The eyes of the aisles are on you

A few weeks back I was at a retail,technology show checking out the latest in shopper/store technology. On Monday this week I was at my usual training session where I keep up with the latest in what's happening in the business world. It's always great and led by my friend, the Futurist, Craig Rispin. www.futuretrendsgroup.com

He introduced us to the latest innovations in shopper monitoring technology. Some of which I had seen at the show. Systems that watch what your eyes are doing and what you look like and change the ads in response. On Tuesday I visited a vendor of a technology that looks at how people - customers and staff - operate in a retail and banking space. This is fascinating and can provide some excellent insights.

In our business as customer experience consultants we see these as valuable tools. They help us see what type of people the business is attracting and also what takes their attention. They told me about a store that wanted to know about the behaviour of people who chose a particular brand of sweets. They learnt that people who bought the particular sweets also bought two other items over 48% of the time. But they had to go across the store to get the extra items. So the store ran a test to see if they placed all the items close together would more people buy all the items more often. They did!


This is hardly new. There used to be a biscuit aisle in the supermarket. It was the place you went to get all the types of biscuits that they stocked. using the same principle as above you will now find the cracker biscuits at the cheese section and chocolate biscuits placed strategically near the coffee. Using this new technology as you approach the coffee the system will scan you, make decisions about our age and sex and then alter the ads on the digital display accordingly based on some pre-determined persona's.


Here is an article from the Sydney Morning Herald which looks at this new area.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/look-customers-in-the-eyes-to-lock-them-in-the-aisles-20110625-1gkwo.html


There is a trap here! Its all to easy to be seduced by the technology that tells you how people behaved. What it won't tell you is how people are feeling.


In simple terms it will tell you the metrics of the customers and react accordingly, it won't tell you the mood of the customers.

Consider this. A large US retailer (industry withheld to be polite) set up the fastest checkouts in their industry. They thought that this would give them an advantage. This new technology may also have made them extra sales. They surveyed their customers to find that their satisfaction scores had not gone up despite a substantial investment is systems and speed at the checkout. Their competitor also did surveys and exit interviews of their customers and found the major drivers of satisfaction and heightened experience.


The second store chain sold more product. Why? The customer feedback from both stores showed the major drivers of a Magnetic experience were - being able to find a sales person withing 90 seconds, someone who knew what they were taking about or who found someone who did, and someone who knew where things were in the store. The first store did not have all these attributes so their CSI score was way down. People could get out fast but they were not very happy when they got to the super speed checkout.


As a result of the research the first store put on many extra staff and did much more product training.


Whey the long story. Mood is just as important as metrics. Store one with only metrics may have missed what the questioning of the customer mood turned up.


A great example of this is the brand new Bunnings store in Chatswood, NSW. When it opened it was just full of staff. All armed with little maps that they gave customers so they could find their way round the unfamiliar store. As a frequent offender at hardware stores I met a fellow I knew from the Artarmon store. I asked if he had been transferred. No he said. He had been put on secondment while the customers became familiar with the new store and the layout. He was then told he would go back from whence he came. Over time he explained the staff number could be reduced to a normal level as regulars would need less help. at the new store no one was a regular!


Great customer experience thinking. Manage the mood by getting the experience drivers right!

Call me on 0414 55 33 33 if you want to look at the latest metrics and mood solutions for your business.

Googles Wonder Wheel can boost your business - literally

Peter Thorpe is an internet expert.

Here is a very interesting and potentially profitable piece he wrote on making sure that your website is the best it can be - when it comes to being found.

GOOGLE'S WONDERFUL WONDER WHEEL

Have you ever used Google's Wonder Wheel? Chances are you've never even heard of it - let alone used it. It's a well kept secret!
Well, i f this is the case, you are missing out on a fantastic free tool that can not only help you improve your search results - it can actually help you get more traffic to your website!
I'll tell you how in a minute but first - let me tell you where to find it and how it works.
Where to find it
Actually it's right there under your nose, whenever you do a search on Google. Been there since May 2009! Down in the left hand column, after you do a search for anything on Google, you will see simple little text link Wonder Wheel. (see diagram below) Note: You may need to click on the heading More Search Tools.

