Author Archives: scottlyons1

Purchasing Embarrassing Products

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Self-service is better service. This is especially the case when it comes to self-serve checkouts. Yes, they can reduce labour costs. So too can they ease line congestion. But what is often overlooked is the ability for self-serve checkouts to alleviate the awkwardness felt by purchasing embarrassing products.

Products that may be perceived to be embarrassing include condoms, pregnancy testers and adult magazines. Yet without self-serve checkouts a customer has to rely on a range of coping strategies in order to reduce embarrassment. One such coping strategy is purchasing other “non-embarrassing” products in addition to the embarrassing product/s. Current understanding is that customers do this not to distract the register staff and take away attention from the embarrassing product, but rather to balance out the shopping basket in order to portray, on the whole, a more desirable image.

What is important for managers, however, is knowing just what sort of products a customer typically buys to mitigate the unease. Contrary to what may appear true, these products are chosen with care and not randomly. For instance, a person buying antidiuretic tablets would not choose to combine this purchase with new underwear, as to do so would portray a negative image that would only exacerbate the felt embarrassment. In each context, products need to be neutral in nature. With this knowledge in mind, it is the responsibility of store managers to not only position potentially embarrassing products in more secluded areas where there are few onlookers, but also to position such products in areas where more “normal” products are readily available.

The value of an incomplete idea

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An incomplete idea is better than no idea at all.

It sounds obvious. Yet so many of us do not express an idea unless it is the holy grail itself. The fear of being shot down can be hard to overcome.

For those of you who have attended design thinking workshops, the first rule is that there is no such thing as a bad idea. The success of design thinking is that it relies on teams building upon each other’s often incomplete ideas. Ideation is an iterative process.

It’s unlikely the iPod would have been invented without the less successful MP3 player before it.

By expressing your imperfect ideas you can allow others to shape them to be great.

The Secret to Hotel Management

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Hotel

When it comes to hotels, delighting guests will generate referrals, positive reviews and repeat stays. However, customer delight is normally only achieved if all elements of the hotel experience hit the mark. It therefore seems a distant dream for many managers.

But there is a trick, a cheat, if you like. Continue reading →

Why I avoid the term, ‘consumer’

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I often refrain from using the word, ‘consumer’, and there’s a clear reason why. As businesses are set up often with multiple links in the supply chain, the term ‘consumer’ was coined to distinguish between business customers (wholesalers) and customers who are the end-users of a product. However, ‘end-customer’ can just as easily be used to make this distinction.

‘Consumer’ assumes that people are dumb. It assumes humans are passive, predictable and basic. A product or service is provided, and people supposedly just consume it. But are we really that passive and simple?

Modern understanding of marketing suggests that value is often co-created. Individuals can customise or alter a product to suit their needs. They use a product, they do not consume it. For instance, do children consume lego, or do they use the product to create something that satisfies their individual needs? Is a Rolex watch “consumed” as if it were to provide only a functional benefit, or is the watch purchased to provide a sense of identity to its owner? We do not simply sit there with our mouths opened passively waiting to consume some product or marketing drivel.

If organisations fail to recognise the intelligence of their customers to use, mould and re-create their products, they will lose these customers to other businesses that make this acknowledgement. Make the switch. Scrap ‘consumer’.

Queuing in Stores

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAQueues. We hate them. Yet lining up has become a reality that we have come to expect when shopping in retail stores. However, there are queues and then there are queues. What happens when stores fail to confine their lines to a reasonable level?

Put simply, customers get PISSED OFF when they are stuck waiting in line! There are few things people hate more than having their time wasted. Yet what is particularly fascinating about queuing is that it is the last thing that customers do before exiting the store, and therefore queues strongly influences a customer’s last impression. So it is bemusing that companies often focus so heavily on customer service interactions within the store only to have all the good work undone in a clogged up line.

There are two simple solutions. The first is to actually invest more heavily in resources to reduce queue sizes. However, sometimes, especially in peak periods, large queues are inevitable. This leads to the second simple solution: if customers do not like queues because they feel like their time is being wasted, then find a way to occupy customers’ time whilst they queue. Avoid having customers staring blankly at the person in front of them, occasionally looking up to assess the speed of the current transaction being put through at the counter. Just like waiting for the kettle to boil or watching a clock tick, everything becomes SLOWER! Instead, here are a few tips to keep customers satisfied.

