Experience Manifesto

Forbes.com: Have It Your Way

There's a very serious conversation happening today about working with the consumer to "co-create" the brand. We don't think this is a short term fad and you'll certainly be seeing a much greater dialogue about just how to do this in the future.

Whether they are selling cars, toys or fast food, companies are tapping consumers as never before to help them create new products.

When the Hummer H3 rolls out this spring, it will feature some distinctive touches from an unusual source of inspiration: a bunch of everyday drivers. General Motors, under pressure to create a midprice blockbuster sport utility with the look of a macho Hummer, relied on input from 481 people summoned to a building on an empty fairground in southern California in June 2001. Visitors were asked to critique six early renderings of the SUV. They came in five groups over three days. As they reacted to sketches of the exterior and interior, four GM designers listened from behind a curtain, scrawling changes on paper. "We wanted to see how much we could stretch our design," says Jon B. Albert, a design manager at GM.

Too much, according to the critics, who were selected because they already owned a Jeep Cherokee, a Chevrolet Blazer or the like and expressed interest in the Hummer. The front of the vehicle, they thought, looked too "cute" for a take-no-prisoners military truck. Some said its grille resembled a Jeep's-a red flag for GM, which was being sued by DaimlerChrysler for knocking off the Jeep's signature grille on the H2. The designers prepared revisions for each new group. "A process that now takes several days could have taken several months," says A. Jim Lochrie, GM's director of market research.

Link: Forbes.com: Have It Your Way.

BBC NEWS | Business | 'Gender blur' impacts sales tactics

Men and woman are about to become one sex - at least in the eyes of industry and advertising, a new consumer trends report claims.

Changes in the structure of society have blurred traditional distinctions between men and women, according to research group Datamonitor.

This has forced manufacturers and advertisers to adopt new marketing strategies to woo consumers.

"Gender complexity" has made men become more feminised, taking an active role in parenting while becoming more fashion conscious and spending more money on beauty products, according to Datamonitor's research.

Women, meanwhile, have more earning power, marry later in life or stay single, while catching up with men in the boozing stakes.

The changes in gender attitudes are already reflected in advertising where ads for Pampers nappies feature a father or in the design of All Bar One bars which sport a lighter female-friendly decor.

"Age complexity" is another mega-trend, where children grow up young while more adults want to act like teenagers.

Link: BBC NEWS | Business | 'Gender blur' impacts sales tactics.

Fast Company | Putting Customers First

Fast Company has an excellent article about the difference between talking about putting your customers first vs. actually putting your customers first. Plus, they have a great list of companies that always seem to score high in the customer experience category. Do you have any additions to their list? Or have you had any bad experiences with companies on the list? Let us know either way!

Fast Company | Putting Customers First

WHY CALL CENTERS ARE LIKE THE NINE CIRCLES OF HELL

I think the title says it all! This is an excellent piece by Jonah Bloom, Executive Editor of Ad Age. This would actually be quite funny -- if it weren't so true!

In the first circle you are told to press the number of the next circle you need to select. In the second you receive the same instruction but none of the described menu items sound quite like the one you want. In the third circle you realize you've just pressed the wrong digit but can't go back.

In the fourth you start frantically mashing the zero key in the hope of getting an operator. In the fifth you are put on interminable hold. Finally you enter a sixth, in which you get to speak to a human being who cannot assist you and suggests you go back to the first menu. Yes, hell is a call center.

WHY CALL CENTERS ARE LIKE THE NINE CIRCLES OF HELL

Pop-up Retail Review from Trendwatching.com

Here's an excellent overview of the entire Pop-up Retail trend put together by Trendwatching.com. This is something that we also believe will continue to grow. In fact, it's something that we've been pretty hot on since I was running Location Based Branding in the mid-90's! You can even click here to see our early version of a "pop-up retail" experience that we called the World Premiere Cafe. Sort of a "road house" for pop-up experiences!

