Your perfectly crafted email sequences are dying in potential buyers' inboxes across the globe. Unread. Deleted. Marketed as spam. 

Meanwhile, your competitors are shipping mini gongs and closing millions in pipeline.

In April of 1999, B. Joseph "Joe" Pine II and James "Jim" H. Gilmore officially introduced the concept of the experience economy to the mainstream world with their aptly named book, The Experience Economy.

“We have gone from an Agrarian Economy based on commodities,” said Joe, ”through an Industrial Economy based on goods, through a Service Economy, and today we are in an Experience Economy – an economy where experiences have become the predominant economic offering. Experiences are memorable events that engage each individual in an inherently personal way" (Source; bold is mine).

Fast forward 26+ years, and here we are — smack dab in the middle of the experience economy.

And Sendoso is all in.

As the gifting and direct mail platform that helps revenue teams double win rates, 6x second call rates, and close deals 29% faster, Sendoso is leaning heavily into the experience economy.

 “We're not just selling services anymore. Services have been commodified, AI is democratizing (ahem, diluting the quality of) content and people are looking for meaningful experiences wrapped around what they buy.” — Kacie Jenkins, Sendoso’s SVP of Marketing

“In B2B, she continues, “this means creating memorable, omnichannel experiences that break through the digital noise and connect with people on a personal level.”

This article will go a bit deeper into the experience economy. 

We’ll cover: 

• Why the experience economy in B2B matters now more than ever
• How hybrid and physical touchpoints are reshaping engagement strategies
• Real examples of what experience-led marketing looks like today

Let's begin with the WHY.

Why NOW is the best time to invest in the experience economy

Digital fatigue.

Longer sales cycles.

Rising buyer expectations.

Let’s start with digital fatigue, the mental (and sometimes physical) exhaustion and overwhelming feeling resulting from prolonged exposure to digital devices, constant connectivity, and information overload from screens, apps, and online platforms. 

You know, this:

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If not kept in check, digital fatigue will manifest as difficulty concentrating, eye strain, irritability, and a sense of “mental drain” from the relentless pace of digital communication and content consumption.

Digital fatigue is the result of digital engagement, which offers diminishing returns in today’s oversaturated market. Buyers are tired and overwhelmed. They have tuned out the noise.

Some numbers and data to back up this exhaustion:

📉26%: YoY decrease in cold email response rates (Belkins) 

👨🏼‍💼11: The average number of cold sales emails decision makers receive per day (Finance Derivative)

📧58%: Percentage of buyers will avoid doing business with suppliers that send too many messages (Gartner)

📢Nearly 50%: Percentage of B2B buyers find B2B ads boring and believe that sales reps don’t bother to understand them (Brain Innovative Group).

Winning companies should must prioritize memorable and personalized end-to-end experiences for their customers and buyers.

Longer sales cycles: As of the writing of this, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the global economy. We don't see that changing anytime soon. 

And buyers — especially those requiring C-suite sign off — don't love uncertainty. This, in turn, means that sales cycles will continue to lengthen as purchasing processes become more thorough and CFOs have a greater say in sales decisions.

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Although there is limited concrete data* available, the Ebsta 2023 B2B Sales Benchmark Report (reported here by Six & Flow) indicated that the average length of sales cycles increased by 32% from 2021 to 2022.

*All other data on sales cycles tend to be over a decade old.

It's fair to say: all sales reps are feeling the pinch.

Rising buyer expectations: We are all B2C buyers and consumers. Many of us are B2B buyers ... and some of us are B2B sellers.

As Jay Baer said (nearly a decade ago!), "Our personal and commercial lives have collided in unprecedented ways." Matt Sweezy, in this Convince & Convert post, continues, "The behaviors and attitudes we've adopted in recent years—thanks to our daily exposure to smartphones, social channels, and other tech advancements—are blending into our business lives."

Buyer expectations are the same whether you are buying software from a SaaS company or a t-shirt from Target. And those expectations have been — and continue to — rise.

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In the 6th edition of Salesforce's State of the Connected Customer, 78% of business buyers expect companies to adapt to their changing needs/preferences, yet 46% say they are treated like a number.

High expectations that are not being met.

