Creating an Online Experience - What we can Learn from The Office

Warning -- properly implementing this tactic can result in business you have only dreamed about!

The key to a successful membership site, blog, forum, community and even a plain jane web site is to create an online experience that others will be talking about. This online experience will then be tweeted about, talked about, and blogged about (hey, that is what I'm about to do below). Having a normal web site is fine for some businesses, but why not jazz it up? Even the "darker" of businesses can create an online experience. Let me give you two examples

• Check out Peternity.com a site that sells products for pets that have passed like Pet Grave Markers. This is not a glamazon type of business, you're dealing with people that have lost their pets. However, when you go to her site, you feel welcome. She makes the buying and customizing experience easy. Want to see your beloved pet online? You can add your pet to the Pet Memorial online.
• Dementiaconnection.com is the leading source for dementia information run by a health care provider. Susan the owner has this site stacked with tools, resources, articles, a blog, videos, audios and more. Most people consider this a very tough illness, but Susan's site helps make the experience a little less painful.

One of my favorite web sites that creates an amazing online experience is NBC's hit show The Office. I personally think it's the funnest current show on TV! 30 minutes of watching this show will make my week! What their marketing people have done is simple - they have thrown the playbook out the window. Rather then being like everyone else, they have re-invented the way people browse content online.

The Office provides:

• Full length episodes (for free)
• Previews of episodes to come (this is normally un-heard of)
• Web only videos - check out Subtle Sexuality
• A gift store with a lot of fun products (I'm rocking the Office Calender)
• A community with 15+ different things you can do to get involved -- and these are not small things. They have additional full blown web sites set up: Dunder Mifflin Infinity is just one of the many

I could go on with a list of another 100 different things they do, it's simply amazing. Yes they have major manpower, lots of videos and a TV show, but that doesn't mean you can't take their core concept -- to create an online experience that will get people talking about the show even more. If you're on their web site playing a game chances are you're going to talk about it and get someone else hooked into the show, brilliant marketing NBC.

If you want to attract long standing, loyal and happy customers you need to create an experience whether online or offline, as consumers we grave that experience we can brag about.