Experience Pays: The New Marketing Math

In the battle between metrics and moments, brands are losing millions because they’re adding when they need to multiply. By tracking impressions and reach, CMOs are missing something exponential: how exceptional customer experiences transform into unstoppable growth.

As someone who helps Fortune 500 brands transform traditional marketing into experiences that compound in value, I’ve watched countless marketing budgets get slashed because meaningful ROI gets lost in translation. The scene repeats: A CEO asks where to spend their last marketing dollar, hoping I’ll validate another campaign, another billboard, another social media blitz. Instead, I share an uncomfortable truth. They’ve gotten too comfortable with marketing metrics that don’t multiply. They track impressions, reach, engagement — numbers that look good in PowerPoint.

But, in a market where ad effectiveness drops yearly and experiences returns compound, the math is clear. Transactions add. Experiences multiply.

Just look at today’s market leaders. Apple’s 90% retention rate wasn’t built through banner ads. Nike’s 100 million+ member run club wasn’t born on LinkedIn. And Disney’s 70% repeat visitor rate wasn’t made in Times Square.

Or let the numbers talk. The Temkin Group reports that companies that earn $1 billion annually can expect to increase revenues by $700 million within three years of investing in customer experience. And SaaS companies? They can expect to double revenue through CX.

Here’s how:

THE COMPOUND FORMULA

Experience marketing multiplies through three stages: initial return, growth return and compound return—or the spark, the spread and the scale.

The Spark: When participants become members. It’s Nike’s Run Club turning joggers into athletes and transforming running from a solo activity into a team sport. It’s Salesforce creating a community of Trailblazers by transforming a standard conference into Dreamforce — a brilliant blend of tech learning and entertainment, with keynote sessions featuring tech luminaries, celebrity speakers like Barack Obama and Metallica, and fuzzy mascots wandering the halls for extra whimsy.

The Spread: When members become advocates. It’s three generations of families still telling stories of Disney’s surprise player encounter when they noticed young Braves fans staying at their hotels during spring training. The initial investment of inviting these fans to come by for batting practice and an autograph session with their idols? Staff coordination. The return: word-of-mouth worth millions in equivalent ad spend.

The Scale: When advocates bring in exponential reach. It’s Spotify Wrapped turning millions of users into eager advertisers every December. The initial investment: turning data into shareable, personalized music data stories. The return: an annual viral moment where hundreds of millions of people voluntarily (and excitedly) share their Spotify stats across social media, reaching billions of impressions and driving new subscriptions. And this is all through authentic user enthusiasm rather than paid advertising.

In other words, the real ROI question isn’t whether to invest in customer experiences; it’s where to start. 

THE ACTION PLAN

• Start with a single customer touchpoint. Choose a moment that already exists in your customer journey. Pick one interaction where you have both control and data. It might be the first training session, the conference welcome, or the moment someone walks into your store.
• Transform it from transaction to experience. Look at your touchpoints through the lens of emotion and impact, not just efficiency. A quarterly update isn’t just about numbers: it’s an opportunity to bring those numbers to life through video storytelling, interactive exploration, or immersive visualization of what’s really happening. 
• Measure the multiplication. Track the immediate impact (satisfaction scores, engagement rates), but don’t stop there. Watch for the ripple effects: unprompted social shares, word-of-mouth referrals, changes in customer lifetime value.

The beauty of this approach? It scales. Start with one touchpoint, perfect the formula, then expand. Every transaction holds the potential for exponential returns through meaningful, memorable customer experiences.

About the author: A creative visionary and strategic leader, Jenna Isken transforms how global brands connect with their audiences through meaningful experiences. As Head of Brand Experience at Siegel+Gale, she partners with C-suite executives to drive innovation for industry titans including Disney, Amazon, Microsoft, Adobe, USAA, and VIsa. She has also crafted breakthrough experiences in sports and entertainment for the MLB, the LA Rams, SoFi Stadium, and the Recording Academy.

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