A Customer Experience That’s Lasted 150 Years!
When I was first getting started in the business world, I asked one of my mentors what I should do to ensure that I was successful.
He gave me two pieces of advice.
- Put 10% of every paycheck into a Vanguard fund.
- Read “The Economist”
The Economist has been around for over 150 years and has remained at the forefront of business thought leadership the entire time.
How has it remained the go to publication for smart business people for almost two centuries?
It turns out the secret is customer experience.
Here’s a quote from Jeff Pundyk the Senior Vice President of Content Solutions at “The Economist” about the so-called content revolution he said:
“In order for us to succeed in this content revolution we have to control the environment. We’ve created a thought leader salon. It’s an experience. The magazine was founded in 1863 and if somebody from back then saw it today, it would feel familiar. I think that is an advantage we have … the experience of the content.
“I don’t see the print publication going away any time soon. We still have millions of print subscribers and they love it. Even when we talk to millennials they like the print version. We are in good shape today because our content is an experience.”
See…rather than try to compete with the forced march into social media news and a 24 hour news cycle, “The Economist” seeks to recreate a thought leader salon from the 1800s which is a clear experience which can be reverse engineered and re-created as well as referred to if an editor or content creator is unsure whether or not a piece is a good fit for the magazine.
With such a well thought out and well-designed customer experience, don’t be surprised if “The Economist” is still the foremost business thought leader in another 150 years.
I want to hear from you, what are some other magazines or news sources that create a clear user experience?
Not to open a whole can of worms but I can think of one right off the top of my head, Fox News.
No matter what your politics are you probably have a very clear picture of the kind of user experience Fox News brings you.
