The Brand Experience

In a recent Frontline program on consumer marketing, Kevin Roberts, the president of Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide, said Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, clocks an average in-store shopping time at 19 minutes, adding the company is "totally obsessed" with pushing that time upwards. That won't be the result of low prices or wider selection, Roberts asserted. No, retailers will keep consumers in-store by making it what Roberts called "a theatre of dreams. It's got to be full of mystery, full of sensuality and full of intimacy."

If you run a small shop anywhere, you're probably rolling your eyes at this "theatre of dreams" concoction. But I'll bet from time to time you really do wonder what keeps those people coming through the door? They can sit at home and shop the web for convenience, selection, and price. They can walk into any of the local outlets of big-box retailers and touch and feel most of the products they see on TV, the web, or in the newspapers. They can read all the product features on the package or from a display, in a flyer or an ad; or maybe even (if they can find one) they can ask a salesperson. Why on earth would they cross the threshold of your dearly leased 3,000 square feet to look at lamps, clothing, art, musical instruments, appliances, sporting equipment - what have you - why?

The best reason is perceived value. You offer some insight, some first-hand information or experience, some choice or convenience, some extra service that is not found anywhere else nearby. Whatever it is - and it pays to know - that's what's keeping you in business. This "perceived" value is real. It sets you apart from everyone else.

Is this your "theatre of dreams"? It certainly ought to be part of it. Obviously consumers walk through your doors for a lot of reasons. Discount the ones looking for directions, a telephone book, quarters for the meter. The ones that look at the goods, do so with intent. They're ready to buy. Maybe they've been referred. Maybe they've searched the web, the telephone directory, seen your ad in a church bulletin, or maybe they just caught something in your window out of the corner of their eye. It doesn't matter, because at this point your only job is to make sure they don't go away sorry. Even if you do not sell or know anything about what these tire kickers think they may want, you can at the very least give them something invaluable, some moments to dream about how your products might fit in their lives.

Understand: most people do not walk into Starbucks to buy a cup of coffee. They go to sit down, relax, read, talk to a friend, play a game of chess, work on their laptop, and have a cup of coffee. People do not walk into Nike to buy a pair of shoes. They go to immerse themselves in an atmosphere of achievement and achievers, to imagine the extra speed, temperature, flexibility, and weight that Nike products and endorsers claim to offer, to live in the oversized world of Shak and Serena and Tiger, and to participate in that world by buying a sweatshirt, a warm-up suit, or a pair of $400 cleats. Granted, you're not a Nike or a Starbucks, a Pottery Barn or Target, and you know your customers are not looking for those shopping experiences when they walk into your store. But they are looking for something beyond the stuff. They're looking for a way to imagine using your products in their lifestyle and values.

Recently a friend of mine who operates a small health foods store in the Napa Valley told me he was worried about a Target moving into the shopping center where he does business. He was worried because Target was going to offer many of the nutraceuticals popular with his customers at lower prices. I argued that lower prices were the most of what Target would be offering. And in exchange for the low prices, his roving customers would be getting the wide clean aisles, the Muzak, the uninformed and overworked help, the canned greetings and goodbyes, and the branded plastic bag filled with stuff. No doubt, some of his customers would make that trade off. But, I argued he could turn his situation into an opportunity with a few changes:

1. His value: my friend was a school teacher turned retailer. He valued information, and he provided his customers a lot of it, both literature and his own or his staff's knowledge. My advice was to create more information but in smaller bytes. Instead of those two and three-page research papers he made available, create some note card size shelf talkers or small, end-aisle displays. I encouraged him to invite product reps to give demonstrations, bring in nutritionists from the local hospital to talk about his products as part of a total lifestyle of health and fitness, link those presentations to promotions of other compatible products.
2. His customer's real needs: I told him it had a name, the "lifestyle of health and sustainability" or LOHAS. Like all customers, his customers needed stuff, but like him they believed there was too much stuff - too many products on the market, not enough time to understand or assess them - just too much stuff. If there was any chance to sell it, it depended on branding and context. He needed to create context. People don't have a lot of time these days to realize their dreams. They've got to pick up the baby at day care, get a fast lunch down before they get back to work, jot the specifics of a customer order on their cell phone and fax it to the home office. People are desperate for clear, short, compelling direction, referral, and endorsement. They can get interested in the products when they see how they fit into their lives.
3. The "theatre of dreams": He didn't have to do major surgery. My friend had been in the "enlightenment" business all his life, and he was attracting similar people to his store. But he wasn't listening to the word: en-lighten-ment. His store was dark, stuck in an inside corner of shops, full of dark wood, heavy shelving. He needed to lighten it up, create room for thought. Paint would help. Lighting would help. Different shelving would help.

This "theatre of dreams" idea is not earth-shaking, cutting edge, super tech. It's simply giving your customers and walk-ins a moment to dream - colors, touches, smells, suggestions, and experiences. As with any experience, there is a beginning, middle, and end. I read recently that many shoppers formulate shopping plans when they drive into a parking lot. Like my friend, you may have no control over the appearance of your parking lot, or of your store from the parking lot, but you do have control over your entrance, your windows, your opening displays and your check-out stands. Pay attention to your layout, where shoppers begin, what routes they seem to take, how they decide to leave. In general, at the beginning of the shopping experience something - a new product, a display, something - should raise questions; the mid-way points should deliver information and context; and the exit should be a launch pad to enjoyment. There's no question in my mind, if my friend considered how his inventory fit within the context of his customer's lives and how he might in very small ways make that context a little more suggestive and enjoyable, he had a much better shot at increasing in-store time than a Wal-Mart or a Target.

To learn more about retail marketing, give Fred Barson a call today.