• Promotion Gives Way to Evangelism

Danziger says that “The highest mark of engagement is turning customers into store evangelists that will spread the message of your store.” For that, word of mouth is still one of the top marketing strategies. Social media and branded content also play an important role, especially with how fast news spreads nowadays.

• Place Shifts to “Everyplace”

And it doesn’t mean to have an online presence.

Face-to-face interactions are now more valuable than ever. StubHub recently opened itsfirst retail store in NYC. Perkins Miller, general manager of StubHub’s NorthAmerican operations says, “At our heart, we’re a digital technology company. But New York, and Times Square in particular, is an epicenter of sports and entertainment, and this was a great opportunity to provide a heightened level of service and different kind of fan experience,”

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Read more:

StubHub Opening First Retail Store in New York City

Retailers Need New Tools for Marketing: Forget the 4Ps, Embrace the 4Es