How Nigerian Businesses Can Survive the Experience Economy

By Teresa Aligbe

With rise in number of products, services, and opportunities available to today’s consumers, decision making can become tedious, and brand loyalty, an elusive reality for many brands and businesses.

As it turns out, choice presents its own conundrum, and brand marketing and sales tactics that were once very effect, now drown in a sea of noise. This reality is amplified by the rise and growth of multi and omni channel communications which means consumers are constantly overwhelmed with information, and options of every kind of product, and service out there on every platform possible.

While it’s true that many of these products, and services do not have the advantage and differentiator of a good brand or any brand at all, even the select few businesses who can boast of a good brand can no longer rely solely on reputation, legacy, or even visibility to grow and build their businesses or to keep their market position, and here’s why.

Globally, consumers are moving away from a product focus, and are choosing to spend more on experiences, than on physical goods. For those who doubt the reality of this claim, it helps to know that as far back as 2019, research from Momentum Worldwide showed that 76% of Consumers globally would rather spend on experiences than on material things. According to research report by Bain and Company, this number is higher with the next generation of consumers; Millennials and Gen Z with 78% of  Millennials favouring experiences to products, and Gen Zs coming it at an even higher ranking.

This drive towards a more experience focused consumption approach was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which made experiences a luxury and rendered physical goods largely useless, and led to a rise in the desire to live life more meaningful and fully by creating more memories, and experiences. Of course the show and brag nature of social media that has made experiences a currency certainly contributes more than its fair share to this phenomenon.

Post Pandemic, a demand for more experience based services and sectors like; travel tours and hospitality have this year (February) exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and at our Communications Consultancy; Phenom Communications, we’ve both been advocating for as well as helping clients across every Industry embed it into their PR and brand growth and development strategy.

While the temptation may be to think of experiences, and as such the notion of an experience economy as the preserve of the hospitality sector, this drive for experiences cuts across board and more savvy and strategic product and service based companies in Africa and around the world are taking advantage of it. They are doing so by reimaging their brand development, PR, and even marketing strategies to deliver their products not as the core service, but as the tangible part of a larger experience that focuses on extreme value.

With the Global Experience Economy set to reach a $12 trillion valuation by 2028,  this change in consumer habits and focus is clearly here to stay. So, for Nigerian businesses who hope to not only survive, but thrive at home, and abroad, its time to begin to reimagine your value proposition, product pitch, as well as your service delivery channels and methods.