Are you tired of the same old traditional marketing strategies that no longer seem to work? Well, it's time to say goodbye to the "4/7 Ps" and hello to the "7 Es" of the experiential marketing mix. In this phygital age, businesses need a new strategic framework for designing customer experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. So, let's dive into the world of the "experiential marketing mix" and explore how it can transform your business.
Experience is the new currency in marketing. Adapt or die in the phygital age.
Because copyright matters. How to cite this article: American Institute of Business Experience Design (2023). Revolutionizing marketing: The rise of experiential marketing mix (7E) in the phyigital age. Retrieved [date you accessed the article], from [copy and paste the URL of the article page].
The Experiential Marketing Mix (7Es) is a strategic framework that companies can use to design successful customer experiences in the phygital era. The framework consists of seven controllable components - experience, exchange, extension, emphasis, empathy capital, emotional touchpoints, and emic/etic process - that marketers must use to implement effective and cost-efficient strategies. By covering the tangible and intangible needs of customers across both physical and digital settings, the 7E mix framework helps companies engage customers online and offline, and drive growth and revenue. Using The 7E mix, companies can shift their marketing strategy from outdated traditional marketing to a more adapted and customer-centric approach.
To help you get started, this article will cover the following subjects:
A comprehensive definition of the experiential marketing mix
The concept of experiential marketing mix was first introduced and defined by Dr. Wided Batat, a renowned marketing academic, in her best-selling book "Experiential Marketing" published in 2019. The 7 elements of the experiential marketing mix, also known as the 7Es, are Experience, Exchange, Extension, Emphasis, Empathy Capital, Emotional Touchpoints, and Emic/Etic Process. By combining these elements, companies can create and deliver value to their customers, leading to higher satisfaction levels, loyalty, and a positive brand image. Ultimately, this results in a strong and sustainable competitive advantage.
The 7E mix framework is a strategic approach to marketing that aims to create memorable experiences for customers. It involves leveraging a combination of the seven key elements of the experiential mix and incorporating them into the company's global strategy, both in physical and digital channels. The goal is to optimize the overall customer experience by implementing the right mix of elements, which leads to increased customer loyalty and engagement. By prioritizing customer experience, companies can attract and retain customers, and ultimately lead to greater business success.
Why should companies shift from traditional 4Ps/7Ps marketing mix to the experiential 7Es marketing mix?
The reason is simple - most businesses are wasting their money, efforts, and resources by using outdated knowledge, professional development, and marketing tools that no longer work in today's market and consumption context. This is a context full of paradoxes, hyperreality, and emotions, and it's essential to adapt to it.
The digital age has made some companies rethink their marketing strategies by shifting their focus from the traditional 4Ps to the “4Cs” of the marketing mix tool, which prioritizes the customer. The 4Cs emphasize the convenience of buying, customer needs, cost to satisfy, and communication. Although the 4Cs lack a scientific foundation, the idea of prioritizing customers over products is supported by scientific marketing literature. In fact, most marketing scholars now recognize the importance of shifting from a product-centric logic to a more customer-centric approach.
Marketing has evolved with a shift towards prioritizing the human element. However, many firms still lag behind. The increasing role of consumers in shaping marketing strategies can be seen through significant phases, ranging from the economy of production to the present-day phygital economy.
Marketing has come a long way from simply labeling its mix with trendy letters like Ps and Cs. The strategy and purpose of marketing have also evolved, necessitating a change in its mix tool. Research has demonstrated that businesses must prioritize the human element in their marketing endeavors. However, the truth is that many firms are still lagging behind.
The power of experiential marketing mix in the phygital is undeniable. In today's world, where customers are looking for immersive experiences, the blend of physical and digital elements can create a unique and memorable experience for them. As a result, it is critical for businesses and marketers to move away from the outdated 4/7P mix and embrace the 7Es mix of the experiential marketing business model. This shift is essential because it enables companies to create effective strategies that cater to the new economy, which is both experiential and phygital. By doing so, businesses can create unique experiences that go beyond the traditional concept of products and services.
To successfully implement this shift, companies must keep in mind two fundamental premises:
Firstly, the attractiveness of a brand or product is not solely based on its functionalities but also on the individual's consumption culture and the meanings associated with it.
Secondly, consumers do not always make rational decisions and may be influenced by irrational or even paradoxical motivations that are not captured by the traditional marketing mix components (4/7Ps).