How it works
Do a search on Google for a popular search term and after you get the results, click on the Wonder Wheel link. This creates a sun shaped graphic, featuring keywords, all related to your original  search. Your original search term is in the centre of the sun and the ‘beams’ show other popular related keywords to this search. To the right of the graphic you will see the normal results listed. (see diagram below)

Pretty clever huh? But hang on - you ain't seen nothing yet!
Click on any of the related search terms (on the beams) and this will create another 'sun' and drill down into these keywords for more related keywords and so on. (see diagram below)

How can this help you?
The Wonder Wheel might look like a pretty cool toy to play with but it's actually a powerful tool to help you find relevant and related keywords for your website.
How?
The most important thing on your website (to Google) is the text on the pages. Having the right keywords in the text of your pages, headlines, links, articles, etc., is vital to getting a good position in Google’s search results. Sounds obvious enough however, it's often very difficult to sort out which keywords are the most important and relevant to your potential audience. And once you work out what these keywords and phrases are, its even more difficult to get these in some sort of order of importance.
This is where the Wonder Wheel can help. It basically does this for you. And because it's a Google tool, it “thinks” like Google, so it's fairly easy to work out how people generally search for related words and topics.
It's also a fantastic tool to help you find Keywords and niche markets for your Google Adwords campaign.
This is not a replacement in any way for keyword research and there are several other tools you can use for this. However, it can be very useful to find new areas of interest to write about on your website, in articles, blogs, Adwords campaigns, etc.
So if you haven't used it before - give the Wonder Wheel a try. You’ll soon get the idea of how it works. It's just another great free tool form the wonderful folks at Google!
And by the way, if you need assistance to make your website work better or you need help with your search engine marketing or a Google Adwords campaign – give us a call. We’d be happy to help.

A sound experience can be addictive

We have all experienced a time when we small something and it takes us back to an earlier event or time in our lives. Yesterday was a very hot day so we went to my wife's parents house for a swim to cool off. When she got in the pool she told me and our son that the smell really reminded her of coming home after school and being in the pool with her three sisters.

particular sound can create the same emotional links. Many of us have a favourite song with our partners that take us back to a special time in our relationship. Or a song on the radio reminds us of an event that was meaningful.

This article is interesting because it chronicles the Top 10 most addictive sounds in the world. In this case, as with many things, the world is classed as America. Hence the TMobile ringtone being featured.

Here's the point: Does your business have a recognisable, memorable and if possible, emotionally meaningful brand tag. Think the Nike or Apple logos. As listed the McDonalds or Intel sound tag. Not always branded but still enticing - the smell of hot bread shop or the aroma of ground coffee beans. Whatever it is does your business have something memorable and easily recognisable? It's an often overlooked part of your marketing.

Here is the article from Fast Company:

The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World

By: Martin LindstromFebruary 22, 2010

You're probably among the millions who have experienced it: driving in a car, listening to the radio, and suddenly this song comes on. It is not just any song--this was your favorite song when you were a teenager. As the first few notes strike up, you're transported back in time. Everything is so vivid, and your mind wanders to parties, first kisses and sweaty palms. It's as if time stands still and you suddenly realize that for the entire duration of the song, you haven't seen a single thing on the road.

There's no doubt about it, sound is immensely powerful. And yet 83% of all the advertising communication we're exposed to daily (bearing in mind that we will see two million TV commercials in a single lifetime) focuses, almost exclusively, on the sense of sight. That leaves just 17% for the remaining four senses. Think about how much we rely on sound. It confirms a connection when dialing or texting on cell phones and alerts us to emergencies. When the sound was removed from slot machines in Las Vegas, revenue fell by 24%. Experiments undertaken in restaurants show that when slow music (slower than the rhythm of a heartbeat) is played, we eat slower--and we eat more!

Is this just coincidence, or does sound make us buy more, want more, dream more and eat more? Any 50-year-old American can sing a whole range of television jingles from the 1970s--they are all well stored in the recesses of our brain. Yet if you were to ask the same of those who have come of age recently, you will find them stumped. Has the magic of a television tune disappeared, or has the advertising world lost sight of the fact that people do indeed have speakers at home? I decided to put these questions to the test.

Buyology Inc. and Elias Arts, a sound identity company in New York, wired up 50 volunteers and measured their galvanic, pupil and brainwave responses to sounds using the latest neuroscience-based research methods. We learned that sound has remarkable power. This may not be surprising for many, but it was certainly surprising to realize just how many commercial brands over the past 20 years have made their way into the world's 10 most powerful and addictive sounds--beating some of the most familiar and comforting sounds of nature.

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Quiz: Can You Guess The World's Most Addictive Sounds?

