Successful brands and musicians have at least one thing in common. They both understand how to deliver unique and valuable customer experiences (CX).

How important is customer experience for these seemingly disconnected entities?

If you are a music lover like me, you know that there are unfortunately many talented artists who will always remain relatively obscure. On the other hand, KISS, one of the most recognizable (and highest earning) acts in the history of popular music, are commonly cited by critics as one of the most talentless groups of musicians ever.

The difference? From their legendary outfits and makeup, to their explosive, circus like concerts, and even more recently, their unified and interactive digital presence, KISS have always seemed to deliver unique and ‘valuable’ experiences to their audience.

Similarly, there are countless examples of corporate brands who have used CX to de-commoditize themselves in otherwise commoditized product markets. CX has always been important to growing a brand, but Gartner has boldly declared that almost 90% of all business are now competing mainly on customer experience, because, let’s face it, where else can value be created at scale? Almost everything outside of experience has become a commodity.

A great example of an Austin brand embracing CX in a big way is YETI Coolers. YETI essentially created the ‘premium’ cooler category in 2006, and the brand has since grown at an astonishing rate.

VP of Marketing, Corey Maynard graciously took the time to speak at last week’s 2015 AMA Marketing Jam and explained how delivering an authentic and consistent experience has proven essential to growing the brand. In stark contrast to the aforementioned band example, Corey’s philosophy is that a world-class product is absolutely the first requirement to building a world-class brand.

YETI’s #BuiltforTheWild social campaign and their new 5-min In Current video documentary are testaments to the team’s customer experience-focused approach.

My love of all things guitar and good music, coupled with my fascination of CX and what it can do for brands and musicians is the inspiration for the Brands, Bands, and CX series. I hope you enjoy the series. Have a suggestion for a band or brand you’d like me to feature in an upcoming post? Drop me a line, and stay tuned for Volume 2.