The Time Well Spent Experience Strategy Mindset

Companies evaluate customers' experiences in ways that are very different from how people do.

We live in a world of abundance. People have so many options before them, almost all instantaneously accessible. But, what no one has more of is time. Time is the limiting factor in what we can consume, enjoy, build, and even become.

People have always valued meaningful experiences. And with limited time and an abundance of experiences to choose from, the time we spend with experiences becomes even more valuable.

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Past Clients

Understanding Time Well Spent

Companies don’t understand time well spent. They don’t get it; they don’t innovate for it; they don’t value it.

“Whoa!” You say. “We sure do. We try to make our services as convenient and easy as possible. That’s thinking about ‘time’”.

Hopefully you are, but so are all your competitors, and the net effect will be commoditization of your services unless you find meaningful ways to get customers to want to spend their time with you

Defining “Time” by its Value

Joe Pine, the originator of The Experience Economy, created a useful framework for the economics of time. I’ve adapted his thinking for these definitions.

Time Wasted

When a good service or experience is bad, people feel like their time is wasted. Interestingly, we often hear customers describe what companies consider to be conveniences as time wasted. That means there is no value being created by the feature considered by the company to be ‘convenient.’

Time Well Saved

When a solution does the work for the customer in a way that is powerful and compelling, people feel like the solution is time well saved. Time Well Saved means that they actually value the savings. Sometimes conveniences are valued as Time Well Saved. But they are not the same.

Time Well Spent

When people enjoy the time they spend with your solution, then you’ve produced Time Well Spent. Time Well Spent is the best indicator that you are creating an experience that has value.

Time Well Invested

For certain types of experiences, people value the outcomes so much that they are willing to invest time in order to get a higher return later. Transformative experiences are almost always measured for Time Well Invested.

Competing for Time with Customers

When your company makes the paradigm shift to Time Well Spent, you begin to realize a number of things about your overall strategy:

Your competitive set will change. Any company that competes for your customers’ time and attention is both a benchmark and a potential competitor.
You will focus on what really matters to customers. In order to get them to say it’s time well spent, you have to know what exactly they are hiring you to do. You will become laser-focused on the functional, emotional, social, and aspirational jobs your customers want done.
Your metrics will be clearer. A focus on time will change the way you think about the questions you ask your customers and their responses. You will be able to see situations where customers want time saved as different from situations where they want to enjoy more time with your brand. You will measure differently.
Your experience strategy will focus on experiences. Let’s be honest: most CX work isn’t really about producing experiences, they are about increasing customer satisfaction with products. A focus on time well spent will help you think through the linkages between product, channel, and engagement.
Your value proposition becomes more holistic. When you focus on time well spent, you think holistically about how you engage with customers.
Loyalty will become a byproduct of TWS. Companies want loyal customers. Customers want companies who create value for their time. Lead with value for time, and loyalty will follow.

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What Our Clients Say

Sonia McCollum, Digital Strategist, Southern Company

“There is a greater emphasis on the customer experience. The most important thing is selecting a vendor that has proven results. Lots of people can do a journey map, but Stone Mantel focused us on future-state journeys and their presentation was excellent.”

G&K Services

“Experiential needs of our clients at the most important moments. Now instead of focusing and competing on table stakes needs like on-time delivery and competitive pricing we are developing new experiences that allow us to charge a premium for helping our clients strategically manage their uniform usage.”

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The Time Well Spent Experience Strategy Mindset

Companies evaluate customers' experiences in ways that are very different from how people do.

We live in a world of abundance. People have so many options before them, almost all instantaneously accessible. But, what no one has more of is time. Time is the limiting factor in what we can consume, enjoy, build, and even become.

People have always valued meaningful experiences. And with limited time and an abundance of experiences to choose from, the time we spend with experiences becomes even more valuable.

Past Clients

Understanding Time Well Spent

Companies don’t understand time well spent. They don’t get it; they don’t innovate for it; they don’t value it.

“Whoa!” You say. “We sure do. We try to make our services as convenient and easy as possible. That’s thinking about ‘time’”.

Hopefully you are, but so are all your competitors, and the net effect will be commoditization of your services unless you find meaningful ways to get customers to want to spend their time with you

Defining “Time” by its Value

Joe Pine, the originator of The Experience Economy, created a useful framework for the economics of time. I’ve adapted his thinking for these definitions.

Time Wasted

When a good service or experience is bad, people feel like their time is wasted. Interestingly, we often hear customers describe what companies consider to be conveniences as time wasted. That means there is no value being created by the feature considered by the company to be ‘convenient.’

Time Well Saved

When a solution does the work for the customer in a way that is powerful and compelling, people feel like the solution is time well saved. Time Well Saved means that they actually value the savings. Sometimes conveniences are valued as Time Well Saved. But they are not the same.

Time Well Spent

When people enjoy the time they spend with your solution, then you’ve produced Time Well Spent. Time Well Spent is the best indicator that you are creating an experience that has value.

Time Well Invested

For certain types of experiences, people value the outcomes so much that they are willing to invest time in order to get a higher return later. Transformative experiences are almost always measured for Time Well Invested.

Competing for Time with Customers

When your company makes the paradigm shift to Time Well Spent, you begin to realize a number of things about your overall strategy:

Your competitive set will change. Any company that competes for your customers’ time and attention is both a benchmark and a potential competitor.

You will focus on what really matters to customers. In order to get them to say it’s time well spent, you have to know what exactly they are hiring you to do. You will become laser-focused on the functional, emotional, social, and aspirational jobs your customers want done.

Your value proposition becomes more holistic. When you focus on time well spent, you think holistically about how you engage with customers.

Loyalty will become a byproduct of TWS. Companies want loyal customers. Customers want companies who create value for their time. Lead with value for time, and loyalty will follow.

What Our Clients Say

“There is a greater emphasis on the customer experience. The most important thing is selecting a vendor that has proven results. Lots of people can do a journey map, but Stone Mantel focused us on future-state journeys and their presentation was excellent.”