By embracing the experiential marketing mix and its 7E strategic framework, companies can create comprehensive strategies that cater to consumers' desires and emerge as unique in the market.
In-depth analysis of each of the 7 Es that make up the experiential marketing mix strategy
The 7Es of the experiential marketing mix can bring immense benefits to marketers, businesses, and entrepreneurs. It is highly recommended for Chief Marketing Officers, brands, and all businesses across various industries to use these 7Es at the start of the innovation process. The process should be comprehensive and multileveled to create memorable experiences, not just products. This approach can help elevate the brand's functional, emotional, and social value, making it difficult for competitors to replicate.
Here we break down the seven components of experiential marketing mix strategy: experience, exchange, extension, emphasis, empathy capital, emotional touchpoints, and emic/etic process.
1) Experience – Instead of creating physical products that are easily replicable, focus on developing engaging experiences that cannot be duplicated
The first pillar of the 7Es of the new experiential marketing mix is Experience, which replaces the 'P' (the product) in the traditional marketing mix. Instead of producing just products, companies can gain a durable competitive advantage and distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market by creating experiences.
The experience should be created keeping the consumer or target audience in mind. It is a new category of offer from an experiential perspective that can be marketed both online and offline. To move from creating tangible products to creating engaging experiences, companies should focus on six core consumer values - utility, economic, emotional, ethical, aesthetic, and social - that need to be captured from the consumer's perspective and translated into the company's offerings and innovation processes:
Here is an example of how the six core values have been integrated in the design of engaging and people-centered experiences when designing the AIBXD learning experience and the course program. We applied this approach in designing our executive and entrepreneurship course programs to provide an outstanding and learner-centered online and offline experience to our learners.
Utility value: Ensuring that the content of the course program is original and taught by the founders of the concepts learners will discover. The programs are practical and useful, providing learners with hands-on experience and real-life case studies. This approach helps learners to gain valuable skills that they can apply in their careers, making them more marketable and successful.
Economic value: Ensuring that programs provide an excellent return on investment for our learners and value for money by keeping tuition fees reasonable and offering a highly rewarding referral program that can even pay for the entire course program, making our programs accessible to a wider audience.
Emotional value: Ensuring programs are engaging and enjoyable, giving learners a chance to enjoy the learning experience and stay motivated throughout. It's also about valuing and customizing the approach to each learner.
Ethical value: Ensuring programs are morally sound by adhering to a strict code of conduct and promoting ethical business practices. Learners are encouraged to be socially responsible and make ethical decisions in their professional lives.
Aesthetic value: Ensuring the programs are visually appealing by incorporating beautiful and engaging designs in addition to selecting high-end venues for in-person classes, making the learning context visually appealing and enjoyable to engage with learners.
Social value: Ensuring learners engage in social interaction with other learners and guests. They also have free direct access to the elite private club where they can empower themselves and exchange with top-tier experts.
2) Exchange – Instead of solely focusing on price, companies should prioritize value in exchange over price as an effective pricing strategy to enhance customer loyalty
The term "exchange value" refers to the value that consumers receive when they interact with brands. Although price is an important factor, consumers also consider other factors when making purchasing decisions. They may choose to buy products that are priced higher than their budget or that they cannot afford because of the perceived value in exchange that can be created through various processes such as co-creation.
Co-creation is a crucial aspect of experiential marketing and plays a vital role in creating value for customers. It enables companies to engage with their customers, understand their needs, preferences, and expectations, and create products and services that cater to their specific requirements. Co-creation can create value for consumers that goes beyond the price of a product. For example, Apple's iPhone is an excellent product that is co-created with customers, which results in exceptional value for its customers. Apple consistently involves its customers in the product design process and gathers feedback to understand their needs, preferences, and expectations.
Another example of co-creation that delivers value for consumers and goes beyond the high price of a product is the custom-built Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Harley Davidson has always been known for its customized motorcycles that cater to the specific needs and preferences of its customers. The company involves its customers in the co-creation process by allowing them to choose the design, color, and features of their motorcycles. The custom-built motorcycles are highly priced, but customers are willing to pay a premium because they perceive the value they receive in exchange goes beyond the cost. They see it as a smart investment because the motorcycle offers them a unique and personalized experience that caters to their specific needs and preferences. In this way, Harley Davidson has been successful in creating a loyal customer base that is willing to pay a premium for its products.
