Tire Kicking in the Next Generation

Buying a mobile phone used to be easy; you just picked the plan and the phone. And maybe chose the color. Smartphones changed all that. Now there are a lot more questions: Do I want the phone for business or personal use? How about a touch screen? Do I need a built-in GPS? Do I want to sync this phone with my music collection on my laptop? Now I have what seems like an endless choice of devices, applications and service plans. Please, why can’t someone just understand what I need from a device and give it to me?

Well, maybe help is at hand: the service provider’s retail store. Yes, I am talking about an old-fashioned bricks and mortar store. Despite the hype around the importance of the online shopping experience, I believe that reports of the demise of the traditional retail store have been greatly exaggerated.

What did I do when I last changed my phone? Did I shop online to browse for offers and look at new devices? Sure I did. But at the end of the day I did what some would consider unthinkable: I drove down to my nearest service provider store for one final look before I picked the right device and plan for me. I know buying online beats the traffic and the queues, but I wanted to “test drive” that device; to see how it felt before I bought it. And I am not alone. A recent consumer survey of 4,000 wireless users across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom revealed that there are three primary reasons consumers visit the retail store: instant gratification — they want to receive the handset immediately; they want to see the device before purchasing; and they want to talk to a store rep to get their questions answered. They can’t get this online.

That is the good news.

The bad news is that today’s retail stores are not really satisfying these demands. The range of devices, plans and accessories is not just confusing to the consumer, but to the store rep. The store rep needs to make sense of it all before they can offer the right product and price plan to every customer who walks in the door. Add to this the realities of the store environment — there might be long queues and lengthy transactions as the poor store rep tries to navigate complex systems and processes. This can be incredibly frustrating for the customer — so frustrating that it’s estimated that one in four consumers actually leave the store without making a purchase. This means a lot of lost revenue for service providers.

But there is a way better way to do this. Give the store reps the tools they need to maximize the value of every customer interaction. Give them intuitive software and simplified processes. Make sure they can easily see my current plan and history and can quickly make recommendations on the device or plan that is best for me. A great experience at my retail store means I am more likely to come back. At a time when brand loyalty and repeat business are so important, this is a huge opportunity for service providers. However much we shop online, people will always like buying from people.

Mike Couture is head of global marketing for Amdocs , where he leads the company’s global team of marketing professionals in the areas of market research and insight, product marketing, marketing communications, corporate marketing, regional marketing and account-based marketing.