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Biting The Apple-Changing The Paradigm
"It’s time to drink the Kool-Aid." Ever heard that phrase? It’s old and used a lot. So, I’d like to suggest a new phrase-" It’s time to bite the Apple."
What does that mean exactly? If you’ve been into an Apple retail store, you will know. If you haven’t, well, it’s time to “bite the Apple” and go see and experience for yourself the most dynamic and exciting experience at retail to come along in quite some time. This past Sunday, I could not even move inside my local Apple retail store as there were so many people there.
Here are the things that I noticed about the Apple retail shopping experience:
1. The signage is world class and simple. I can find what I need on my own and immediately interact with it.
2. The people are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and helpful. All of them. No attitudes. Clearly not on commission. They love working at Apple.
3. The products selection is clearly defined and each product has lots of space around it so you can see the design of the product and interact with it. Very expensive retail space with probably less than 500 sku’s. How are they profitable when the most expensive product is 1799.00? Volume.
4. The stores are immaculately designed, clean and well-lit. No obvious florescent lighting, wide aisles, plenty of space and everything I need to make a decision is available to me intuitively. However, if you need help, all you have to do is turn around and someone is there to answer your questions-wearing a clearly identifiable white cord around their neck. It’s not the name tag, it’s the cord which allows you to identify the salespeople.
No one is pushing you, no one is trying to obviously "sell" you anything. No one cares if you are just there to PLAY and LEARN. and, if that IS what you want to do, Apple has many ways to help you do it.
5. Every aspect of the Apple experience- packaging, store design, website, advertising, etc. flows seamlessly from the product design. Everything. There is a common visual language that is being used to create brand identity that is completely consistent across all organizational touchpoints. Even the people seem to embody this "visual" identity.
6. Every interaction you can have with Apple is thought out to be "best in class." For instance, when I went to buy my IPod Nano, I didn’t have to go to a desk to check out. My salesperson just unhitched his scanner from his belt, ran my credit card through his hand held machine and I was done. No waiting in a line!!! Time is money and I was so glad to give him my money and have more time to shop. Brilliant.
7. There was a place for kids to play. Guess what they were playing with? Apple computers. What are kids playing with in your store? Are they or could they be playing with computer games that help them move furniture or build furniture for their dollhouses or treehouses? Surely that software exists?
8. Besides world class functionality and design(by now, EXPECTED by Apple devotees) what is Apple doing to differentiate themselves? They are offering customized, personalized interaction experiences with extremely knowledgeable and well-trained salespeople and, they are giving everyone the chance to MAKE APPOINTMENTS and SIGN UP online.
What are the take-aways from the Apple selling experience for our business?
1. When you offer exciting and unique products that are functional and well-designed, people are curious. They want to explore you.
2. Today, they want first, many times, to explore you online. They want to get a FEELING about you online. They want to see if their needs match up to your offering. They get this FEELING from how truthful and real they believe your copy/content to be, how well your website is laid out, how the graphics emphasize your message, what colors you use, whether or not you let them explore every detail of your products easily, whether or not you offer them guidance(and what kind) online and whether or not you really are interested in making it CONVENIENT for them to shop with you on their own terms. So, your website is your FIRST STOREFRONT-even if you don’t sell online.
3. By letting customers sign up for detailed tutorials online-even if they didn’t buy the product from your store(how to measure and design a room, what cleaning codes mean, etc.), you help consumers save time and you, as the retailer, know what people are interested in and where the demand is. Brilliant. You let them know that you are there to help them educate themselves so they will feel more confident and secure in their decisions.
4. People are looking for places to gather that are fun, stimulating and educational. Lots of people in your store equals lots of other people being curious about what so many other people are finding interesting.
5. People are looking for adult ways to play and gather-isn’t it just possible that your customer might be encouraged by your store layout or special events to strike up a conversation with someone other than a salesperson? One that is based on a mutual shared interest?
6. When you get people into your store for education, the chances of them buying an add-on product are increased dramatically.
7. When people see other people getting excited, they get excited, too.
8. People buy in groups-especially younger consumers.
9. People don’t want to be pushed and want only to receive the information that is relevant to their own needs at that time in their decision making cycle. And those needs change throughout the buying cycle. Consumers don’t want to ever feel pushed, rushed or made to feel guilty because they are not buying something from you that day. And if your salespeople are made to feel guilty or chastened if they didn’t meet quotas that day the whole game falls apart.
Apple corporate TRUSTS the consumer. Apple first strives to deliver world-class functionality and design and then advertises it consistently across all touchpoints. Apple TRUSTS that the consumer sees it, reads reviews about it and says "Iwant" it. They are building demand. What the consumer doesn’t always know is how to USE every aspect of it to enhance their lives.
Thus, Apple retail was born. And, thus, your businesses can also be transformed by biting off what you can chew from Apple’s model and making your stores, websites, advertising and catalogs visually consistent, exciting, personalized, places of learning and fun. It’s time to change the paradigm and learn how to help your consumers PLAY-and then they will pay… for the experience of buying from you-as Apple is proving every day.