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In that same report, a staggering 85% of business buyers stated that customer experiences should be better, considering all the data companies collect.

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Digital fatigue.In that same report, a staggering 85% of business buyers stated that customer experiences should be better, considering all the data companies collect.

Digital fatigue.

Longer sales cycles.

Rising buyer expectations.

Sounds gloomy, huh? Not a great time to be a B2B seller.

Not so fast.

It’s a great time to be a B2B seller ... if you recognize those three truths above and react accordingly. Here’s how.

Consider hybrid and physical touchpoints

An all-too-familiar scenario we recently shared: “Your SDR sends a perfectly crafted email sequence to a hot prospect. It gets opened, maybe even clicked, but then ... nothing. The prospect goes dark, your deal stalls, and you're left wondering what went wrong.”

Why? Digital only. Buyers are overwhelmed with all-online (see: digital fatigue above).

The other end of the spectrum: Your SDR randomly sends your company-branded socks to the top 20 prospects in her pipeline with a weak CTA. Unsurprisingly, nothing happens. Crickets.

The hybrid approach is ideal: Layer physical touchpoints with intentional digital sequences at strategic moments.

And the data support it:

🛤️ 10: Average number of interaction channels in buyer's journey (McKinsey)

🤝 2x more: Likelihood of buyers willing to purchase when engaged digitally and with a sales rep (Gartner, 2024)

📬 68%: Engagement rates with direct mail compared to 25% with digital (B2B Marketing)

Here's what that looks like in the real world: how Gong created an "unboxing experience" that influenced 400+ new opportunities and tens of millions in pipeline.

Our team created the "Gong bundle" — mini gongs, purple crinkle paper, a custom box, and branded custom tape. Oh, and a handwritten note with the message to "share the mini gong with an all-star sales performer."

These bundles were sent to a targeted list of senior-level contacts. Gong sales reps were notified when the package was delivered and coordinated ideally timed follow-up emails with the following message: "I saw the gong landed. Who did you give it to?"

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400+ new opportunities and tens of millions in pipeline. One hybrid campaign.

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As then VP of Marketing Russell Banzon shared, "Not only did the campaign give our prospects a tangible piece of our brand, but it also linked our value propositions with a creative message that immediately brought joy and got people excited to talk to us."

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Win. Win. Win.

400+ new opportunities and tens of millions in pipeline. One hybrid campaign.

As then VP of Marketing Russell Banzon shared, "Not only did the campaign give our prospects a tangible piece of our brand, but it also linked our value propositions with a creative message that immediately brought joy and got people excited to talk to us."

Win. Win. Win.

Read the entire success story. 

Connecting digital campaigns to physical experiences, turning scroll-stopping ads into memorable IRL experiences. Be unforgettable. That, as Kacie Jenkins, our SVP of Marketing, says, is the secret sauce to winning in B2B.

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An example of what experience-led marketing looks like today

Experience-led marketing prioritizes creating meaningful and valuable interactions and experiences throughout the entire customer journey rather than focusing solely on product features or traditional promotional (digital-only) messaging.

It's the evolution from traditional B2B marketing — lead generation, product promotion, and feature-benefit messaging.

Experience-led marketing is about creating value at every interaction, building trust through expertise, and designing experiences that make the buying process easier and more informed for the customer.

And it can be done on a large — or, in the following example — small scale.

Our recent "Sip Your Way to Success" campaign was our internal approach to motivating busy professionals to make time for learning, specifically encouraging our team to complete a certification and reinforcing that Sendoso University is an essential resource.

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clearly, we love crinkle paper

The idea was to "combine the promise of skill-building with the joy of a well-earned caffeine boost."

A two-part email series encouraged learners to uplevel their skills with a subtle hint at a potential reward, a "coffee-themed gift."

We were hoping for 30 certification completions. We landed at 57.

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Read the entire success story to see what we learned.

Every experience matters.

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Make every experience matter

As Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker and author, famously said, "People don't buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons."

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Your job: Generate memorable experiences that lead to emotional reasons to buy.

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Experiences matter.

And they cannot feel random. 

They must be intentional.

They must be connected.

They must earn trust and move the conversation (and relationship) forward.