This is a classic example of co-creation that creates value for consumers that goes beyond the high price, making it an excellent investment for them.
3) Extension – Instead of limiting their focus to either the physical or digital realm, companies should adopt a phygital experience strategy as a means of connecting their physical and digital channels
The concept of phygital experience offerings should be considered as an "Extension," which represents the next "E" of the experiential marketing mix. This approach broadens a company's vision by shifting its focus from the traditional marketing mix's "Place" (the physical environment) to an extended consideration of the customer's experience. The experience itself is dynamic, evolving, and goes beyond the physical environment. The phygital continuum of experience includes various changes throughout a life cycle as new experiences adjust and change existing models.
Cognitive changes refer to how a person thinks about and processes information. For example, acquiring new knowledge;
Affective changes refer to how a person feels emotionally. For example, experiencing joy, sadness, or anger in response to a particular situation;
Behavioral changes refer to how a person acts or behaves. For example, developing new habits, changing routines, or adapting to a new environment.
The challenge of the experience continuum is to provide customers with quality consumption experiences that engage all the senses. By doing so, it will result in advanced and creative potential in their forthcoming experiences, creating an experiential continuum.
Embracing a comprehensive phygital strategy is the ultimate solution to connect physical and digital channels, and safeguard against bankruptcy.
Many brands struggle to create a seamless connection between their physical and digital channels, resulting in a disjointed customer experience. Two examples of such brands are Macy's and Toys "R" Us.
Macy's experienced a decline in sales due to the gap between their online and offline channels, leading to the closure of several stores.
Toys "R" Us had a similar fate, with the company filing for bankruptcy due to their inability to provide a consistent customer experience across channels.
To address these issues, the "phygital" approach can bridge the gap between the physical and digital channels, as it is an extension of the customer experience.
For example, brands can use augmented reality (AR) to enhance the in-store experience, allowing customers to try on clothes virtually or see how furniture would look in their homes. Macy's has already started implementing this technology in their stores. Another way to offer a phygital experience is by integrating digital touchpoints into the physical environment.
For instance, Toys "R" Us could have used interactive screens in their stores to showcase product information and reviews, creating an engaging and immersive experience for customers. By adopting a "phygital" approach, brands can create a cohesive and enjoyable customer experience across all channels.
4) Emphasis – Instead of focusing solely on promoting the quality of their products, companies should prioritize emphasizing and sharing their brand culture in order to better align with their target audiences
When it comes to building a brand, it's not enough to simply "promote" it as in the marketing mix of traditional marketing. "Emphasis" on brand culture meaning is crucial for companies to connect with their customers. This involves using cultural elements that resonate with the target audience to create a meaningful connection. Rather than relying solely on traditional tactics like brand promotion, companies should focus on the cultural values that their brand represents, and how it aligns with those of their customers.
In the past, communication was delivered to audiences using a push logic, but with the rise of digital communication platforms and experiential expectations, this approach is becoming less effective. To succeed in today's market, companies need to shift their communication strategies and take a more holistic approach. By humanizing their brand and bringing its personality to life, they can create a strong relationship with their customers and differentiate themselves from competitors.
In experiential marketing, the importance of "emphasis" goes beyond just promotion. It's about creating a unique and memorable experience for customers that aligns with their values and emotions. By emphasizing brand culture meaning, companies can create experiences that truly resonate with their target audience, building a lasting connection that goes beyond just a simple transaction.
For example, Dove is a well-known brand that embraced its imperfections and used them as an "emphasis" of its brand culture, which was aligned with its target market, to promote its product. In their "Real Beauty" campaign, they showcased images of women of all shapes, sizes, and colors, rather than using traditional models. They focused on celebrating the natural beauty of women and challenged the conventional beauty standards. The campaign resonated with customers, and it became a viral success, with many women sharing their own stories and images on social media. By emphasizing the natural beauty of women, Dove was able to build a strong emotional connection with its customers, and it helped them stand out in a crowded market.
5) Empathy capital – Instead of focusing on employee cognitive skills, companies should prioritize empathy for better experiential marketing and improved customer satisfaction
Empathy has become a crucial component in the marketing mix, replacing the 'P' in 'People.' It enables companies to create emotional and efficient phygital experiences with the help of empathetic employees who can respond professionally to customers' needs. An effective experiential marketing mix is based on the belief that employees who have substantial empathy capital will prioritize the customer's needs at both an emotional and cognitive level.