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Forget the sound of the waves or the songs of birds, they didn't even make the top 10. But the jingle advertising a computer chip, and object which most of us have never even seen, took the prominent second spot in our brains in terms of addiction. We strongly respond to the sound of Intel! This tells us that repetition is the key, since most of us can't even sing it. What this tells us is that there's no limit to this phenomenon, because a computer chip doesn't really have a sound.

The third most powerful sound is just over 10 years old, and yet it had such a profound effect on our volunteers that as soon as they hear it, they remove their headsets and check their bags for their vibrating cell phone. When we switch our phone into silent mode, we think it cannot be heard. But the vibration has its own sound, and almost immediately the test subjects stopped whatever they were doing to attend to their phones. It's hardly surprising that the Blackberry has been dubbed a CrackBerry--even President Obama is hooked.

Psychologically speaking, this is not a happy discovery. Recent studies show that the first thing we do when we wake is check our BlackBerry. Going to the bathroom, brushing our teeth and eating breakfast takes a back seat. Increasingly people sleep beside their phones--that message that arrives at 4.00am, is now a priority! Even though the sound of a vibrating phone has taken second place to a baby's giggles, it seems that in just over a decade technology now provides the predominant sounds of daily life.

As marketers become more aware of the power of sound, it will be used to increase brand recognition in increasingly sophisticated ways. It's just a matter of time before our brains hear sizzling steaks, newly lit cigarettes and sparkling sodas, and immediately register them as Outback, Marlboro and Dr. Pepper.

THE MOST ADDICTIVE SOUNDS IN THE WORLD

Non-branded and branded sounds:
1. Baby giggle
2. Intel
3. Vibrating phone
4. ATM / cash register
5. National Geographic
6. MTV
7. T-Mobile Ringtone
8. McDonald's
9. 'Star Spangled Banner'
10. State Farm

Top 10 Branded sounds:
1. Intel
2. National Geographic
3. MTV
4. T-Mobile
5. McDonald's
7. State Farm
8. AT&T Ringtone
9. Home Depot
10 Palm Treo Ringtone

Top 10 Non-branded sounds:
1. Baby giggle
2. Vibrating phone
3. ATM / cash register
4. "Star Spangled Banner"
5. Sizzling steak
6. 'Hail to the Chief'
7. Cigarette light and inhale
8. "Wedding March"
9. "Wish Upon a Star"
10. Late Night with David Letterman Theme

MARTIN LINDSTROM is a 2009 recipient of TIME Magazine's "World's 100 Most Influential People" and author of Buyology--Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (Doubleday, New York), which appeared on both The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Lindstrom is an adviser to executives of McDonald's Corporation, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Microsoft Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, and GlaxoSmithKline, amongst others. His personal global audience is estimated at over a million people. His book, Brand Sense, was hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "...one of the five best marketing books ever published." Lindstrom's latest books, Buyology and Brand Sense have been translated into more than 40 languages, and are now out in paperback.

No wonder American Airlines rates higher than United

While United has been dropping CX standards American Airlines has been raising them. This article looks at how.

The lesson here is not new. It's not complicated and it's easy to do - providing you are not a control freak.

The lesson is this. Give the power to fix or at least address the customer's to the people who are in on the frontline. It can reduce or stop escalation, create on the spot outcomes (that we all love) and give the staff the knowledge that they can make a real contribution, using their own good judgment.

A special note for the control freaks who may not trust that anyone else can do it right, other than them.

Consider the option. How do you feel when you ask for help with a problem, want to get an issue addressed or feel there is something that needs to be done to help you and the service person gives you that blank look and says, with often sincere regret "I will have to (choose one) talk to my manager, send an email to head office, see a supervisor, put you in touch with the customer service manager, or my all time favourite, 'There's nothing I can do 'it's out of my hands".

If you feel frustrated hearing those responses, so do your customers. Did American solve all their problems? No, but I'm willing to bet their passengers felt way better than at United.

Let me know what you think.

American Airlines hands out $10.3 million in customer-service bonuses

American Airlines Inc., one of seven carriers at Piedmont Triad International, said Thursday the company will be paying out a $10.3 million customer service award to 70,000 front line employees for meeting fourth-quarter goals.

The payout is part of the airline's Customer Experience Rewards program, which gives employees up to $100 per month for exceeding customer satisfaction goals.

In 2009, the company paid out $45 million through its annual incentive plans.

The goals are based on customer service standards -- measured by on-time departures and customer satisfaction at the airport and on board the aircraft.

United Airlines drops out of the Customer Experience Sky

United Airlines have taken the unusual step of turning off their Customer Service feedback line.

