Making the customer experience journey more hedonic in a traditionally utilitarian service context: a case study

Purpose This article aims to provide an understanding of how utilitarian services can make the customer experience more hedonic. Design/methodology/approach The author performs an in-depth case study of a leading wealth management firm that is reinventing its business model to incorporate a hedonic perspective into experience design. Findings The findings reveal how a traditionally utilitarian firm integrates hedonic elements into the customer experience. The findings describe and expose how four experience design characteristics are interactively linked to form a customer journey model, from eliciting emotional engagement to trigger rapid enrolment through to individualising the experience to drive purchase. Research limitations/implications This research takes the perspective of the firm to explore the research question. No customer data are collected. Practical implications The article provides evidence-based recommendations that can serve as a platform to develop an action plan for designing and deploying hedonic elements in the customer experience in utilitarian contexts. Originality/value This study challenges the dichotomy between utilitarian and hedonic services. It derives an empirically grounded understanding of an intended experience that combines design characteristics associated with both the utilitarian and hedonic model at different stages of the customer journey. The emergent conceptual framework describes and links these design characteristics to enact the customer journey. Together, these empirical insights extend and enrich existing knowledge and provide actionable recommendations for managers.