Ask(?)Away: Social Science as Applied to Commerce, Mario Vellandi -- Part Deux

We're continuing our fascinating conversation on social science as applied to commerce with Mario Vellandi of Melodies in Marketing. Yesterday, CK highlighted the importance of looking to human behavior/ influences/instinct in marketing.

Observation is important, yet if a product does not deliver on its promise, if it looks good, but performs poorly, you need to know that as well. So what about combining observation with testing? In other words, letting users tell you about their experience.

Valeria Maltoni: Did you do any online testing? For example, I met the founder of KDA Research and learned that they do a lot of qualitative research using new media. Do you see technologies that can make it cheaper to put in the hands of consumers not real but virtual products as helpful for behavioral analysis?

Mario Vellandi: I think software tools can be extremely helpful in managing the data (collection, sharing, disseminating) and the project (planning, task assignments, milestones) with multiple parties: end-users, sales channel providers, and research team members.

What I find additionally interesting is how participants may be more candid and open if the tools are designed to easily fit into participants' lifestyles and schedules. But ultimately, I think they're just tools and aren't a panacea for everything. Research projects still must be well defined and related to a particular strategy, planned and executed. Data has to be collected, analyzed, and converted into actionable intelligence.  We need apt humans for all that right-brain thinking.

Product/Service design (content, packaging, price) is just one piece of the larger behavioral analysis pie though.  There's environmental studies for online and offline purchasing environments. After recently reading Why we Buy by Paco Underhill, I got an immense appreciation for how merchandising and store design affect shoppers' behavior.

[from the comment section Mario added] At my previous employers, we had some key individuals who performed research into fads and trends in the marketplace, then organized this info into lifestyle profiles. This environmental scanning was a constant process. But this was just one element of a larger organization-wide product ideation process that included our shopping trips.

Fads and trends have life cycles of their own that when understood, will qualify the degree of opportunity for each retail channel. [Btw, CK has a great white paper about fads/trends on her website.] Training your salespeople in this info improves their communication with buyers and relationships they build.

Allow me to stress that very last sentence. Relationships matter. If you want to be remembered next season for at least a meeting or presentation, you have to build customer intimacy into your organization's culture and the mindset of your salespeople. This requires looking out for the buyer's interests in regards to product fit, assortment, price points, margin, and # of units on shelf.

Valeria Maltoni: As much as we'd like people to tell us, I think there is also the consideration that we often say one thing and do another. Observing in the context of the purchase is a great way to do a reality check. I think Anthropologie does that in their stores. I wrote about it not long ago. What other stores do that well and why?

Mario Vellandi: Although I'm not a woman, I've heard marvelous things about the service at Nordstrom’s dept. store.  I think the common thread between this chain, Anthropologie & Urban Outfitters, and other successful establishments is that they put their focus on the staff first, not the customer. After all, employees represent the company to the customer every day. If they feel good about their employer and the way they're treated, it will reflect in their performance and service to the customer. In saying this, I almost sense a flashback to Made to Stick. The companies are taking care of their troops and giving them the commander's intent, but not the explicit tactics. There are general company guidelines and of course performance metrics to be met as a matter of maintaining service levels.  But the trust in execution is placed in the employees.

Did you know that Walgreens has fewer stores than CVS (nation's largest drugstore), but beats them in sales?  Although there are differing reasons for their overall success, as outlined in Good to Great, I'll explain one. Walgreens caught on quickly that many shoppers came in wanting beverages and snacks (which give good margin), so they increased their exposure to these categories and transformed the store into a mix of a convenience, general, and drugstore. In the mind of shoppers, they were no longer just another drugstore that sells health, beauty, personal care and pharmaceuticals along with stationary, photo services and a couple other product categories.  And that unique positioning was powerful magic for Walgreens because now shoppers wouldn't necessarily think first of 7-11 or the supermarket for certain categories, they'd remember Walgreens.

A last retailer I'll mention for a unique feature is Best Buy.  Their staff may be courteous, the prices are nothing special, but the amount of space between aisles and departments is excitingly refreshing.  You can feel free to roam around and look, then approach with curiosity.  Even if there are many shoppers in the store, you don't really notice them.  It just feels awesome.
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Thank you for joining in this conversation about how we buy and how we can design environment that will allow us to explore and personalize our experience. Let’s hear it from you – what are your favorite stores? Why?