Of course, the biggest challenge with pop-up retail is that it needs to be better executed then a traditional retail space. Why? Because you don't have the time to work out the kinks. By the time the kinks are worked out, you're gone! And, with only one chance to really make a great impression, it's even more critical to get it right the first time. There's also a potential risk of having the staff at pop-up retail experience be far more engaging then the staff at your usual outlets. You can truly risk your greater brand equity, even if your pop-up retail experience is well done.

There's been some interesting discussions about pop-up retail on other groups, so let us know your thoughts. Passing fad? Long term trend? Great part of an over-all strategy or just another tactic? Speak up and be heard! We're interested in your opinions!

POP-UP RETAIL, another emerging trend from TRENDWATCHING.COM | From Target to Song in the City and Vacant, temporary stores are all the rage!

A Lesson from Toys 'Were' Us: Use Tech to Personalize

I'm not sure that technology alone would have solved their problems, but here'a an interesting POV from eWeek about how Toys R Us could have used technology to create a better experience. I do agree with one of their main points:

Toys "R" Us tried to compete with Wal-Mart in the way it had beaten Kiddie City and, more recently, F.A.O. Schwarz: by offering a large supply of products at market-aggressive prices. But that strategy is inherently flawed when competing against a bigger fish. And there's always a bigger fish, if not now then soon.

In a lesson that predates CRM and POS by many decades, the way to compete is differentiation. If the products being sold are identical, then differentiation is done through customer service in as many creative ways as possible.

Here's another point that we very much agree with. All too often, companies use technology to eliminate staff and reduce staff, rather then redeploy them to create a better experience. Here's what they had to say in the article:

In the retail world, though, technology plays a very different role. Used wisely, its goal is to move employees out of roles that technology can serve and place them in roles where technology can't, such as carrying packages to customers' cars, gift-wrapping or offering customized services. The few grocery chains that are using self-checkout wisely have learned that lesson.

These are lessons we wish more companies would learn. If you are not competing price, it's the experience, stupid!

A Lesson from Toys 'Were' Us: Use Tech to Personalize

BW Online | May 17, 2004 | The Power Of Design

Wow, must have zoned on this one! Started to post it to the site and then, I guess I put it in my drafts folder and forgot about it! Must be all this heat! Anyway, this is an article from May about the Power of Design and covers lots of excellent ground! A must read if you didn't see it in May!

BW Online | May 17, 2004 | The Power Of Design

Decent Marketing: Amex Weighs In on Experiences

Once again, Kat Stone brings us some excellent about the need to create compelling experiences. How's this for a great quote:

" ... creating memorable experiences was the most important vacation criteria ... " and also felt that "making memories" is more important than luxury while on vacation.

Check out her entire article by clicking on the link below.

Decent Marketing: Amex Weighs In on Experiences

Brand Autopsy: Welcome to McDonald's, may WE take your order?

I think that this is very well covered in Brand Autopsy, so I won't say much more here. But let me give you the highlight. He’s outsourced his drive-thru!

Steven Bigari, a McDonald’s franchisee, has dramatically increased the efficiency of his 12 McDonald's by reducing its drive-through order time by 30 seconds to a little more than one-minute per transaction. (That’s well below the McDonald’s drive-through average order time of two-minutes thirty-six seconds.)

Plus, this McDonald’s franchisee has increased the number of cars his drive-throughs handle by 15% from 226 cars per hour to 260 cars.

To achieve such efficiency, Mr. Bigari has done the seemingly radical … he has outsourced his drive-through order taking function to a call center in Colorado Springs.

Yes, he has outsourced order-taking at his McDonald’s to a call center.

In addition to the article in Brand Autopsy, they have several additional links to other articles on the same topic. Raises some interesting questions about having a local experience!

Brand Autopsy: Welcome to McDonald's, may WE take your order?

Private archive in Ann Arbor tracks consumer marketing

Thanks to the Rebecca's Pocket blog for tipping me onto this...

..."collection" - an extraordinary assortment of every new consumer food or health and beauty aid product introduced in North America since the early 1970s.

Housed in a former Ferrari car dealership in a business park on Ann Arbor's south side, the 80,000-item collection is displayed on supermarket-style shelves. The museum-like place, which is not open to the general public, adds 500 items a month and contains products that date to the 1960s.

Click here to read the full story