This can be achieved by developing adaptive empathy capital that allows employees to use their social and interpersonal intelligence to identify customers' profiles, moods, aspirations, and expectations during their experiential moment. Moreover, marketing professionals who demonstrate empathy provide better customer experiences, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
Imagine a situation where a customer walks into a retail store looking for a specific product but is unable to find it. Without empathy, the employee may simply tell the customer that the product is out of stock and move on to the next customer. However, an employee with empathy capital would understand the customer's frustration and take the initiative to offer alternative solutions or suggest other products that might meet their needs. By demonstrating empathy, the employee can turn a negative experience into a positive one, enhancing the customer's overall experience with the brand.
The benefit of training employees to develop empathy capital is that it helps them connect with customers on an emotional level, which is essential for building strong relationships and creating a positive brand image. This is true both online and offline.
For example, online customer service representatives who demonstrate empathy can help customers feel understood and valued, leading to higher rates of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, employees with strong empathy skills are more likely to anticipate customer needs and proactively offer solutions, leading to more successful customer interactions and ultimately boosting the company's bottom line.
6) Emotional touchpoints – Instead of focusing on physical evidence, companies should prioritize emotional touchpoints in customer experience design
Emotional touchpoints in the 7E experiential marketing mix take the place of the ‘P’ of ‘Physical evidence’ in the traditional marketing mix. Emotional touchpoints differ from the concept of customer journey touchpoints, where customers may come across a brand online or in an advertisement, read reviews of it, ask their friends for their experiences with the brand, visit the company’s website, shop at a retail store, or contact the brand’s customer service department before, during, or after their experiences.
Emotional touchpoints help companies gain a deeper understanding of the emotions associated with the experience by focusing on the moments when customers' memories are triggered. In simpler words, emotional touchpoints are essential elements of customer experience design. Therefore, they must be evaluated in terms of the emotions they elicit, followed by the identification of the touchpoints that trigger them - not the other way around, as in the traditional logic of customer touchpoints.
Let's say a coffee shop wants to create emotional touchpoints for its customers. The shop can create a cozy atmosphere with comfortable seating, ambient lighting, and pleasant background music. They can also train their baristas to engage in friendly conversations with customers and make personalized recommendations based on their preferences. Additionally, the coffee shop can offer loyalty programs, host events such as open mic nights or poetry readings, and display local artwork on their walls to create a sense of community and belonging. The benefits of implementing emotional touchpoints are many. It can help the coffee shop to differentiate itself from competitors, increase customer loyalty, and improve customer retention.
Emotional touchpoints can also create a positive brand image and increase word-of-mouth marketing, as satisfied customers are more likely to recommend the coffee shop to their friends and family. Ultimately, emotional touchpoints can help the coffee shop to create a memorable and meaningful customer experience that goes beyond just serving a cup of coffee.
Here is another case study example to show the importance of emotional touchpoints. At the American Institute of Business Experience Design (AIBXD), we disrupted the business education and consulting industry by implementing an experiential marketing strategy that incorporated emotional touchpoints in our phygital approach to stay emotionally connected with our learners both online and offline.
We created an elite private club for future business leaders and change makers. Our club offered exclusive access to top-tier mentors, networking events, and personalized coaching sessions.
We also provided our members with curated content, resources, and opportunities to help them grow and succeed in their careers.
Throughout our educational programs, we implemented emotional touchpoints such as frequent feedback, recognition of achievements, and a sense of community and belonging.
Our learners, whether they were entrepreneurs, executives, or students, had access to personalized coaching, mentoring, and networking opportunities to help them achieve their goals.
The benefits of our approach were numerous. We differentiated ourselves from traditional business education and consulting firms by offering a more exclusive, personalized, and immersive learning experience. This approach helped us to increase learner engagement, retention, and satisfaction, resulting in a higher success rate for our members. By leveraging emotional touchpoints, we were able to create a strong emotional connection with our learners, which resulted in long-term loyalty and brand advocacy.
