Success is what customers want! They want to perform well, achieve excellence, and realize the value they expect from the goods and services they purchase. To ensure customers performance, companies must design experiences with that goal in mind. The principles of vision, access, incentive, and expertise form the foundation for what we call coproduction experiences.

Through coproduction experiences, managers can ensure the conditions for customer performance are favorable. Here's an example. When Southwest Airlines implemented its e-commerce strategy – southwest.com – in the 1990’s, customers were set up for success. With regards to vision, various promotional channels communicated to customers an attractive, novel goal – book your own tickets. For access, the web site itself provided the tool and a simple interface for completing transactions. The incentive to perform was the double Rapid Reward credit, which enabled customers to earn free flights twice as fast. Finally, expertise was provided by step-by-step booking instructions available on the site. In 2005, Southwest Airlines reported that over 65% of its revenue was generated by southwest.com. The customer conditioning was so successful that Southwest was able to eliminate the Rapid Rewards incentive without negatively impacting the site’s revenue percentage.

Winston Churchill once said in the early days of World War II, “We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire ... Give us the tools and we will finish the job.” Many customers have the same sentiment when trying to use goods and services. Access reflects the resources a company provides so that customers can perform.

Access consists of seven key tactics. The foundation is policies, which provide the rules for the coproduction experience. Processes and procedures provide the script for how customers are expected to perform (and how companies respond to their performance). Since coproduction involves people, companies have some choice in who performs coproduction tasks. To make tasks simpler or more convenient, tools, such as self-service technologies, are used to supplement or enhance experiences. Additionally, interfaces, such as the floor plan of a store or the ergonomic design of a product, have an effect on customers’ ability to complete tasks. Furthermore, information, such as nutritional labeling on food, help customers make better choices. Coproduction experiences are rounded out through the inclusion of nuances, which subtly influences performance through sights, sounds, smells, and tastes.