The Enjoyability Factor

Does enjoyment matter? Yes. We asked consumers how much they enjoy doing business with 14 different types of firms and then asked whether they would switch providers if they thought it would provide a more enjoyable experience. Consumers enjoy doing business with discount stores but not cable TV providers. And they're most likely to leave their cable TV providers if they can get a more enjoyable experience somewhere else. We used the survey responses to identify four segments of consumers: stable, engaged, trapped, and at-risk. Across every industry except for discount stores, firms have more at-risk than stable customers. The upshot: Companies need to make interactions more useful, usable, and desirable. How? By charting a path toward Experience-Based Differentiation (EBD).