7) Emic/Etic process – Instead of defining a process with a top-down view, companies should adopt the comprehensive process of injecting consumer value into an iterative process
The emic/etic process component of experiential marketing replaces the traditional 'Process' component of the marketing mix. In traditional marketing, value is delivered to customers through a top-down approach where the company creates and delivers meanings to the customer throughout their journey. However, the emic/etic process is more comprehensive and involves injecting consumer value into an iterative process that considers both consumer and company visions embedded within a particular cultural setting. Both emic and etic perspectives are used to understand customers' behaviors, attitudes, and cultural consumption patterns.
In order to meet customer demand, companies should adopt the emic/etic process. This means using experiential market research methods to generate and analyze data that is closely related to the real-life experiences of their target audience, rather than relying solely on big data, quantitative or qualitative techniques. By shifting their market research tools in this way, companies can gain a deeper understanding of their customers' needs and preferences, and create products and services that better meet their expectations.
Imagine a software company that wants to develop a new mobile app for managing personal finances. Traditionally, they would gather data through surveys and focus groups to understand what features users want in a personal finance app. However, this approach may not fully capture the nuances of how users interact with their money on a day-to-day basis. In contrast, an emic/etic approach to market research would involve observing users in their natural environment, tracking their spending habits, and conducting ethnographic interviews to understand their financial goals and priorities. By gathering this type of data, the software company could gain a more comprehensive understanding of the user experience, which could be used to design a more effective personal finance app.
Compared to big data, which relies on analyzing large amounts of aggregated data, experiential research provides a more detailed and personal understanding of the user experience. By using this approach, companies can create products and services that better meet the needs and preferences of their customers, leading to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Practical tips to help you get started with utilizing the 7 Es in your marketing strategy
The 7Es of experiential marketing mix offer a framework for creating memorable experiences that engage customers and drive revenue. However, implementing the 7Es can be challenging. In this regard, here are three practical tips for CMOs, marketers, and businesses to get started with utilizing the 7Es in their marketing strategy.
Educate Yourself: Start by understanding the 7Es of experiential marketing. Read up on each of them and learn how they can be utilized in your marketing strategy. If you are looking for valuable insights into experiential marketing strategy, design, and management, then sign up for AIBXD Strawberry Experience Blog, a free resource that offers daily updates, providing you with all the information you need to succeed.
Upgrade Your Old Marketing Knowledge: Trying new things can be daunting, but it's important to step out of your comfort zone and expand your skills. If you're looking to improve your marketing abilities, consider exploring experiential marketing with a program like the American Institute of Business Experience Design. With practical implementation and a focus on new perspectives in marketing, this program can help you elevate your skills and stay up-to-date with industry trends. Don't let fear hold you back from reaching your full potential - take action and invest in your career today!
Implement and Keep Adjusting: To truly harness the power of experiential marketing, it's crucial to not only implement it but also continuously adjust the ingredients to keep up with changing trends and consumer behavior. By utilizing experiential marketing research methods, you can stay ahead of the competition and address pain points in the customer journey before they become problematic, ultimately preventing the loss of valuable customers to your competitors.
If you're looking for assistance in implementing the 7E mix for your brand or conducting experiential research to identify problems or drive innovation, AIBXD offers consulting and market research services that can help kickstart your journey towards a successful experience and phygital transformation.
Whenever you're ready to get started, we invite you to explore our range of exclusive, certified course programs. Our programs are designed by top-tier experts from industry and academia to equip you with all the necessary tools and strategies to implement successful and cost-effective experience strategies that drive ROI and business growth. Join our elite global community of business experience experts and start your journey towards transforming your business today.
AIBXD offers comprehensive course programs on business experience design, strategy, and management that cater to all levels and profiles. Our portfolio includes our flagship executive education program for CMO, CXO, creative designers, and all C-level executives. We also offer diploma programs for entrepreneurs and project/product managers, as well as online course certificates. If you are unsure which program would be the best fit for you, try our fun and easy-to-use AIBXD Course Recommender™. By answering just five quick questions, you can get a personalized course recommendation immediately.
If you're tired of wasting money, resources, and energy on traditional marketing techniques, we can help. Our AIBXD consulting and market research services can assist businesses in starting the experience and phygital transformation. Feel free to check them out and see how we can help you optimize your marketing strategy.
Cite this article as: How to cite this article: American Institute of Business Experience Design (2023). Revolutionizing marketing: The rise of experiential marketing mix (7E) in the phyigital age. Retrieved [date you accessed the article], from [copy and paste the URL of the article page].