  1. TVS. Choose channels less reliant on sound. Sport is a good option
  2. Display “novel” products near the counter that capture attention. Not only will customers have the perception that they are still shopping rather than being stuck in line, but the store may just sell more too!
  3. Provide water- It costs next to nothing to purchase water dispensers, so why do stores not provide free water to their customers?
  4. Talk! So long as staff are available, talk to customers as they are lining up. The power of conversation as a distraction should not be underestimated.

Social Media Marketing Done Wrong!

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Social media is fast becoming the primary marketing communications channel adopted by organisations. Yet it seems that the majority of companies have not the slightest clue as to how to actually do it.

Forget about the intricacies; inorganic reach, number of followers, how often to post content, etc. The problem is much more central. Organisations fail to grasp the actual purpose of social media marketing communication, and thus their content and communication strategies are flawed to begin with.

The common practice is for companies to build up their follower base, then promote, promote, promote. Of course, social media costs next to nothing, and this is what tempts managers into using these channels to promote.

However, customers despise promotion. They do not take well to being advertised to, and they do not like being told what to do, or what to buy. If all they see in their news feeds are ‘sale on now!’ then they are not going to take kindly to brands who post these messages.

The purpose of social media marketing is to build and nurture relationships with customers. To do this effectively, brands should not make requests of customers (through demanding their money), but rather should seek to give back value to customers. The ways in which this can be done are numerous. Publish some useful articles, share entertaining videos or memes, or provide some free, professional advice. Even start a conversation with followers and hear what they have to say, but show they are being listened to through actively responding. The list goes on.

Not only will this approach result in enhanced trust, but it will also bolster brand recognition and recall. The next time a customer is looking to make a purchase in the industry that you operate in, your brand will be the first that comes to their mind. Job done.

Management Concepts Taught Poorly

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If you see someone trying to skip for the first time, getting their feet tangled up and failing miserably, what do you do? Do you tell them, ‘Hey, the rope is hitting your feet!” or do you offer them advice as to how to skip correctly?

Of course, you do the latter.

Now, if you were to explain to a friend what skipping is, do you say “skipping involves repeatedly slinging a rope against your ankles” or do you say that “skipping involves repeatedly jumping over a rope”?

Of course, you say the latter.

So why is that so many management academics continue to define a concept based on how it is incorrectly applied, rather than by how it is done successfully? Take Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an example. There is a strong business case for CSR, whereby firms that invest in acting socially responsible can see large returns from an enhanced reputation, reduced risks, and more. Yet academics preach that CSR is a reactive approach, and is often done to respond to crises as they occur. Customers are therefore skeptical, believing that companies are merely covering their backsides.

This is not the reality of CSR, but rather the reality of CSR done poorly. Effective CSR is done proactively. It is not just about window-dressing. It is about actively seeking to do what is right and ethical to all stakeholders, preventing an issue from arising in the first place. This is how CSR should be taught. Yet I fear that the next generation of managers will strut around thinking CSR is ineffective. Or worse, that it should be done reactively.

Another example- disruptive technology. This term can be defined as technology that supersedes existing technology, and over time it renders current products obsolete. For example, the personal computer replaced the typewriter. Digital cameras replaced film cameras. Conservative academics teach the concept of disruptive technology as technology that leading firms defensively adopt in order to achieve competitive parity with pioneering firms.

Of course, this may happen, but it is not what should happen. The pursuit of disruptive technologies by leading firms should be highly sought after, as whilst creating a new product may cannibalise existing products, if it is not done, somebody else will do it, and by acting first you can achieve a first-mover advantage. So while we are taught that the adoption of disruptive technologies is done reactively, in reality, disruptive technologies should be developed and adopted proactively. Companies that fail to do so end up like Kodak, or Nokia.

While It is good to understand why concepts may fail, the failures should not define the concept. Just as skipping is not defined as getting a rope tangled around your feet.