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“Our world is changing pretty dramatically” Shaun Smith told the London Business Forum (LBF). The rapid emergence of social media and digital marketing, he said urgently, may create complexity but it also presents organisations with an opportunity: “the ability to really dramatize and create differentiation for our brands through [customer] experience.”

Whilst a great product brought onto the market at the right price at the right time will be successful, said Smith, sooner or later a competitor will launch a rival product and suddenly that functionality and price is no longer enough. “What you need to have as well are value added services which differentiate you,” he argued.

Winning brands create an “emotional connection” with their customers. It may sound a bit over the top, said Smith, but it is those brands that we have an “affection” for that we return to. “Brands are a bundle of associations, they’re a bundle of memories” and it those brands who create good memories that we develop an affection for.

Apple proved how powerful this theory can be in action with the release of the iPod. When MP3 players were first released, we bought them based on price, battery life, download speed and the amount of memory they had Smith reminded the LBF. Then Apple happened, “[it] became an experience brand.” They created something more than the product, introducing iTunes and opening the very impressive Apple Stores. They transformed the market and are reaping the rewards with a turnover of nearly $10 billion.

Research has shown that customer retention rates increase when brands create a great customer experience, asserted Smith. Organisations have cottoned onto this but Smith believes many are lacking a clear strategy to deliver a better online and offline experience for their customers. The fastest growing job title is customer experience and it stands for more than just customer service, said Smith.

More than ever, Smith argued, “It’s about what you do as a brand.” Logos, colours and fonts are worthless if you don’t deliver on your brand promise, he warned. BP, for example, may have had a good looking and sounding brand but none of that mattered when their Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. What consumers were concerned about was what they had done to prevent the crisis and what actions they would take to limit the impact of the subsequent oil spill; it’s about what you do, not what you say you’re going to do.

One brand who has turned its image around and expanded its customer base to great success is Burberry, Smith suggested. They have created an experience that integrates new media and is both “aspirational […] but inclusive.” Whilst they are a luxury brand Burberry have sought to become more “democratic” and have opened up the usually exclusive designer world to a bigger audience.

They have done this by screening their catwalk show in 3D in 5 cities around the world so fans could have the opportunity to experience the front row – normally the preserve of A-list celebrities. The following year, Burberry reached over a million people by screening the show across the web. They tweeted products slightly in advance of the show and increased their following to 8 million. All this activity has not been in vain with Burberry’s sales up 40%, Smith told the LBF.

Smith suggested that businesses look beyond their sector when considering how to gain the competitive advantage. The smart brands are those who are doing the unexpected and focussing on the things that their competitors have missed. In the airline industry, Virgin are doing just that. Most airlines concentrate their efforts on the inflight experience but Virgin have put themselves in their customers’ shoes and correctly noticed that there is more to air travel than simply flying…

The customer experience begins at home; packing, travelling to the airport, traffic, timings, check-in, security and baggage collection all contribute to how we feel about a flight. Virgin recognises this and if you fly upper or business class, they go to every effort to make that experience as stress-free as possible; picking you up, checking you in, using Virgin staff at security so that you are greeted with a smile, and much more. The inflight experience matches their competitors, Smith told the LBF, but they have improved the experience where no one else has.

It’s not about gimmicks, Smith stressed, it’s about differentiating. The best brands create “strategies and experience which do dramatize your brand,” he told the LBF. Smith finished with one customer experience that has gone viral for all the wrong reasons: ‘United Breaks Guitars’ by Dave Carroll. It demonstrated the need for companies to be aware of how social media has transformed the way consumers interact with brands. You have to listen, Smith concluded, “[unless] you’re in the flow of communication, you’re going to get missed out.”