'Tis the Season when retail shines and shows off enticing retail experience approaches. After all, it's the 2011 Holidays and retailers have been working hard to engage and connect with customers - from magical holiday windows to online communications and in-store interactions.
This past Saturday I experienced - with my daughter - retail windows in New York City. Here follow my Holiday 2011 Observations!
Holiday 2011 Retail Windows
Holiday retail windows in New York City are a must-see! The good ones truly capture the magic of retail and draw mesmerized crowds.
Our favorites [i.e., where we lingered] were Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor and Macy's.
We had to go by Linda Fargo's Bergdorf Goodman Holiday windows, which -as always- are mesmerizing. My photo - seen here - doesn't do justice to the creativity and story-telling taking place. Definitely check out the link to Bergdorf's Blog, 5th and 58th for the Carnival of the Animals which includes photos that you can truly pour over.
Lord & Taylor's windows were based on a 1941 sketch asking what Christmas is made of and featured the artwork of kids from shelters and local schools. See Lord & Taylor Got Local Kids to Design their Holiday Windows.
Macy's Herald Square windows focused on "Make a Wish" and included interactive Make-a-Wish ornament design kiosks - a fascinating integration of the digital experience with the real-world. Otherwise passive window viewers get to interact with them and create something which connects Macy's with those viewers. [Below are pictures of the kiosk and our ornament.]
The Digital Retail Experience & Macy's Holiday 2011 Windows
The last time we experimented with Macy's digital holiday windows experience ~ 2 years ago, my daughter sent a letter to Santa again, via an interactive kiosk. What was different this time was the ability, via mobile, to get a copy of what we had created and have it live beyond that ephemeral creation experience.
User or Customer Experience Reactions
Once the ornament created, we could text a code [based on cryptic instructions]. The texted code generated a URL which in turn invited us to leave an email address, confirm age and name. Once confirmed, I had the opportunity to publish the ornament on my Facebook page. Now, when I go back to the original text message URL, it loads a picture of my ornament - but I can't email the URL.
Recommendation: add social sharing to that URL
I got the confirmation process wrong the first time. I entered my daughter's age [she created the ornament]. Although I saw no error message [remember this is happening on a mobile phone screen], I decided the next time to enter my age and email. It worked. Yeah.
Recommendation: add a few more explanations
I hate having to go through multiple registrations on my smart phone. It's difficult, and it's time consuming especially in a public setting [i.e., streets of NYC]. Although I eventually connected with Facebook, I would have appreciated an easier process.
Recommendation: fewer steps
I submitted an email address and yet, to date, I've received no email confirmation of my ornament. What a missed opportunity to connect with me, especially after having such an intense retail experience. I'm wondering why I even bothered to go through the registration process.
Recommendation: be smart about what you ask customers for. Think how to use emails, especially those obtained in a permission based way, to connect with customers and strengthen the relationship.
If you had the opportunity to create a Macy's Make-a-Wish ornament, I'd love to hear your reactions.
By the way, according to DDI Magazine, Macy’s Herald Square Awarded Best Holiday Windows in New York. Bergdorf and Tiffany also received top honors.
If you love store windows, you might enjoy these two previous blog articles:
Your turn.
What do you do with your store windows? Do you vary them according to the seasons and holidays? Do they express your creativity? How do you use them to connect with customers?
What do you for the Holidays? Do you modify your retail experience? What has worked for your business and your customers?
Here is this week's recap of Retail Experience in the News links and resources for 12/16/11. Enjoy!
I'm off with my daughter tomorrow to check out NYC holiday store windows. I'd love to hear about your holiday shopping observations...
Retail Experience Ideas
Retail Experience and the Consumer
Integrating Online/Offline Retail Experiences
Happy holiday shopping and retail experiencing! Be sure to let me know what you encounter and what catches your attention!
For previous issues of Retail Experience in the News, click on this link [and also this one].
Consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer Blog!
Thanks for reading!
Best,
C.B.
I love coming across examples of businesses and industries using social media effectively. This should come as no surprise to you given 100+ Case Studies: Social Media Marketing Examples. In this article, I focus on car dealers.
FastCompany.com published an article in January 2010 titled Why Going Social Can Make or Break the Automotive Industry.
The article refers to the automotive industry as a 'needs' industry and states that "people can only hold onto their current vehicles for so long before needing to add to or replace them. Without action, many in the industry will see the rebound of slow sales over the last 2 years, but many are turning to a "new" way of reaching out to the consumers: social media."
Many industries, including flooring, many home- or building-focused industries, even apparel, strike me as being similarly needs based. Would you agree?
The article calls attention to how the car industry has traditionally communicated marketing messages to customers - namely in non-social ways:
"The nature of social media - being social and engaging with other people - is something that has been foreign to an industry that has relied on direct, to-the-point advertising to get their message across."
