The experience economy is emerging, and it is important for companies to keep up. One company that really sets an example in this area is srprs.me. Srprs.me is a website where one can book a so-called “blind-break” trip. You don’t know your destination when you book until you arrive at the airport. The only thing you know is the category of the trip and the duration. The rest is a total surprise. Srprs.me and their concept are getting more popular, a total of 25.000 have already used this new way of traveling by booking a trip through the platform. Apparently, people are into booking surprise holidays, instead of using the traditional methods of booking a trip.
Let’s dive into the reason what makes this concept so successful. Clearly, this idea revolves around the experience of the customer. Making new memories and having fun are prerequisites for a successful holiday and that is dependent on the experience of a person. By not telling you where you are going, srprs.me creates this sense of anticipation that gets built up, the closer your holiday gets. The surprise significantly contributes to the great experience that the users apparently have. According to srprs.me, their average NPS is 9.4.
To distinguish yourself as a company, it is important to firstly focus on increasing the customer satisfaction. Customer sacrifice should then be eliminated. If the company then continues with adding elements of surprise in their company, they are really able to set themselves apart (Pine, 2000). This is exactly what Srprs.me is doing and that is what makes the “blind-break” formula such a success. By constantly creating new experiences that are all unique, customers will keep coming back, because customers don’t want to know what to expect. Surprises give people a sense of desire and an obligation to come back, which is beneficial to srprs.me. They are instigating the perfect planned customer surprise, which makes them leaders in the experience economy in terms of customer satisfaction. A lot of well-established companies should learn from srprs.me, otherwise their surprise will be a slap in the face when they fall behind in their industry.
Sources:
Peterson, P. (2016) ‘[Case] Contentmarketing srprs.me zorgt voor 25.000 verrassingsreizigers!’ Nieuws.social. Available at: http://www.nieuws.social/strategie_nieuws/case-contentmarketing-srprs-me-zorgt-voor-25-000-verrassingsreizigers-interview/ (Accessed 15 Oct. 2017)
Gilmore, J., Pine, B. (2000) ‘Satisfaction, sacrifice, surprise: three small steps create one giant leap into the experience economy’, 2000, 28(1), 8-23, Emerald Insight
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