Chapter Two  Theoretical Basis

2.1 About experiential marketing 

2.1.1The concept of the experiential marketing

According to the definition of experience, and referring to the meaning of merchandising and service marketing, experiential marketing can be defined as: Experiential marketing refers to the creation of an atmosphere by the enterprise and the design of a series of events to promote consumers into one of them to perform as much as possible. In the process of "performance," consumers will have a deep and unforgettable experience because of their active participation, thereby exchanging monetary value for the experience gained. In previous studies, scholars have made different interpretations of experiential marketing.

Pine & Gilmore(1999) believes that experiential marketing is a kind of consumer-centric, consumer-oriented activities that use products as props and services to create memories for consumers.

Gautier(2003) believes that experiential marketing is not only a simple sensible experience, but also a brand-new marketing method to build a friendship between consumers and enterprises to promote sales.

This thesis believes that experiential marketing in Xiaomi mobile store focuses on the relationship between consumers and stores, including visual, listening and touching environment of the stores. In this process, consumers can learn more about products and finally decide to purchase.

2.1.2 Strategic experience modules (SEMs)

experiential marketing is a holistic process. To understand how this process is generated requires further analysis. Bernd H. Schmitt called these different forms of experience “strategic experiential modules” (SEMs).

(1)Sense

The goal of sensory marketing is to create the sensation of a perceptual experience through vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Sensory marketing can be pided into companies and products (identification), triggering customers' purchase motivation, and adding value to products.

(2)Feel

Emotional marketing appeals to customers' inner emotions and emotions. The goal is to create emotional experiences. The scope can be a mild, tender frontal mood, intense emotions to joy, pride and even passion. The operation of emotional marketing needs to really understand what stimuli can cause a certain emotion, as well as enable consumers to naturally become infected and integrate into this scenario.

(3)Intelligence

In a creative way, the customer's surprise, interest, concentration of problems or decentralized thinking can be induced, and customers can create cognitive and problem-solving experiences. For high-tech products, the program of thinking activities is widely used. In many other industries, thinking marketing has also been used in product design, promotion, and communication with customers.

(4) Relation

 Relation marketing includes sensory, emotional, thinking, and action marketing. Associate marketing goes beyond personal feelings, personality, personality, plus “personal experience,” and it Relations to inpiduals’ ideals of self, others, or culture. The appeals of the linked activity case are personal desires for self-improvement (for example, want to Relation to the future "ideal self"), to others (for example, a person's relatives, friends, colleagues, lovers, or spouse and family) Give yourself a good impression. People associate with a broader social system (a subculture, a group, etc.), thereby creating an inpidual's preference for a brand while allowing people who use the brand to form a group. Affiliate marketing has been used in many different industries, ranging from cosmetics, daily necessities, private transport, and more. 

2.1.4 The whole process concept of experience

The concept of experiencing the whole process refers to taking care of the entire process from pre-purchase to post-purchase. Holbrook and Hirschman(1998) proposed the study of the whole process of consumer spending, and since then, the concept of experiential marketing has been established.