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As Kacie shared in The Secret Sauce to Winning in B2B? Be Unforgettable,  “In the experience economy, the brands that win are the ones investing in community (giving, expecting nothing in return) and creating unforgettable moments — blending digital with real-life magic to actually stick with customers.”

Ready to join the 20,000+ Sendoso users? Request a demo now

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the experience economy and how does it apply to B2B marketing?

The experience economy is a concept introduced by B. Joseph Pine II and James Gilmore in 1999, describing an economy where experiences have become the predominant economic offering. In B2B marketing, this means moving beyond selling just services or products to creating memorable, omnichannel experiences that break through digital noise and connect with people on a personal level. Companies like Sendoso are leveraging this approach to help revenue teams double win rates and close deals 29% faster.

2. Why is now the best time to invest in experience-led B2B marketing?

Three key factors make this the optimal time: digital fatigue (buyers are overwhelmed by constant digital communication), longer sales cycles (increased by 32% from 2021 to 2022 due to economic uncertainty), and rising buyer expectations (78% of business buyers expect companies to adapt to their changing needs, yet 46% feel treated like a number). These challenges create an opportunity for companies that can stand out through meaningful experiences.

3. What evidence shows that digital-only approaches are losing effectiveness?

The data reveals significant decline in digital engagement: cold email response rates decreased 26% year-over-year, decision makers receive 11 cold sales emails daily, 58% of buyers avoid suppliers sending too many messages, and nearly 50% of B2B buyers find B2B ads boring. This digital fatigue demonstrates why purely online approaches are no longer sufficient.

4. What is the hybrid approach to B2B marketing and why is it effective?

The hybrid approach combines physical touchpoints with intentional digital sequences at strategic moments, rather than relying solely on digital or physical outreach. This method is supported by compelling data: buyers use an average of 10 interaction channels in their journey, are 2x more likely to purchase when engaged both digitally and with sales reps, and direct mail achieves 68% engagement rates compared to 25% with digital alone.

5. Can you provide a real example of successful experience-led marketing?

Gong's "mini gong" campaign is a prime example. They created custom boxes with mini gongs, purple crinkle paper, branded tape, and handwritten notes asking recipients to "share the mini gong with an all-star sales performer." Sales reps coordinated follow-up emails when packages were delivered, asking "Who did you give it to?" This single hybrid campaign generated 400+ new opportunities and tens of millions in pipeline.

6. How does experience-led marketing differ from traditional B2B marketing?

Traditional B2B marketing focuses on lead generation, product promotion, and feature-benefit messaging. Experience-led marketing prioritizes creating meaningful and valuable interactions throughout the entire customer journey, building trust through expertise, and designing experiences that make the buying process easier and more informed for customers. It's about creating value at every interaction rather than just promoting features.

7. What makes a B2B experience effective and memorable?

Effective B2B experiences must be intentional, connected, and designed to earn trust while moving conversations and relationships forward. They cannot feel random but should be strategically designed to generate emotional reasons to buy, as people make purchasing decisions based on emotions rather than purely logical reasons. The key is blending digital with real-life magic to create unforgettable moments.

8. How can smaller campaigns still be effective in experience-led marketing?

Sendoso's internal "Sip Your Way to Success" campaign demonstrates that scale doesn't determine effectiveness. This small-scale campaign combined skill-building promises with coffee-themed rewards through a two-part email series. Despite hoping for 30 certification completions, they achieved 57, proving that even modest campaigns can deliver strong results when properly designed around meaningful experiences.

9. What role do tools like Sendoso play in creating these experiences?

Platforms like Sendoso (along with Clay, UserGems, and Dreamdata) help teams create and measure experience-led marketing campaigns. As a gifting and direct mail platform, Sendoso specifically enables the physical touchpoint component of hybrid strategies, allowing companies to send meaningful items that complement their digital outreach and create memorable unboxing experiences.

10. How do rising buyer expectations impact B2B sales strategies?

Modern buyers apply the same expectations to B2B purchases as they do to B2C experiences, influenced by their daily exposure to smartphones, social channels, and tech advancements. With 85% of business buyers stating that customer experiences should be better considering all the data companies collect, B2B sellers must adapt by creating personalized, memorable end-to-end experiences that meet these elevated expectations or risk being perceived as treating buyers "like a number."

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