The Experience Movement

With each passing day, you are likely to hear more about customer experience design. Many business managers are now joining the ranks of advocates who talk about the impact that customer experience has on business. Recently, Tom Peters commented in a Fast Company article:

"Now we're waist-deep in the experience economy, where customers make emotional brand connections and see purchases as sensory notches on their belts."

In the trade magazines, we're also seeing increasing coverage of how important experience is for businesses in virtually every industry. The blogosphere, too, continues to add fuel to the fire. There are many great blogs dedicated to customer experience. (Just visit The Experience Journal and see all the blogs we reference.)

All in all, there are some brilliant minds laying the groundwork for customer experience design to become a field in its own right. Take a look below to see just some of the journalists, consultants and practitioners who are leading the experience movement.

People

Seth Godin

Former VP for Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, Seth now spends his time spreading the word about how marketing is forever changing. Two books in particular had a tremendous impact on our view of marketing's role from a customer's perspective (the only one that counts!):
Purple Cow
Permission Marketing
Seth's Blog

Dan Hill

President of Sensory Logic Inc., a scientific consumer insights firm that specializes in gauging both verbal and nonverbal subconscious reactions to advertising. Dr. Hill provided us the confirmation of what we always believed — customers make emotional decisions:
Body of Truth

Joseph Pine and James Gilmore

Pine and Gilmore are the founders of the experience movement. In 1999 they wrote this groundbreaking book that describes business as theatre. Years ahead of the curve, their insights continue to inspire us and our clients daily.
The Experience Economy

Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell - Church of the Customer

The thought leaders and pioneers of customer evangelism. Jackie and Ben are helping companies convert remarkable customer experiences into remarkable customers — people who willingly serve as a volunteer sales force.
Creating Customer Evangelists

Gerald Zaltman

Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School and Fellow at Harvard University's interdisciplinary Mind, Brain, Behavior Initiative. Jerry taught us more lessons about why customers don't always know what they want — especially if you ask them!
How Customers Think

Rick Levine, Chritopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger

Clearly establishing the individual at the epicenter of commerce, this book pushed our thinking in new directions.
The Cluetrain Manifesto

Tom Kelly

For us probably the most influential book of all. This book inspired a non-traditional and interdisciplinary way of designing customer experiences. Hey, if IDEO can do it for products, we can do it for services...
The Art of Innovation