Undetermined commented:
Dear Bill: Thank you for voicing your opinion. That's what these columns are for-to get opinions-positive or negative. They all add to the conversation that we need to have in order to move our industry forward. I would love to talk with you further to explain the intent of my column in more detail to you. Please feel free to call me or email me if you would like. Also,if you are a new reader, you may not know that I spent 20 years as a commissioned sales designer myself and spent all of 2003, 4 and 5 and 6 training training commissioned sales people across the country. That's why having another conversation with you might be meaningful. I would never disparage sales people as they are, for the most part, where the rubber still meets the road in retail sales. However, the sales paradigm IS changing-whether we all like it or not-so we have to be prepared to win-and not just prepared not to lose. I am speaking at the All-Industry Conference next weekend in the Bahamas on "How Retailers and Manufacturers Can Work Together To Support The Retail Sales Consultant" and, if you are attending, please attend my session. We ALL need to come together to align our businesses with the needs of today's consumers. The real issue is the internet is fast and humans are slow-we always will be! So, there is a huge disparity now between the online experience for furniture researchers and the offline shopping experience. That's why sales people have to be extremely well trained and, ideally, not be on commission, but on a team bonus so that the consumer is not made to feel guilty when they cross shop. We may not like it, but that is what the consumer wantsto be able to do-shop and buy across all touch points without having to worry about whether someone is on commission. I know, human relationships can suffer and I don't like it, either, but that is what is happening in retail today and as, I heard a very well known retailer say last year, "Innovate or evaporate." Harsh, but, as we are seeing, true, for many of our industry's finest companies.
Undetermined commented:
Leslie : I'm not sure why this story is in Furniture Today. It sounds more like a Computer Story. Why not compare sales at a Dairy Queen on a hot summer evening to a Furniture Store. Very little relationship. That sales people have less attitude because they are not on commission is absurd. Commission sales don’t create attitude problems, the business its self does. Sounds like you’re not too fond of sales people and would more enjoy working with sales clerks. I believe in the American way where we earn what we receive and would prefer not having a cap put on my earnings or that of those who work with me. Now let’s talk Funeral Homes and traffic.
Undetermined commented:
I work at a store in a mall across from an Apple store. Recently when I opened the mall was quiet except for the 28 people waiting for the Apple store to open. They are constanly busy and customers are walking out with bags and boxes. I agree we need to make stores fun and interactive. Great article.
Undetermined commented:
Richard: Thanks for the positive feedback. If you would like, contact Clint Engel. He is FT's senior retail editor and is very open to new stories and new people and really appreciates hearing from FT's readers. Good luck and thanks again.
Undetermined commented:
Leslie What a refreshing article-very unlike Furniture Today- which in my opinion needs its on Apple effect and face lift. They probably think the apple store is some type of produce vendor Hope to read more of you insights-heck you should be running the place. cheers. Richard (A modern manufacturer that FT rarely talks about!)
Undetermined commented:
Tiffany: Thanks for writing. I would love to talk with you about turning your store into a best in class retail experience. Please feel free to give me a call at 713.705.2482 and we can talk further about working together professionally to move your company forward.
Undetermined commented:
How exactly can I turn my retail store into an apple store? We sell home decor, furniture, and mattresses. We are a small town store; and the thought of people crowding in is amazing. Any help?
Undetermined commented:
Stephanie: Thanks for your comments-I appreciate them~ Please share the blog with others whom you think would benefit from the ideas it contains. Let's get this dialogue going.
Undetermined commented:
Wow, Leslie! Great understanding of one of the most powerful retail experiences on the planet, and freely shared. It is way past time for home furnishings retail – and those who support them – to see the apple, pick up the apple, and make yummy fun pie parties of their own. I'm a little late reading this column, and so glad I did. Great work.
Undetermined commented:
Jon: Thank you very much for writing such a detailed response. It's always exciting to hear from a consumer who has been convinced-and actually DOES- pay more due to an exciting and stimulating retail store experience. What is also exciting about Apple is exactly what you're mentioning-they always have a new and better product to capture your attention and get you to continue buying into the Apple brand. They hook you on functionality, fun, design and cross-channel ease of shopping, but when you step into the retail environment, you get to see it ALL TOGETHER in one place and it IS stimulating-so many best in class products under one well-designed roof. Thanks for taking the time to write!
Undetermined commented:
Dear Donna: I'm glad you liked the article-please pass it along to anyone you know who might benefit from reading it. Thanks for the compliment, too!
Undetermined commented:
I'm a geek and not your normal readership, I'm sure... but I have to say your observations are right on. The only thing I don't like about Apple stores is that they are too crowded. This wasn't the case when they first opened, but apparently everyone else has discovered them as well. (I found a solution- I show up on offdays and at off times.) Another thing that Apple has managed to do over the past 5-10 years is to get me to pay full retail-- worse, full retail plus tax. I'm a very cheap person generally in just about every area of my life- I'll pick a set of toothbrushes because they are $0.50 cheaper even if I don't like the color. When Apple stopped discounting, I continued to buy products online because I wanted to avoid the %8 local sales tax. However, since Apple has facilities in my state, they have to charge me sales tax online- so I would shop from the other discount online retailers. But at some point my behaviour changed, and now I go to the Apple store when I want something- I don't mind paying the %8 in taxes on top of full retail... because the hassle factor makes this worth it. (I know, its irrational, and I'm shocked that this is the case- but it is.) Even online operations- ones with no expensive retail presence to maintain- generally can't get their act together. And so I drive down to my apple store, fighting traffic and the crowds, and pay $50-$100 more for an item... and don't think twice about it, until I just now when I realized that Apple had changed my habits while reading your article. I have never had a retail experience like that- in fact, I generally shop for everything online to avoid stores and annoying salespeople, and to save money. But not computers and related stuff- tomorow I'll be going to the store to buy a Time Capsule and a pair of headphones. $600, and probably $60 in taxes. (Ugh, those taxes!)
Undetermined commented:
Leslie: I LOVED your article. You are so "right on". I look forward to reading them in the future. PS You look very pretty in your picture!!!!
