Experience Strategy Podcast: The 2024 Experience Strategy Trend Report

To listen click HERE

The cultural and economic forces influencing your customer in 2024 will have a lasting impact on your experience strategy. Join Dave Norton, Experience Strategy Futurist, and Aransas Savas, lead researcher for our Trend Report, for insights and guidance from our decade-long study into customer behavior and mindsets.

This episode isn’t just a glance at trends; it’s a deep dive into the interconnected tapestry shaping the future of your strategy. In this episode, we dissect the value of time versus money, the paradoxical impact of technology on time scarcity, the evolution of smart homes, and the prevalent loneliness amidst reduced physical interactions. But here’s the kicker – beyond just trends, we discuss the critical need for businesses to transcend superficial personalization. Discover how to authentically align experiences with customer desires and behaviors. Tune in for a roadmap to adapt, thrive, and craft winning experience strategies amid the rapidly evolving landscape.

Voiceover: [00:00:00] Hey, welcome to the experience strategy podcast, where we talk to customers and experts about how to create products and services that feel like time well spent. And now here are your hosts, experienced nerds, Dave Norton and Aransas Savas.

Aransas: Welcome to the experience strategy podcast. I'm Aransas Savas.

Dave: And I'm Dave Norton

Aransas: And today we are here to explore some research that Dave and I have been doing over the past six months based on research that we've been conducting longitudinally over the past decade. We'll be sharing the findings and key takeaways for the 2024 Experience Strategy Trend Report.

And our goal for this, as always, is to provide you with context, insights, and ideas that you can actively use to [00:01:00] inform your experience strategy for 2024, 2025. and beyond. So we'll follow in this episode the structure essentially of the report itself. We'll explore some of the context and mindsets and mental models that might be influencing your customer in the years ahead.

We'll also look at some of the trends we see in our research and how those will be affecting and influencing customer behavior. And finally, We'll look at some of the great examples that you can turn to, to see how others are exploring or heightening the, their response to these mental models in ways that we hope will help you see really clear takeaways and actions for your strategy to maintain relevance and value in the years ahead.

So, Dave, before we get [00:02:00] into context. I think of you as really the leading experience strategy futurist. You have had a long history of identifying trends way before the majority of brands have. And in doing so, what I've watched happen year after year is the opportunity for your customers and clients to really position themselves and future proof their strategies by learning from how customers thinking styles and needs are evolving and create some powerful differentiation strategies as a result.

So when you. So think about customer trends. What do you usually look at first?

Dave: Oh, well, I thank you for that very kind, uh, description. I think I'm [00:03:00] not that nice.

Aransas: It's totally part of the reason.

Dave: So I think that part of what makes it possible for us to really be focused on the future of experience strategy.

And that is. That's been our focus from the very beginning. My focus from the very beginning has been on experience strategy is, is we, that's what we do. That's what we do. Right? And when you do something, when you really study it, when you really think about it, you begin to see patterns that occur. You begin to see different ways that people are responding and it gives you an opportunity to say, well, if this continues, if this.

Peace, this element continues, what's going to happen? What are the implications? So over the years, I think our focus has always been on patterns in people's lives that are going [00:04:00] to affect the way that they interact with companies, the way that they try to experience, um, different things. And, uh, part of it's been, we rely heavily on really smart frameworks, some of which we develop ourselves.

Some of it is the primary research that we're doing with consumers. We're asking forward looking questions. And some of it, I think it has to do with a philosophy that I have believed in from the beginning, which is that consumers, people make their decisions context on the situation that they find themselves in more than they do based on personal preferences.

And that point of view has borne out over time.

Aransas: Ah, so true. And I think one of the Most prescient factors that you [00:05:00] identified was the power of modes over moments. And even though you have continually emphasized the importance of time, um, time as a structure for designing experiences actually is less important than context.

And it's more about time well spent and the value of time than it is about The moment in time for a customer and so when we started doing this year's report One of the things you really challenged us to do is look at how people's mindsets would be shifted by current context and as we looked back through the last decade plus of our own research as well as customer trends across a wide range of different And I think that's one of the things that really differentiates our research here is that [00:06:00] so often research is really narrow and it doesn't allow for the customer's true context, which is systemic and broad.