Exceptions exist - e.g., Ford and Scott Monty. However, at the car dealer level where customers come into direct contact with car brands and the people representing them, and where they look for someone to trust for their purchase and long-term service relationship, social media hasn't yet been embraced as a means to engage.
Social media engagement goes beyond pushing traditional marketing messages about automotive deals and discounts through Facebook and Twitter. It requires listening [see Car dealers don't listen on Twitter either] and responding, being human and truly addressing what matters when customers reach out to car dealers.
Here are two good car dealer social media examples you may enjoy.
What's your reaction? Have you come across examples of car dealers effectively using social media to connect with customers?
What about dealers in other industries?
For your Friday reading pleasure, here is the recap of
Retail Experience in the News links and resources for 12/9/11. Enjoy!
Retail Experience Ideas
The Consumer
Integrating Online/Offline Retail Experiences
And, in anticipation of the Holidays, shopping and the retail experience, I thought you might enjoy this Twitter exchange started by Kit Yarrow, author of Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail on Dec 03, 8:34am:
- I wonder how retail experts like @RetailProphet @stephfierman @ADHumlen @abmarkman @David_Rogers @CBWhittemore @TheLincolnKing holiday shop
- - ADHumlen Dec 03, 11:06am via Web -- Hello @GenBuy & friends @RetailProphet @stephfierman @abmarkman @David_Rogers @CBWhittemore @TheLincolnKing -almost all my HShop done online
- David_Rogers Dec 03, 11:10am via Twitter for iPhone -- 3 Stages of Holidays: 1) Denial 2) Avoidance 3) Amazon @GenBuy @RetailProphet @stephfierman @ADHumlen @abmarkman @CBWhittemore
- RetailProphet Dec 03, 1:09pm via Twitter for iPad -- irrationally like everyone else ;-)@GenBuy: @RetailProphet @stephfierman @ADHumlen @abmarkman @David_Rogers @CBWhittemore
- TheLincolnKing Dec 03, 1:30pm via Web -- @GenBuy @RetailProphet @stephfierman @ADHumlen @abmarkman @David_Rogers @CBWhittemore 75/25 on/off 4 tablets w online coupons, shoes online
My response: @genbuy Bemoan Xmas creep, excess, 2much noise. Build lofty plans in head re: NYC Hday windows for mood. Go online & Target [very local]
Happy holiday shopping!
For previous issues of Retail Experience in the News, click on this link [and also this one].
Consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer Blog!
Thanks for reading!
Best,
C.B.
I hate wasting time. It generates too many negative feelings - including wanting to never deal with that resource ever again. It's the same for our customers.
Although the worst examples of wasting time come from waiting around in doctors' offices, plenty abound elsewhere, including at retail.
If you think about what your customers experience and what their concerns are, I bet you can rapidly come up with ways to eliminate wasted time in your retail experience. The result: you will not only maximize waiting time, but also connect with customers. Not bad.
I've written about poor waiting experiences before [see Hall of Shame Inductee - LabCorp]. I've also touched on Waiting & the Retail Experience and the practices that 'bend' time or change customer perceptions about lapsed time [e.g., offer interaction, get rid of uncertainty, ensure companionship, and offer diversions].
As Disney Magic Or Common Sense - A Consumer-First Philosophy reminded me, the more you focus on your customer's experience, the better you can deliver value, maximize time and come up with solutions that truly delight. Now, that's exciting!
I noticed the following statement from that article: "... healthcare providers and manufacturers are choosing to run their businesses in a way that works for them, not the consumer." That brought to mind Customer Service Reality Check: Best Quality or Not? which represented an example of what not to do.
Would you issue such a letter? How do you go about communicating change and possibly inconvenient-for-your-customer news?
Waiting Rooms Aren't Just for Waiting brings up ways to make better use of waiting rooms by converting the space into a learning center with educational tools that appeal to customers [aka patients] and even offer the means of measuring progress.
I bet 'waiting room' opportunities exist in your business. How do you deal with them? How have you transformed them into opportunities for connecting with customers and maximizing waiting time?
Here are a few examples that come to mind:
- Transform your showroom bathrooms into vignettes.
- Offer ideabooks and video customer testimonials.
- Create an area in your store with idea boards, vignettes, color stories...
- Dedicate a space in your showroom for customers to go online to read articles you've written, examine photos of previous jobs, and sign up for email updates.
- Create tip sheets and offer hard copy, as well as a digital version, to customers.
- Ensure that you create meeting reminders in Outlook for any customer appointments. Then, call to confirm the meeting an hour or two before the meeting.
What else do you see being effective?
As you're considering examples and ideas, I think you'll enjoy this YouTube video from John Lewis, a UK retailer. It's powerful and casts new meaning on time and 'giving'!
Subscribers, click on John Lewis Christmas Advert 2011 to view on YouTube.
Thanks for reading.
Best,
C.B.
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Image credit: “Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back.” on Flickr.