Only Sports Can Do That

On Friday evening, the LA Dodgers won game one of the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees in glorious fashion, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the 10^th inning. For Dodger fans, the game could not have been scripted better. The family of Dodger legend Fernando Valenzuela, who died earlier in the week, was honored before the game. According to people there, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The Dodgers and Yankees, the two most iconic brands in Major League Baseball, haven’t squared off in the World Series since 1981, when Valenzuela was a rookie. 

My friend Raul Espinoza was in attendance and shared a story about how he was sitting behind a couple of young men who had had a few too many drinks. Raul sat beside a police officer who became irritated with the two loud and disruptive men and repeatedly ordered them to simmer down during the game. According to Raul, it got a little hostile at one point; however, when Freeman hit his home run, the cop and the two drunk men were hugging, cheering, and jumping up and down in unison. Only sports can do that! The story reinforced my belief that more than ever, people crave experiences, especially those with human connections.  

Nowadays, most people live in a virtual world, spending hours each day on their phones and computers and playing video games. This is very different from the world I grew up in, where most of our days were spent outside playing with friends. This dramatic lifestyle change has resulted in more people feeling lonely and disconnected. I also believe this is why sports, concerts, and gatherings like business conferences have increased in popularity in recent years. Just look at the evolution of malls in the last 20 years. While internet shopping has caused many to shut down, the ones whose owners understood these trends and focused on experiences versus shopping have thrived. The mall closest to my home, UTC, was nearly dead a decade ago, but a new owner stepped in and revitalized it with high-end restaurants, popular ramen joints, fitness studios, live music, and the city’s most creative speakeasy bar. Even the shopping experience at UTC has changed with a heightened focus on convenience and service. 

If you’re not in the tech or commodity businesses, consider how your company provides customer experiences. Two decades ago, Starbucks famously proclaimed that it was not in the coffee business; it was in the experience business. At the time, it was true. I never particularly liked Starbucks coffee, but I remember the feeling of relaxation and luxury when I entered a store. After COVID, Starbucks has struggled to regain that connection with its customers. They recently hired a new CEO to try and find the magic they once had. They announced an upgrade to their menu. That’s fine, but in my opinion, they will also need to find a way to engage their customers from an experiential standpoint. Otherwise, they will compete with other brands like Blue Bottle, Peet’s, and Coffee Bean purely on price and the quality of their coffee. I don’t think that’s a battle they will win.  

There will be two types of service companies in the future: Companies that provide fast and cheap services and those that provide a positive experience with some form of human connection. If you’re a sports fan, think about the feeling you get when your team wins a big game or your favorite player does something extraordinary. Your business may not be able to duplicate that, but if you can connect with people emotionally, you will have more fun, and your business will never be short on customers.