Much has been written today about creating an 'experience' for customers. Since Pine and Gilmore (1999) wrote the book The Experience Economy the bar has been set higher for business organizations to create more than a business transaction. Now we need to create memorable 'moments of contact' that leave a lasting impression with the customer to hopefully build some loyalty.

It’s a challenge for the entrepreneur to create an experience. With new experiential benchmarks becoming the norm and competition growing in every industry, companies who seriously look for competitive advantage need to consider where this concept can take them.

Every business today has to operate in a highly competitive marketplace. In order to be heard above the competition and capture a piece of the customer's mind, entrepreneurs should seriously review each 'moment of contact' with the customer to ensure they are delivering the exceptional rather thanjust the ordinary. The question is, how?

First, look at your chosen brand and how you are perceived by your customer. It is with the brand that a business has the opportunity to start setting an expectation in the mind of the customer. Whatever you decide as being your brand – that's all those things that create a brand such as logo, text, images intended to reflect your values, promise, attitude – you must be able to deliver it every step of the way. If you don't, the customer will not get what's expected and likely you'll never see them again. Remember, your brand setting isn't just about you as the 'big kahuna' of your business, it's about the trickling down of all your brand concepts throughout the entire business and especially to employees who need to 'get it' in order to deliver it.

Stay tuned for the second of five steps to creating the ‘experience.’

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