And so we tried to look really broadly at what customers would be experiencing across different life domains and use that to help us really inform those mindset insights. And so the, there were five key mindsets that. Kristyn D.: Like for us, Uh, Energy Green, when we first started working, we started feeling all kind not having a right to make money.

Um, and uh, not knowing at all why it's such a terrible thing that is is far more valuable than money. And there's some really interesting research out there to show that our, in our own research, financial wellbeing is the life system that people most want to improve right now. Maybe no surprise, but then we're also seeing, uh, via third party research that Americans increasingly [00:07:00] value time over money.

If they can afford to so, how do you see that beginning to? influence people's needs and expectations from experiences, Dave.

Dave: It's always been there. I think we've always talked about the importance of time, but what's different going forward is that. People are even more aware of the fact that they are time starved and despite all of the conveniences that companies have created for them, they're still the poorer for it.

That's a big issue. That companies have to address that, like you put so much emphasis on convenience and ease of use, and yet your customers still feel like they don't have enough time. And then there's the other part of that, which is money starved. There are [00:08:00] quite a few indicators that Whatever this economy is, it's not a great economy for a lot of people.

And whether we're going into a recession or we're not going into a recession, there's a lot of people out there that are stuck. Maybe they can't afford a home. Maybe they can't, um, Do certain things that they've done in the past. They're stuck financially and you put those two things together It creates a lot of stress on other parts of their lives They can't go on the vacations that they want to because they're overworked they can't buy the things that they would like to buy in order to make Their family life better because they can't afford to do it.

Those two things are interweaved, interconnected, and, uh, I think companies are going to need to focus. Uh, in, in a different way going [00:09:00] forward if they're, if they're going to actually help their customers. I

Aransas: agree. I agree. And I think as we go down the line, it is also interconnected. So we're, we need, we feel a deep longing for more time and money in most cases, right?

We feel like we don't have enough of either to. Accomplish our goals and we're increasingly, and I think your point is so good there, that we have created so much more time with technology and yet it feels like it has left us even more time deprived because we, our expectations have shifted and our, uh, multitasking realities are so entrenched now.

And one of the things that I keep coming back to is this realization that. With every increase we have in our dependence on technology, we have a permanent increase. So there is, unless [00:10:00] there is some sort of catastrophic event by which technology is no longer available to us, and I say this having read that there was a prediction that there would be a sustained Wi Fi outage next year potentially, um, Really?

Yeah. Uh, I think everyone is sort of trying to figure out how to adapt for it. If, if that were to happen, a months long, um, Wi Fi outage, I mean, the effects would be so far reaching that I can't even begin to consider, but that aside, right? Something that's that far reaching in its impact aside. We are forever increasingly dependent on technology.

And so, any way in which technology begins to assist us, we can expect that we will build from that new place, and that it will be, that we will never go backwards, because never in history have we gone backwards, away from technology, [00:11:00] and I, I'm using technology even as a term very loosely here, because I think once we learned how to use a rock for safety or expression.

We continued to use the rock until we found a way to do those things even better with more technology. The third main, main mindset driver that we've identified in our work is that as a result of this dependence and this confidence on technology, we have retreated further and further into our homes.

And yes, that is a byproduct of the pandemic, but it's also just a byproduct of society's shift into micro units over the past. 30 years, 40 years, um, but the way we've been talking about this in the trend report is that our homes have essentially become our towns. And every time we say this, people look at us like, what do you mean our homes have become our towns?

Well, all the [00:12:00] things that we used to go into town for, we used to have social experiences with, or whether they were loose or strong ties, we were connecting with other human beings in person much more frequently than we do now. And I look at, my own life. I actually have not left my apartment building today and it is 4 17 p.m. because I went to the gym in my building. I interviewed guests from my apartment. I communicated with my children and my grandmother and my mother. So across generations from my apartment and I ordered my groceries to be delivered. And so I will make food inside my apartment. So there's very little.

Actual physical connection outside of the people I live and breathe with. I'll have to walk the dog outside. And you live in a city? And I live in a city. Yeah. Right. I'll walk the dog lighter and that will be the first time I leave my house.[00:13:00] right? Yeah. So, and other people who aren't in cities, even more so.

