How can a company determine if its product is just a commodity or an experience?

Innovation within the Experience Economy can be achieved by focusing on transformation rather than just adding value. This involves understanding your customer base and tailoring your products or services to enhance their experience. For instance, a company could improve upon a seemingly perfect product by considering the needs and preferences of its broader customer base, not just its top-tier users. This could involve making the product more enjoyable or accessible for casual users. It's also important to continually seek feedback and adapt to changing customer expectations.

A company can balance the need for product quality and experience by understanding their customer base and tailoring their products to meet their needs. In the case of Rawlings, they realized that most of their customers are not Major League players, but people who enjoy baseball and a good game of catch. Therefore, they focused on improving the experience of these customers, while maintaining the quality of their products.

Some potential drawbacks of the Experience Economy could include the risk of not meeting customer expectations, the challenge of constantly innovating to provide unique experiences, and the potential for high costs associated with creating these experiences. Additionally, businesses may face difficulties in measuring the success of their experience-based strategies.