I am usually attracted to articles that start on the "What if..?" note. No clue why? But I certainly hope to see/hear/experience a new perspective. Valeria Maltoni has a post in FastCompany Now blog this morning with the "What if...?" title. Interesting and engaging enough to initiate a hear a new perspective with the Conversation Agent. The idea is not new or revolutionary but worthy of a 'ear' as in 'give all thy ear but few thy voice' (WS, Hamlet) though the quote barely makes sense in in the world of blogs, but you get the point.
What if Customers WERE the Service?
innovation is mostly about looking at the same things and seeing something different. What if Best Buy were to provide space to encourage those conversations? What if instead of just having a counter where, by necessity – being short on staff, long on help needed – they placed a nice set of armchairs and small tables nearby.
Customers could sit down. Some coffee company could provide coffee and snacks. People dropping by after work might enjoy a little something while waiting. Most importantly, what if they helped customers talk with each other by putting the space there for them to do so? Jim solved my Palm problem and I walked away having made a new friend and feeling good about Best Buy.
Instead of feeling let down, I now have a warm and fuzzy feeling about the store where I had such a good experience. Never mind that it wasn’t the staff to provide it. I had it anyway, and it’s associated with the store. Let’s take the idea a little further and think about what would happen if Brian, another customer, stopped in for a repair and during the wait learned that Jane, also waiting, knows everything about digital cameras. He has been thinking about buying one, but he feels skittish about asking the store staff. He doesn’t want to be sold to just yet; he wants to buy after taking his time exploring options.
They strike a conversation, and now Bill writes down a list of features he wants in a camera. Jane just asked him how he was thinking of using it adding stories of her purchases and what she learned from them. We all love to learn, we all hate to study and many of us dislike researching, especially when we feel harried in the store.
The business gets to keep its costs down by maintaining a fixed number of geeks on hand to help. The customers get the help they need by receiving assistance also from other customers. And the store now has the potential to sell more, all wrapped up nicely in good will. But wait, you say, what if I’m the only one there on a given night?
Word of mouth travels faster than information on fiber optic cable, you could:
- Wait until someone else arrives in for help – I was there probably short of two hours and the flow of people was constant
- Self select as the “go to” person for certain types of devices and volunteer help while you’re there
People love being helpful and there isn’t always time to meet new people by going to networking events. The businesses that can help lower the barriers to entry to make conversations among customers happen, win. Now, how about a good cup of coffee at, you guessed it, Best Buy? I was thinking about purchasing a digital camera…