Dave: Yeah, you know Faith Popcorn talked about this back in the 80s, right but what's different and what we talked about in 2015 is that people So, uh, their homes are not just their towns. They're also the smartest environments that they inhabit, that they work in.

Their homes are so intelligent. They can do so much in their homes. That's why they become their towns, because they can do more there than they can do at any one of those other places. Because your restaurant that you go to is not that intelligent. Your um, You know, certainly

Aransas: not that customized for my needs.

Dave: No, heavens no. So, uh, there's no environment, maybe the car, right? The [00:14:00] car is customized and increasingly so, but Aransas, last time, uh, I looked, you still Still don't drive, do you? So you don't even have that.

Aransas: That's correct. I've lived in New York way too long. The MTA is not all that technological either, so I have a deficit.

Aransas: The fourth mindset trend that we really looked at here was loneliness. We are spending a lot more time alone as a result of all this time spent in our homes. And so That is affecting systemically every part of our lives, our loss of connection, but also our loss of total well being, our sense of isolation, our ability to curate our feeds.

All has left us feeling like the world is weirdly, at the same [00:15:00] time, very big and very small. And I think the upcoming election will only I think it's an important, um, I think it's an important, um, I think it's an important cultural factor for us to consider that people are going to feel closer to the people they know and trust and that are closest to them.

And they are going to feel further apart from those who feel differently, behave differently than they do.

Dave: Yeah, you know, in the 2000s is when cause marketing really started taking off. And over the last 25 years, causes have been a very important part of how companies present [00:16:00] themselves to the world.

Now we find ourselves in a world where If you take a position, oftentimes you're alienating as many people as you are, um, you're rallying behind. So, companies are in a real challenging spot, and I agree with you that, you know, that people feel lonely. They feel like the things that matter most to them don't matter to other people.

And, uh, so it's kind of this real weird thing. Some people are, uh, are deeply concerned about Social causes, and other people are deeply concerned about religious causes, or whatever, whatever the, the situation may be, we've lost the ability to talk to one another, to find common ground, we're much more polarized, that's the environment that, when we talk about [00:17:00] context, that's the context in which these customers show up at your storefront, whatever that might be, right?

Or, uh, to interact with you. So it's, it's very, very confusing. I'll tell you a story. Uh, I went to a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned and I was sitting in the chair and I could hear two chairs over. That, uh, there was a woman who was talking to the dentist about the things that were going on in Palestine and Israel right now.

And she was clearly of Palestinian descent. I could just kind of tell. Now, her point of view. was very, very different from the dentist's point of view. And they were struggling to find common ground to figure out how to talk. Um, just in that one conversation, [00:18:00] they were fairly loud about it. And I was able to hear the entire thing really clearly.

That type of thing is happening. everywhere. Mm-Hmm. . Not just at dentist offices, but everywhere people are having those kinds of conversations. And so it's, well, that would be

Aransas: the ideal. It's to have them, honestly, face to face where you can hear, hear, and see each other and express compassion and empathy and humanity.

Um, unfortunately, that's not how most of them are happening. Most of them are happening in a digital world where we've become desensitized to humanity in large part, and we can, uh, assume. How people feel and without all of these other beautiful context clues that give us some insight and a sense of empathy to me.

You're just reemphasizing our point that this is all connected and so as always. We try to take this really holistic and systemic view of customers [00:19:00] to understand how companies can be valuable for people in the years ahead. And so we have drawn out five key ways that we believe

Um, and so I'll, I'll, I'll share those five, uh, briefly here, and then we can break down each one and talk about what it means. So the first one is. One, help me feel like you really, really know my situation. We've talked a lot about that already. Two, help me do more at home. Three, help me feel more connected.

Four, help me be in the moment. And five, help me make good decisions quickly. So let's, [00:20:00] let's start with this first one. Help me feel like you really. Um, really know my situation and this goes a little bit back to what we were saying before about moments versus modes. Um, what shifts are you seeing in terms of expectations around understanding and customization in your work?

And I can talk about it from the transformation side as well.

