The expansion of an experience (a potential path to improved results) is possible when considering the entire supply/demand chain of the event (transaction, interaction). In doing so you can often capitalize on the ‘energy for free’ aspects of a design that embraces a natural order.

Case in point: restaurant.com

But this story starts with a ‘teaser’ email from United (the connections in-between are still fuzzy). Since United is not a primary carrier in the DFW area, I have miles, but not enough to do much with. Somehow I saw an option to redeem miles for certificates at restaurant.com.

With a zip code (for proximity) and some investment of time to dig around (including looking to see what the coupon restrictions were, as they vary by restaurant), I traded a few miles (with still plenty left to do this several times again), for 4 $25 dining coupons, to specific restaurants. In ‘normal’ cases you pay a discounted amount for the coupon (e.g. $10 for $25).

Most of the restaurants are less known, so you have to assess interest based on the descriptions. My husband and I tried one out last night. It was a great experience (the location and food were a visual design orgy).

But here’s where the story gets interesting. This morning I already have an email in my box from restaurants.com with a survey, specific to the restaurant  we visited.

Follow this scenario from the start:

1. I get a routine teaser email from United Airlines (most of which I ignore — this one might have said something about miles expiring or had some other teaser that caught my attention, I really can’t remember)
2. I establish a relationship (registration required) with restaurants.com (now I’m a new contact for them, adding to their base of behavioral data — what do you think the primary asset is that Amazon has?)
3. I identify interest in a restaurant (self-selected, mind you — the cheapest way to secure a relationship) that I would have otherwise likely never have discovered/considered
4. Via email, I secure a coupon, with a unique number, only for use at that restaurant (thank goodness the coupon has both the address and the phone, because they were ‘hidden’)
5. While the restaurant was more expensive than I would typically consider for anything but a ’special’ event, the coupon gave me the confidence to order whatever I wanted.
6. I turn in the coupon as our great desserts are delivered
7. [I'm missing the step as to how the restaurateur submits/validates my coupon]
8. 5:39am the next morning, I get an email request to fill out a survey . Both the email (which specifically called out the name of the restaurant) and the online survey (only 10 questions to click answers for) were well-designed — no effort on my part to wade through pages to share my ‘opinion’ about the restaurant.
9. The restaurant has immediate feedback about the experience, through an ASP model (something they would have paid considerably more for to initiate on their own — tapping the power of the collective)
10. There’s probably more to this story (behind the scenes leveraging of the data), which we can only gain, if we can get the other parties in this conversation.

That’s leveraging the power of 2.0 thinking: shortening the distance between resources and information.

Imagine what we could do to the GDP if we applied this same thinking to internal corporate exchanges (with IT serving as the ASP, and departments providing internal services — e.g. supply chain — as the restaurateur).