By: Omar Alhaza’a – Founder & CEO of Franchise Arabia

Many local Brands believe that they are delivering a rewarding experience for their customers. Unfortunately, most of these experiences fall short because they are poorly delivered and usually lack consistency across all touchpoints.

Reason?

Simply because Brand leaders focus on the product not the experience. They're not so great at sizzling.

That’s why most local Brands fail not in the design, they fail in the delivery!

Successful Brands are defined by the experience they create. It all comes down to the simple fact that people don’t buy products, they buy emotional experiences.

We live in an age where customers want to experience everything. They want to feel like they’re part of a memorable story. It's our deep desire to belong!

Smart Brand leaders understand that crucial fact and deliver accordingly. That’s how they build their loyal customer base and motivate more people to buy their product and keep them coming back for more. 

It’s all in how you make your customers feel. It’s the main reason why millions of people go to Starbucks everyday and pay five dollars for a cup of coffee when they can buy one for just a dollar elsewhere. It’s all about the "sizzling experience", not the coffee beans. 

Steve Jobs famously said that “the iPhone is not a product, it’s a lifestyle.” Guess what! It indeed became a lifestyle. Apple iPhone became a social statement about those loyal fans who own it. How did Apple do it? By selling the experience first, then the product.

Here is the thing; Experience is the ultimate Branding tool. Your marketing activities may create some Brand exposure, which of course has some value, but creating and maintaining a genuine long-term engagement with your customers can come from one thing, and one thing only; providing ongoing, meaningful, memorable, and seamless experiences.

It’s really that simple.

Remember: It’s not always about the steak, it’s about the "sizzling experience". Yes, you must deliver the best quality steak available, but the sizzle is what customers are really buying.

Steak is what brings people to the table, but the Sizzle is what keeps them coming back for more, and more!