Dave: Well, we just had a fascinating presentation at our collaborative summit that happened last week, where one of the presenters talked about the ability that their company has to hyper personalize. Exactly what kind of food your body based on your genome needs in order to be, uh, uh, successful, right?

Uh, and they're using artificial [00:21:00] intelligence. Uh, they, they have coaching, they have rapid response teams. And then he said something completely unprompted by us. He, he said, I, you know, I can personalize things. So much to the individual, but 80 percent of whether or not they decide to do it has nothing to do with personalization.

It has everything to do with what's going on around them. So, I, I think that, like, So, a lot of companies right now are going to, they're getting on the AI bandwagon, we've been talking about it for seven years, they're getting on the AI bandwagon and they're bringing the same old paradigms to these new problems.

So when we say, really, really knows your situation, they think hyper personalization. But it is not about hyper [00:22:00] personalization. It is about truly understanding the context, the situation that people find themselves in. When I'm doing a podcast, I'm behaving very differently than when I'm running to the bank.

That's a, those are two very, very different situations that I find myself in. And your hyper personalization is where you're just trying to focus on my preferences or My thought patterns or behaviors is, is not going to be good enough. You're, you're, you're really going to need to understand, uh, the situation that I find myself in at this particular moment.

Aransas: Yeah, I agree. It's in our transformation work right now, and we've done a number of groups recently to understand what customers want from companies that are guiding transformation and this idea of. Really, really knowing me is at the core of all transformation work, but I think it's true across the board, that customers [00:23:00] have this expectation of us knowing not just their behavior patterns, great, that's helpful, but also their deep wants and needs.

What's really genuinely authentically true for them and using that to guide our recommendations. I think historically we've thought a lot about this in terms of Behavioral response, but I actually think more and more what we're seeing from the best companies is that they're demonstrating that not only do they care about what their customers want and need, but that their responses are entirely customized to reflect those deeply personal wants and needs.

I think across healthcare, finance, travel, we're seeing it more and more really a. A new definition of what it means to tailor or customize. So let's talk about the second one, help me do more at home. Okay. I said before, [00:24:00] everything we want to do can be done at home, right? Whether it's healthcare or shopping or streaming movies or food delivery or virtual learning, home fitness and wellness, it's all there.

And you know, we're seeing again and again that people are not shopping online less now that they. We can go back in stores post pandemic, those trends have held, and while there's not the acute increase that we saw during the pandemic, the trends are still very clearly, um, looking at the rise in Um, and online shopping and convenience, right?

And so more and more, whether it's live stream shopping to create some sort of social element to this, or it's using drones to increase the speed with which we get home delivery, um, things like even food delivery, I think are becoming more and more. Becoming faster and faster to help us kind of never have to leave our homes.

Virtual try on, I think, is [00:25:00] another interesting space worth looking at. Telehealth has, has really shifted over the past five years. And so I'm curious what you see as the implications for experienced strategists, given the Given the changes here.

Dave: Yeah, you know coming out of the pandemic one would have assumed that people would be sick and tired of their homes and They would want to go and do other things.

But what we're seeing is that many of those patterns that they developed during the pandemic are just continuing to move forward and, and they're, it's, it's a part of how they behave and part of how they think. So going into 2025 with the chaos that's kind of out there, you know, People, people feel that it's a little bit dangerous [00:26:00] oftentimes to go to, um, different places and, and they're very careful about where they go and why they go to those different places that they go to.

So we anticipate that in 2025, 2026 companies are going to need to better understand the home environment. Now, that does not necessarily mean that they It should just focus on creating something that's smarter and more technologically advanced within the home. Those things are going to happen regardless.

The real behavior that's happening in people's lives in their homes is that they set up these Life systems we've talked about life systems on the podcast before so they have systems for how they manage their finances for how they work Out for how, um, they feed their families. They create these systems.

They're based on their beliefs. And what we want to do as [00:27:00] experienced strategists is find ways to so understand those life systems. And frankly, I can't think of any company that's doing a really good job of understanding. Life systems. I think they do a pretty good job of measuring biometrics or, uh, or tracking purchases and things of that nature.

