“The Right Stuff,” first a book by Tom Wolfe then a successful movie, is a study in competition. It describes the competition between test pilots for altitude and speed records, the competition between astronauts for plum assignments, and the competition between superpowers for dominance in space.
Competition between retailers is perhaps not quite as high stakes but it is definitely as fierce, with successes measured in sales per square foot rather than successful earth orbits. And like the space race, the outcome will be decided by a combination of technology and people with the Right Stuff.
The technology is interactive video on the sales floor. Whether it is purely for elevating the customer experience, like Hollister stores streaming live video of the California beach to reinforce its brand, or fully realized monetization programs with QR codes, digital apps and digital coupons, the result is ultimately the same: more sales.
Telenet Mobile, a major European mobile device retailer, uses interactive digital signage to enhance customer service and reduce operating costs. Three 46 inch touchscreens guide customers through the process of deciding which smartphone to buy, based on preferences like price range, features, phone plans, and accessories. Customers are then guided to two or three phones in the store that meet their criteria. A 10 inch LCD screen sits atop each smartphone display providing additional information about that phone. Finally, a customer can then get additional assistance by speaking with a virtual specialist at the Smart Care Corner where they speak directly to a specialist team at Telenet Mobile’s headquarters.
The results: the stores equipped with the signage require fewer sales associates on the floor, so labor costs have decreased. But the customer appreciation levels in the stores are higher than in stores without the signage. And most important, the average order value per customer is “notably higher” in the stores with signage. You can read the article in ScreenMedia Daily.
But the metaphor does not end here, because the space program did not run on technology alone. It required people; the best of the best, heroes with the Right Stuff to sit atop those rockets, fly to the stars, and bring the craft home safely when there was a problem in Houston. With whole chapters of the book devoted to lavish recountings of the rigorous training, it was clear that part of acquiring and nurturing the Right Stuff was training. It still is.
No streaming beach scene or digital coupon will take the place of an engaged sales associate on your floor, even if technology allows you to have fewer of them. You have to do a great job hiring to get the “best of the best,” but you have to provide comprehensive training to develop and retain those employees. You must give your employees the knowledge they need to add value at the point of contact, the skills they need to advance and build a career within the company, and the ongoing communication with senior leadership they need to build and sustain a corporate culture that becomes a real differentiator in a crowded marketplace.
The race for control of the markets will be won by the retailers who commit to giving the people what they want. The winners will elevate the customer experience through video and music. They will provide kiosks and tablets to empower customers and sales associates with information right at the point of decision. The winners will make the in-store shopping experience notably better than the online experience because they will provide the technology to replicate the best features of the at-home experience – like the ability to search for reviews or product information – while providing motivated customer service from highly trained employees augmented by point of sale digital apps.
Digital display and corporate learning are two well-defined markets with plenty of products competing for your attention. But what sets Tempo apart, what gives us the Right Stuff, is the fact that we are not just a learning solution or a digital signage solution; we are a communications platform with which you can communicate on multiple screens – televisions, signs, computers, mobile devices – for numerous applications. With one platform you can control your digital display, your employee training, your video asset management, your employee collaboration, your live streaming events, and your enterprise content delivery. With Tempo you can do all of this with one unified infrastructure, one coherent user experience, and one comprehensive set of analytics. If you have a different vendor for each video application in your enterprise, you are building a digital Tower of Babel with video silos that will lower your digital ROI.
The space race seemed at the time to be about control of the universe. Competition amongst retailers is perhaps not quite so grand in scope but it is definitely existential. Losers will perish. That is why it is so exciting to be in our industry and why I cannot wait to go to the National Retail Federation show in a few days and hear from the retailers who are doing it best.
Michael Grant, Sales Manager, Tempo
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