Comments

[Carolyn Ann]

My favorite store is the Borders in Wilmington, Delaware. Lots of choice, good coffee served near the magazines and the bathrooms! (Barnes & Noble put the bathrooms elsewhere, usually forcing you walk through the store. An usually trivial point, but it can be important!)

My least favorite is also a Borders: the one in central Philadelphia. It's got a great selection, but you have to go up 3 floors to get to it, music is the first thing you see (it's a bookstore!), and the books aren't arranged very well; it's not laid out as logically as it could be. Plus, the aisles are a little crowded. And the cafe: what a disaster! Instead of it being in a reasonable place, you have to go down a floor - not so bad, except I've yet to locate where the baskets are, so I have an armful of books all the time - and the bathrooms are back up a floor. I don't know where the magazines are.

I do buy a lot of books, and the layout of the store has to be conducive to that. Barnes & Noble on Union Sq in Manhattan has some of the same issues as the Borders in Phillie, but it's nowhere nearly as awkward to "use".

Nordstrom's are good! Even I've bought shoes there. :-)
Carolyn Ann

[Karen Hegmann]

Valeria

Interesting conversations with Mario. I too am a believer as to the implications of social science on the world of commerce. The implications go far beyond brick and mortar businesses and touch the online world as well. A well-designed website that addresses our needs will provide a good experience and will entice viewers to come back and take a second look.

In Canada, my favourite store would have to be the Chapters/Indigo chain of bookstores. The stores are well laid out, and any deals are promoted as you walk in the door. Staff is courteous and friendly, and if you can't find the book you need, they will help you find alternatives.

After browsing the books, it's nice to be able to go to the Starbucks kiosk to sip some fresh-brewed java. The chain also offers a rewards program with discounts on books bought both online as well as through the stores.

The experience is always a good one, and I even drop by just to "chill" a little to take a break from a hectic day.

Layout and design, courteous service, quality product and an environment designed for tranquility all combine to create a positive experience for the customer.

[Valeria Maltoni]

I find it fascinating that so far we're talking about bookstores. Are bookstores the new libraries? It would seem that way.

Carolyn Ann -- I agree with you on the Borders store in downtown Philadelphia. It has such a prominent spot on Broad Street and yet is is so unfriendly in its layout. That's were design of space means design of experience. What do you want people to do? User experience off line, if you will. I use the Nordstrom in King of Prussia for my shoe purchases ;-)

Karen -- I like how you follow consideration of online space with physical space and draw parallels in your closing. So much can be communicated with a wise use of design. It is easier to be nice when you don't feel crowded by close hallways and spaces, for example.

[Trisha]

I love the model of empowering employees in order to create a better customer experience.

I don't get out to the offline stores much, but do a lot of online shopping. Head and shoulders above the rest is Amazon, whom I shop frequently. Not only do they sell gazillions of items at reasonable prices, they are clear when they don't have items in stock, provide honest user reviews, and offer other items I might like that I may not have thought about before seeing their offer (yes I often buy the additional item(s) on impulse).

They've worked hard to make the buying process easy, and to develop a relationship with every purchaser with features like Wish Lists and Occasion Reminders.

This approach may not be feasible for a lot of offline stores, but every online retailer can learn a trick or two from Amazon.

[mvellandi]

I get a kick out of the references to bookstores as well. Interestingly enough, Borders and B&N have provided many Americans a new kind of experience that combines shopping, browsing, and just hanging out. The environment gets a good amount of people coming through (great for quick breaks and people-watching). The square footage isn't small nor as daunting as a shopping mall. Lastly the hours are excellent.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Trisha -- I'll tap into your online shopping expertise, I'm sure. Having being raised in Italy, I do prefer to see, touch and feel what I'm buying so to the store it is for me. I used to buy a lot from Amazon, then I started blogging and now I have more books than I can read ;-)

Mario -- bookstores (brick and mortar ones) are the perfect environment to be with people and alone at the same time. And offer a great way to sample material before making the purchase. What I often do is sample at the bookstore and then buy online. Only on a few rare occasions I pay full price for a book on the spot. See what happens? We become so price sensitive when stores keep running promotions and discounts. Think of supermarkets.