But the real opportunity is toe collaborate with the customer to make those life systems even better

Aransas: for them. So well said and so exciting in terms of opportunity for companies because you guys. I think what I'm hearing you say is learn from your customers how their self created systems and then build on those systems instead of trying to recreate their solutions, find out how you can build from a place of self created systems.

And there are certainly patterns in those [00:28:00] self created systems when we talk to customers. Absolutely. Going back to this idea of connection, as we said before, we feel increasingly isolated. We seek more connection. There's great research out there to say that we get that we are isolated and alone and we appreciate that it is not good for us and yet we are so I think we are so entrenched in our use of technology and the value of convenience.

It's, it's difficult for us to reconnect. And so certainly we're seeing a big increase in virtual communities. Especially hyper specific virtual communities and some big brands out there are doing a great job creating fandoms, um, and, and creating a sense of belonging with like minded individuals. So whether it's Apple, Lego, Harley Davidson, and, you know.

Pretty much everyone else, you [00:29:00] can find your people online and that's been true for a long time. Certainly, we've watched the rise of online communities over the last 15 years. But what we're seeing now is an increase in an insulation of those bubbles and so Even, even different social networks being targeted entirely at identity based communities.

And then those specifically getting even more targeted, layers and layers and layers of isolation from anyone who thinks differently than you as a result. The other thing I think we're going to see really grow is that as our population ages, we're going to see more and more AI. that's targeted at older adults, really at an aim to alleviate loneliness and empower some independence.

And then the other one that I think is really interesting is just the rise of AI and [00:30:00] human relationships. We're recording this in November of 2023. And it was just reported that Google is in talks to invest hundreds of millions into character AI. which in March raised 150 million, uh, at a hundred billion dollar evaluation.

And so what Character AI is doing is it's letting people talk to celebrities as though they're, uh, they are receiving mentoring or having. a real conversation with people who may not even be alive. So fictional historical celebrity characters. I mean, it's really interesting. You said AI, um, and the fact that it's getting that level of investment is really exciting.

Um, there's another one and I'm embarrassed to say, I don't really know how to say it. I think it's shall she. which is essentially an AI girlfriend that has hundreds of millions of users in China. I think we're going to see a rise of romance. Replica is another one that a lot of people have heard of [00:31:00] that is really creating some big waves in terms of romantic relationships with AI.

So more and more of that, I think, will be not just accessible, but pretty common by 2025. We are, we are on the cusp of, of that being a frequent part of life. And I think about, you know, again, my kids who are always great, great measures on this stuff in their early teens and preteens. And they still really like Sims, and a lot of their friends are using the Sims to create worlds.

And I know we all laugh because we all had the Sims. The Sims now are so much more advanced and so much more immersive. And they're really a perfect fit for the future consumer, I think. So, I have lots of thoughts on this. But what do you think this [00:32:00] means for experience strategies?

Dave: Uh, I think Robert Putman in his book, Bullying Alone, got it right, right?

I mean, he kind of anticipated this, this whole movement and I honestly don't, I mean, um, I'm a 54 year old man. I don't know what the implications are for loneliness when most of your connections are with AI characters. Does that make you less lonely? Does it make you more lonely? Do you behave in a different way?

There was a, there was a really interesting article on that. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I don't know what it does. Um, there was a really interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today that basically said that there are now college classes for how to do small talk because, and they get graded on your ability to remember someone's name, to [00:33:00] remember a detail about them, to incorporate that detail into the conversation, to not make it about yourself.

Uh, all of these types of things, uh, that, uh, we take for granted are things that they're now teaching instead of like resume building or whatever else they were working on, uh, they need to take these classes. I, as an experienced strategist, we talk a lot about connecting, helping the customer to connect with others, social jobs, helping the customer to.

Sure, getting social jobs done, right? We talk a lot about these things, and yet, we have never really been that successful. At creating really strong connections, not at the same level that a family, a parent can with a child, a brother can with a sister, that [00:34:00] those, those types of connections, uh, are Uh, What we should be really aiming for, I still believe that, uh, if we're going to go after loneliness, if companies are going to go after loneliness, they need to look at the small group and sometimes that's the family.

Sometimes that's the work, um, place group. Sometimes it's an affinity group. There's a lot of different things that it can be, but instead of focusing on people connecting with people, focus on the small group and see what you can do there.

