Big Money, Big Stakes

I struggled writing this post because I think it’s been a while since I’ve had a meaningful customer experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ve had them, but given my current situation as a student, I’m not really purchasing anything other than food, textbooks, school supplies, and beer. 

In our core MBA marketing class, we learned about “high-involvement” products, i.e. products that require a lot of deliberation before purchase and are usually high-priced.  I feel these are the types are products that lend themselves to the holistic experience Schmitt emphasizes. I think customers seek holistic experiences from high involvement products because of their high prices.  From an economics perspective, this makes sense because when you decide to purchase a $3,000 road bike as a recent undergrad graduate with a $50,000 a year pre-tax salary, you are forgoing the opportunity to purchase $3,000 of other potentially important things.  In this particular context, I better damn well be getting a holistic experience from my road bike if it means I’m forgoing an awesome two-week trip to Europe so I can sit on an uncomfortable bike seat wearing funny-looking shorts.

On a side note, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, in his book Stumbling On Happiness, links happiness to ability to make a decision and not worry about the alternatives.  Thus, a generally happy person will purchase the $3,000 road bike and not think twice about his or her decision.  Unhappier people always think “what if,” what if there is something better out there?  So, which person are you?

I think marketers should always think about where their products lie on the involvement plane (my own phrase, patent pending) before they try to create a holistic customer experience.  For example, if you’re selling chewing gum, a low-involvement product, do you think you can really create a holistic experience?  I think it’s dangerous to assume that you can and I think that’s the problem with Schmitt’s approach.  I think what actually does happen is that companies focus on a few SEM’s but not all of them.  Thus, a marketing director at Wrigley should be focusing his or her resources on Sense and not so much on Think.

Anyway, back on topic. I had to write all of the above to think about the last holistic experience I’ve had.  I’m actually experiencing it right now, i.e. being a student in the MBA program.  It doesn’t get more high-involvement than this.  I gave up a high salary (relative to my peers) and took debt to be unemployed for two years all on a hunch that I would possibly learn something and have some kind of life improvement because of it.

As of today, I can definitely say that I’ve definitely learned a thing or two and I think the program has definitely set foundations for a positive impact on my life.  It’s done this because it really is giving me a holistic experience.

From the Sensory perspective, I just have to say it’s been overwhelmingly positive. I went to the University of Chicago as an undergraduate so using that as a reference point, the sensory experience here has been absolutely wonderful.  I no longer have to endure atom-stopping, sunshine-less winters and the brutal pace of the quarter system that created a “sink or swim” environment.  And wow, UT has nationally renowned sports teams.  Did you know that the University of Chicago had the first Heisman trophy winner?  That was back in 1919 when it was actually good at sports.  Also, how about Austin?  What an amazing city.  Maybe revealing too much here, but man, it’s much easier to get a date in this city than anywhere else I’ve lived.

On the emotional side, I think the school has served me well.  Some context: I turned down a full scholarship at another program to come here so the decision to come here was almost insurmountably emotional.  For the program to meet my emotional needs, I need the school to validate my decision in various ways.  Most importantly, I need to be surrounded by people that I like and I need classes that challenge me to the extent that they fundamentally change the way I think (incidentally, also tied to the THINK SEM).  For the former, McCombs admits incredible people and I have already made some friends I know I’ll have for life.  For the latter, wow, I’ve realized that business is extremely complex and I’m actually really confused about some aspects of it.  Personally, the fact that I am really confused and have so much fodder for thought demonstrates that the academics are top-rate.  I’m not here to memorize formulas.

With respect to Act, boy, does this program get you to act.  The program provides so many opportunities that you will overextend yourself.  The program office tells you that you shouldn't take on more than you can handle, but they probably just say this because they don't want to get sued for sending you to the hospital after passing out from exhaustion.  I think the program office secretly knows that trying to do it all is a part of the MBA experience.  As I type this now, I have to meet with a team for a healthcare case competition that I got roped into at the last minute.  I’m probably not going to sleep until 4 am today and there’s a chance I may miss my 8 am class. Eek!

Lastly, on Relate, I feel that it’s my professors that do an excellent job of this.  One goal I have is to get a better sense of what it means to be a manager.  So I always appreciate that my professors always preface statements with “As a manager, you should think about this.”  I feel that the program office and my own peers lose sight of this.  The program office is overly career-centric.  Justifiably so, rankings and whatnot matter.  And of course, my classmates and myself included need to get jobs, but I just hope that people don't forget the whole point of a Master’s in Business Administration to learn how to do business administration.  You're not going to be an Excel jockey your entire career.  At least I hope not.

In conclusion, excellent job McCombs School of Business for providing me with a holistic customer experience.