They say their research says that they get a better quality interaction when people write to them and are clearer about what has happened and the details because they are writing it down and hence considering what they say.

That may be the case. It's still dumb. Two things they need to do:

• give people a way to vent when they want to. Even if they write to you it will mean many have stewed on it and told many by the time they write to you - if they bother to. The vast majority will just whinge to anyone who will listen.
  
• if cost is an issue (of course it is in this market) then find a more cost effective way to capture the feedback when people are angry. There is certainly a backlash with outsourced and obviously overseas call centres. There are simple, cost effective ways to get the feedback live. Set up a virtual feedback system. Ask (quantitative) questions and at the end ask if they want someone to contact them(quallitative feedback). I can show you how for your business and spend a few cents to do it easily and quickly.
• when you set up a virtual feedback system you can also get pats on the back for a job well done.
  

I don't care how much research they have done. We want to complain and give feedback when we want to. Not on the suppliers timeframe.

It is possible to turn every customer into a mystery shopper. Get great feedback and improve the service and operations of your business.

You can do this without commiting customer experience suicide!

Experiencing the new Cloud

This is a great article on how we will be effected by the 'Cloud'. The Cloud is that virtual computer platform that is causing the death of software as we know it - insert the death of Microsoft's ability to charge for a disc in a box.

No longer will we need to buy a hard copy of software. The program will always be up to date and should be much less expensive. Of course the flip side is you will need to be able to access the cloud by being constantly online. That works for some and not for others.

It may mean that you have to invest in one of the new smart phones - iPhone, Black Berry or Palm Pre.

I would love your comments on how this will effect you.


Iven

Apple product designs are 40 year old rip offs?

Apple is recognised as a leader in industrial design and also the way they design their retail experience.

Did they rip off the designs from Dieter Rams?

Who? Rams designed the highly innovative products for Braun in the 50's and 60's. There is a striking similarity between some of his designs and those churned out by Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive. Ive has just been voted number one on the worlds 100 most innovative people list by Fast Company (yes I obviously read their stuff as you can see from my posts. They have great info you can get online. Go to Fast Company and get the daily newsletter.

Go here to see the Braun products designed by Rams and the ones Ive came up with. Also have a look at his 10 rules of design. They apply to any business (with some modification for your industry). I have adapted them here for customer experience. I have inserted CX for Customer Xperience (Yes I thought that would be great branding, registered it and then worked out that no one who could spell in English would Google experience without the 'e'. Life lessons!) and modified them a touch with thanks to Rams.

Good CX design is innovative.
Good CX design makes a product, service and customer interaction memorable.
Good CX design is aesthetic.
Good CX design helps us to understand a product and what the brand stands for.
Good CX design is unobtrusive.
Good CX design is honestly communicating what the brand stands for.
Good CX design is durable.
Good CX design is consequent to the last detail from the customers view.
Good CX design is concerned with the customer's environment.
Good CX design is as little design as possible.

So the big question is this. Is Apple ripping off or updating? My view is the latter with inspiration from the former.

What if I asked the question with a different perspective?

If you saw an innovation or a great idea that was outside your own company, or business, would you consider adapting it for your self? Of course you would - proving it was legal and also that morally you were OK that you were not just ripping something off. This is all part of the Makers and breakers in your business.

Some examples.

• Air travel. Breaker. Square plates scream in-flight even if you are in business and first class with a better meal. Maker. Airlines using round plates to make it feel like a restaurant for the bigger bucks. Ansett International (God rest their corporate soul) had in-flight chefs to make it a true a la carte restaurant at 30,000 feet.
• Car Wash Cafes. Breaker. We love having someone else wash the car but hate waiting. Maker. Import and combine that with the coffee culture and you relax with a latte and waiting time is not an issue.
• Westfield Bondi Junction. Breaker. Carrying all the shopping and parcels around the centre. Maker. 'Hands Free Shopping'. If you use valet parking (a major maker) you get the service of having all your parcels waiting for you when you collect your car. Fee $5 - not per shop - for the service. Just notify the shop you are a hands free shopper. How much more would you buy if you didn't have to carry it all?

What can you see from any industry that would help what you do?
What experiences have you had, in any business, that you felt were outstanding that you could import to your business?
What experiences have you been told about, that someone else felt was good enough to spread, that you could incorporate into what you do?

Keep your experience sensors on and active. Other people and businesses can give you ideas and practices that you can incorporate to drive more business to your business.