Aransas: Yep, I think that's exactly right. And I think that's the big answer here, is to help us find a sense of belonging.

And we can do that in so many ways, you know, and I think there are obvious categories for this, right? In social, sure. Um, but. In finance and [00:35:00] healthcare and retail, there are so many opportunities to create a sense of belonging and connection. The next one that we'll talk about is helping people be in the moment.

So certainly immersive experiences are a big part of this. We need to take a break from the ordinary to tap into our desire for connection. As technology continues to advance, you know, I think There will be more and more immersive experiences, but also I just think people are leaning more and more into a state of full presence.

So there's been some really interesting research into Gen Z as a relatively sober generation and demonstrating that Gen Z are drinking noticeably less and, you know, a lot of. Concert promoters are really curious what this means for their business. The economics of the entertainment industry is largely built on the backs of [00:36:00] alcohol consumption.

So if we're not going to be selling alcohol to Gen Zers, how do we, how do we sustain this model? Which I think will be really interesting to see how they answer that question. But one of the things we're noticing is that what's behind that? Well, What's behind it is Gen Z are saying, I just paid a lot of money for this experience.

I don't wanna miss it. I want to really. I feel a sense of presence in this moment, you know, and I think the Taylor Swift phenomenon and the Beyonce phenomenon and even the Barbie phenomenon, sorry I'm only listing the girl powered examples, you know, my own personal bias, that what we saw in all those was people investing heavily in community based, identity based, immersive experiences.

Those, to me, all demonstrated deep desire for presence and connection, so very much informing [00:37:00] this entire idea here. What else are you seeing on this one?

Dave: Oh, you know, Taylor Swift is a phenomenal person when it comes to being present. You get that feeling from her that when she's doing her concerts, she's all in and when wherever she goes, she's in and And people really gravitate to it.

You know, you're talking about these experiences that, uh, Gen Zers are trying to have. I just read an article that talked about dry dating. Like many, uh, Gen Zers are saying, Hey, you know, I make better decisions about who I fall in love with when I'm not drinking alcohol. So they're, so they want to be very intentional, very present, and I know, Arantis, you are We're very fascinated by the topic of agency.[00:38:00]

I think there's a relationship between agency and immersive experiences. We want to be able to make decisions that affect these immersive experiences and affect what we're trying to accomplish with these very, very powerful moments. So Um, I'm excited about this trend. It's a lot easier to crack, I think, than getting people to connect.

It's a lot easier.

Aransas: Well, yeah, and I think they're very much linked, right? That we, we get a lot more out of Well, maybe they are. Good point. Yeah. I think, uh, and that's what I think, that's what I was trying to point to, too, with this idea of identity based immersive experiences. Uh, and I, I don't think this is just for the entertainment category.

I think there's a lot of potential for Lots of other categories. I mean, even I'll use us as an [00:39:00] example here Um, certainly our collaborative summits are a means of doing this and we really design for presence in those experiences because we understand that our clients will get a great deal more out of the experience if they feel that they are fully tuned in and aware of The moment that is happening.

And so we we design against structures that are intentionally geared toward them being less distracted, being more attentive, and being more intentional about what they want out of it and what they're receiving out of it. Okay, we can't do a trend report without talking about time. It's such a huge currency and this entire conversation, but we've summarized it, this, this need in this year's report is help me make good decisions quickly.

Okay. So [00:40:00] AI has. It changed our, our, our decision making, uh, radically, right? Because it has allowed us to more quickly, more accurately, more effectively make decisions across a lot of different domains in our lives. And we expect that to continue. That smarter and more data driven decisions, uh, will help us, and I know you've been talking about superpowers for many years, but higher comfort with decision support will become the norm, uh, if it hasn't already.

I just think that we're going to see it more normalized, uh, in terms of expectation. over the coming years. And certainly in our longitudinal studies on AI comfort, we see increasing comfort with AI doing tasks for you. Uh, this is really interesting. Um, this past year, as we [00:41:00] all know, was, uh, the great coming out party for AI in many ways because of the design of chat GPT with its open access that.

