Review of: Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences, by Diana LaSalle and Terry Britton

As manufacturers and luxury CE partners, we are always striving to WOW our customers, to leave them breathless with a demo or integrate their entire home in magical ways that they never thought were possible. As consumers we love it when our favorite wine merchant turns us on to a great bottle of wine at a reasonable price, or we find that remarkable restaurant that just seems to do everything right, from the way we’re greeted when we enter to the perfect cappuccino at the end of the meal. The authors of Priceless: Turning Ordinary Products into Extraordinary Experiences, Diana LaSalle and Terry Britton, examine the thread that unites all of these experiences, ask if it can be replicated on a regular basis (and if so, how), and provide a checklist for reflecting on what we do well and what we can do better.

What we are doing is adding value to the experience at every stage and earning the customer’s loyalty. This could be as simple as a pleasant voice that answers the company phone and directs the customer to the right person, or a 24-hour number that the customer can call if they ever experience a problem. Studies have shown that increasing loyalty by only five percent can increase profitability by 35 to 95 percent. The premise of the book is simply in that whatever position or channel we operate in, if we look at our business from a customer-centric point of view, we will be more successful and more profitable. According to a Deloitte and Touche study, companies that are customer-centric are 60 percent more profitable than companies that are inwardly-focused.

As an industry, the performance of most of our products is pretty darn good, and it keeps getting better every year. Often what separates us as manufacturers, as specialty merchants, and as sales professionals is the level of service and the increased value that we add. The value can be in the product, the service, or both. A friend of mine in the custom installation channel, when given the opportunity, always recommends one particular brand of in-wall speakers. Why? Are they the best sounding? No, but they sound pretty good. Are they the most profitable? No, but the margins are respectable. The real reason is that they are the easiest and most efficient speakers for his installers. Value is in the ease of use and efficiency for him as a customer. Un-boxing heavy amplifiers without destroying the shipping boxes is always a challenge. One manufacturer uses a double box with the inner box having strong, easy-to-grip inner handles that make un-boxing and re-boxing that much easier. Each example, while small in itself, contributes to the perception of value in the mind of the customer and builds loyalty. Each vendor asked important questions from the customer’s point of view and was able to design the product accordingly.

By adopting a customer-centric viewpoint, we are all able to ask the right questions regardless of whether we are selling a product, a service, or both. The book provides an excellent roadmap for adopting this view as part of a corporate culture. It serves as a mirror so that we can each look at ourselves and see what we do well and what we can do better. We know all too well that a negative experience can cancel all of the values gain from positive encounters. Using an Experience Event Matrix, the checklist provided also keeps us from falling into bad habits. What the authors do not point out is that the truly exceptional experiences typically come from truly exceptional individuals. As leaders, we can imbue these values as part of our corporate mind-set and do our best to hire individuals who can deliver as promised. •