In my previous career I had the pleasure of flying on and off aircraft carriers. I would argue that I had the most exciting job in the world. Often today people ask me why I do not fly recreationally. The answer is simple, the experience would be disappointing. I have a passion for great experiences. Once you get a taste of the world of aspiration everything else seems bland. That is exactly the same reaction every company should strive for their customers to have, “everything else seems bland.”
A few years back at Diamond1, I led the conduct of a survey of 85 Fortune 100 companies. That survey showed that on average companies enjoy at least a 17.5% price premium over their competition when they design great experiences. Furthermore, the data was clear in that while most companies attempt to drive customer retention by fixing pain points, the few (~4%) that focus on designing truly differentiated experiences enjoy far greater customer life time value. That survey proved the DBB (Don’t Be Bland) theory applies all over business. That’s why xD matters.