I mean, I, the media blitz on cul acculturation and, and, and use. Stiles was just, I mean, it was so fascinating and powerful and really, like, I think kind of a masterclass in change management. They said, here, everybody use it and let's all talk about how we use it so that across every discipline, the goal becomes to teach others to use it effectively.

And I don't know that I've ever seen. a better or more aggressive approach to change management. So I think it really, it was as [00:42:00] radical in many ways as the pandemic in terms of speed of change. Maybe not quite, but I don't know, pretty close.

Dave: The craziness of it is, is that we're recording this on the day that, uh, OpenAI has kind of blown up.

All of a sudden, uh, Sam Altman is out as CEO and, uh, there's a,

Aransas: for now, we'll see what happens. By the time this episode releases, that may be different.

Dave: Yeah, so talk about making quick decisions. Those guys are just making rapid decisions there. So it's a, it's a crazy, crazy time. Uh, very interesting going on.

One of the things that you point out in the report that I think is really important to pay attention to. Historically, a lot of experienced strategists have felt like their mission in life was to [00:43:00] remove friction from people's experiences. Going forward... Because of artificial intelligence, because of the amount of technology, because of how much we actually outsource in terms of our mind and our mindset to, um, technology, the big challenge will not be, is it frictionless?

The big challenge will be recall. The inability of people to remember, okay, now how did I make this decision last time? How, what, what, what were the factors that I was taking into consideration? And it's not just about passwords. I mean, I think that that's a simple, easy, um, example for people to get their heads around.

It's about like, why did I make that decision? How did I make that decision? What was that decision all about? And. [00:44:00] And so technology and experience strategy needs to really start thinking about what kinds of tools can be created to support recall. And so I think transcription is going to play a role.

Aransas: Transcription is huge right now. It's everywhere. Yeah, sure. But yes, we're going to see more and more tools like that. It's a great example, Dave. Yeah, I think it's interesting to me. I'm curious. to see whether we, as we stop using our brains for remembering, does that free up brain space or does the brain just get so soft and mushy that we lose creative capacity too?

Dave: Pete Slauson Yeah, I mean, the brain was built for memory.

Aransas: So, it's brain was built for memory. We're no longer using it for memory. [00:45:00] I don't even know my own husband's phone number now.

Dave: Right. Yeah. I don't know your husband's phone number either.

Aransas: Well, that's probably for the best.

Dave: That was a joke. So, uh,

Aransas: So terrible.

There you go. This is welcome to our class on small talk. Um, we're offering it at the college of Dave and. Right.

Dave: Right.

Aransas: Right. I would joke that we don't have a crystal ball, but I kind of think we do. Actions speak louder than words, right? And we've been right year after year. We nailed it on last year's report.

Having watched what happened this year, I was like, gold star. And our biggest hope is that it's not just for us to feel really good about our powers of prediction. Uh, but... That it's really useful for you as experienced strategist. [00:46:00] It's hard to be an experienced strategist. It is inherently complex. The expectations of customers are changing faster and more frequently than ever before.

That will continue to speed up. We just need more and better tools to help us be successful in this world. And it's not going to be just technology. It's going to be strategic use of technology. And so our goal in creating this is to hopefully give you a tool that helps you be better for your customer, for your company.

And hopefully it helps you find greater satisfaction in your work as a result. And we want to help you do that. So, if you have questions about this report, if you have questions about how to use this report, we want to hear them because it'll help us make the next report better and it'll help us make our Share out about this report and these findings [00:47:00] better.

So please do reach out to us. You can find us on LinkedIn. Certainly, you can reach out to us at StoneMantle.co, which is our website for both our consulting work, the collaborative program that we offer, our experience strategy certification, which will go deep into this, but applied to the foundational frameworks that you need in order to create great experience strategies.

And home of the trend report as well as the experience strategy podcast. We hope you'll reach out. We hope you'll find these useful and we hope you'll keep coming back episode after episode for more insights and ideas to help you be the best and most impactful experience strategist you can be.

Voiceover: Thank you for listening to the experience strategy podcast.

If you're having fun nerding out with us, please follow and share wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Find more episodes and continue the conversation with us at [00:48:00] experiencestrategypodcast.com.