Critical success factors for experiential marketing: evidences from the Indian hospitality industry

With the continuous proliferation of communication media and ever-dynamic consumer expectations, the fight for capturing a prospect's mind-space has seen a radical shift from product/service orientation to a customer-experience driven approach. In the cluttered space of brands and advertising noise, consumer engagement is turning out to be the winning formula. The traditional product-centric positioning needs to be necessarily complemented by emotional buying triggers encountered during the 'moments of truth' to lead to consumer action and advocacy. This paper, based on existing literature and a primary research conducted on 17 luxury restaurants and over 200 customers and service staff in and around Mumbai, identifies seven essential factors (physical ambience, food quality, interaction with service staff, interaction with other customers, price, service quality and theme) contributing to a positive customer experience. The study examines the contribution of the service elements to customer perceived value and explores the service gap model for delivering experiential value across restaurants. Using these insights on the psyche of the Indian consumer and his response to experiential marketing, the paper helps propose an indicative framework to successfully launch and sustain experiential marketing from the perspective of the Indian hospitality industry.