I recently posted that we’re in the experience business, not the technology business. Of course, I didn’t define who ‘we’ are, but let’s say I mean mobilists. Oh, bother, I don’t define that term either - but you know who you are, don’t you? I’ll come back to names, titles and categories in another post. Or…maybe I won’t. I think it’s relevant here too.

I remember a great lecture in University that changed my outlook on business. It was a story about Parker Pens. Those who know me personally, please forgive me, as you already know that I tell you this story every time we meet, as if I don’t remember telling you before, which I usually do. I just love it so much and most people are usually too polite to say that I’ve already told it to them (quite a few times).

Parker Pens supposedly hired a management consultant, I think back before such jobs existed, which is interesting itself. Anyhow, their business was flagging and they wanted a turnaround strategy. After a while, the consultant reported back to the board with his recommendation, which they eagerly wanted to hear.

He asked them to tell him what business they were in, which didn’t go down too well. It seemed a rather impudent question and they almost didn’t want to reply, but he convinced them to humour him. They gave various replies, like ‘we’re in the pen business,’ all of which he replied ny saying ‘no, you’re not.’

Apparently they got increasingly irritate with the fellow and probably thought that they’d wasted their money. Like a tricky game of ‘I Spy,’ they eventually caved and said ‘we give in.’

He then went on to tell them that they weren’t in any of those stationery-type businesses at all. They were in the gift business. Despite all their flare in inks, ballpoint systems and goodness know what else in stationery technology, what mattered was the experience of receiving a pen as a gift.

The story goes that they focussed on how to improve the packaging, designs and selling process to emphasise the gifting experience, not the writing experience, and that this turned their company around.

Bear in mind that this was back in the 80s before Seth Godin and his kind were telling us about Purple Cows and other meta-business ideas about essentialising the customer satisfaction experience.

I’m always wondering what business mobile operators are really in. What’s the experience?

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