Managing sticky experiences across the customer journey

Abstract

Customer experience management research is increasingly concerned with the evolution of the customer experience across multiple service cycles of the customer journey. A dominant ‘smooth experience’ model focuses on making customers’ lives easier with predictable experiences. Per this model, firms facilitate a cycle of consistent service experiences conceptualized as a loyalty loop. This thesis suggests that customer experience management research is prematurely converging on the smooth experience model without adequately interrogating its underlying assumptions. It proposes that customers sometimes value exciting, unpredictable experiences, which the marketing press refers to as ‘sticky’ to highlight that customers cannot seem to pull away. Drawing on ethnographic data from three service contexts (CrossFit, Pokémon Go, and Tinder), the thesis develops an alternate ‘sticky experience’ model that focuses on making customers’ lives exciting with unpredictable experiences. Here, firms facilitate a variegated pattern of thrilling and challenging experiences with increasing experiential involvement conceptualized as a spiralling roller coaster. The findings of the thesis trace the evolution of sticky experiences across the initial, subsequent, and terminating phases of the customer journey, linking key firm capabilities to customer journey patterns. The thesis makes three contributions to the field of customer experience management. First, it integrates insights on the smooth experience model. Second, it empirically develops an alternate sticky experience model. Third, it provides practical implications at the intersection of the two models. Concretely, the smooth experience model is ideal for instrumental service categories, wherein customers have jobs to be done. By contrast, the sticky experience model is ideal for recreational service categories, wherein customers seek never-ending adventures. Firms are advised to situate purchase opportunities during the initial service cycle of smooth experience journeys, and during subsequent service cycles of sticky experience journeys. The thesis also suggests new avenues for future research on customer experiences and customer journeys.