"If you wonder what getting and keeping the right employees has to do with getting and keeping the right customers, the answer is everything." Fred Reichheld, The Loyalty Effect
If ever there was a great example of this, it was surely on last night's (19 January) Channel 4 episode of Mary Portas's Secret Shopper programme. The fast fashion outlet Pilot had probably taken on the right employees but wasn't setting the right environment to keep them that way! The demotivated, unenthused, uninterested staff that the programme portrayed showed that clearly. And 65% of the Pilot customers said they were unhappy about the level of service in Pilot. How many of those customers would Pilot keep, I wonder?
B = f (I E) - Behaviour is a Function of the Individual and the Environment. The Pilot management had set a product-led culture and a product-led environment. And the staff behaved accordingly. We are what we are and you can't necessarily or easily change the core characteristics of an individual but boy can you do a lot to change the environment. See what happened when Portas took the staff into a buzzy, exciting, fun, energy-laden business to serve customers. Their behaviour changed instantly!
Fred Reicheld got it right and Portas gave us a great example last night!
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Thursday, 13 January 2011
The Siren Evolves!
Starbucks is causing a bit of a stir as, in a major rebranding initiative, it's taking the words "Starbucks" and "Coffee" out of its logo! This is only the second time that Starbucks has rebranded in the last 40 years or so.
If you look around, you can see that quite a few progressive companies are going or have gone down the route of having an icon-only logo (e.g. Nike, Apple) or a logo that is still readily identifiable when you see the icon part of it without the words (e.g. Macdonalds, Audi).
It's quite a brave move and suggests a brand that is extremely confident of the fact that it is well-known.
There are a number of positives that come out of such a move. Firstly, the iconic logo will have no language or alphabetic barriers around the world. Secondly, it lends itself nicely to any plans that may be afoot to launch digital applications such as smartphone apps, where simplicity is king.
Mike P, Starbucks Senior Creative Manager says: "After hundreds of explorations, we found the answer in simplicity. Removing the words from the mark, bringing in the green, and taking the Siren out of her ring. For forty years she’s represented coffee, and now she is the star."
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says: "Throughout the last four decades, the Siren has been there through it all. And now, we’ve given her a small but meaningful update to ensure that the Starbucks brand continues to embrace our heritage in ways that are true to our core values and that also ensure we remain relevant and poised for future growth."
"As we look forward to Starbucks next chapter, we see a world in which we are a vital part of over 16,000 neighborhoods around the world, in more than 50 countries, forming connections with millions of customers every day in our stores, in grocery aisles, at home and at work. Starbucks will continue to offer the highest-quality coffee, but we will offer other products as well – and while the integrity, quality and consistency of these products must remain true to who we are, our new brand identity will give us the freedom and flexibility to explore innovations and new channels of distribution that will keep us in step with our current customers and build strong connections with new customers."
Personally, I'm not sure I would immediately equate the new brand to Starbucks, would you?
If you look around, you can see that quite a few progressive companies are going or have gone down the route of having an icon-only logo (e.g. Nike, Apple) or a logo that is still readily identifiable when you see the icon part of it without the words (e.g. Macdonalds, Audi).
It's quite a brave move and suggests a brand that is extremely confident of the fact that it is well-known.
There are a number of positives that come out of such a move. Firstly, the iconic logo will have no language or alphabetic barriers around the world. Secondly, it lends itself nicely to any plans that may be afoot to launch digital applications such as smartphone apps, where simplicity is king.
Mike P, Starbucks Senior Creative Manager says: "After hundreds of explorations, we found the answer in simplicity. Removing the words from the mark, bringing in the green, and taking the Siren out of her ring. For forty years she’s represented coffee, and now she is the star."
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says: "Throughout the last four decades, the Siren has been there through it all. And now, we’ve given her a small but meaningful update to ensure that the Starbucks brand continues to embrace our heritage in ways that are true to our core values and that also ensure we remain relevant and poised for future growth."
"As we look forward to Starbucks next chapter, we see a world in which we are a vital part of over 16,000 neighborhoods around the world, in more than 50 countries, forming connections with millions of customers every day in our stores, in grocery aisles, at home and at work. Starbucks will continue to offer the highest-quality coffee, but we will offer other products as well – and while the integrity, quality and consistency of these products must remain true to who we are, our new brand identity will give us the freedom and flexibility to explore innovations and new channels of distribution that will keep us in step with our current customers and build strong connections with new customers."
Personally, I'm not sure I would immediately equate the new brand to Starbucks, would you?
Friday, 7 January 2011
Please ignore the customers!
There's an increasing trend in High Street retail, to open early to the public on a Sunday to allow customers a certain amount of "browsing time". This is often done to get around the Sunday Trading laws in which shops over 3,000 square feet (that's the majority) are only allowed to open their tills for six hours on a Sunday, a law which came into force in 1994.
This trend has come to light recently, as for the first time since 2004, the 2010 Boxing Day holiday - traditionally a big Sales day for retail - fell on a Sunday in 2010.
According to The Telegraph, a spokesman for Debenhams said they had drafted in extra staff, and were opening far more tills than normal, to cope with the expected queues of shoppers. "We're not breaking any laws, and we need to make sure we serve our customers."
Quite right too, but we have learned from a reliable source that in at least one branch of Debenhams, staff have been instructed to avoid all contact with the public during this browsing time.
I wonder how that feels to the customer who needs a bit of advice and help to make a buying decision? Is it really serving the customer? I don't think so!
Let's hope that Debenhams' mystery shopper company doesn't send its people in to their stores early on a Sunday morning!
This trend has come to light recently, as for the first time since 2004, the 2010 Boxing Day holiday - traditionally a big Sales day for retail - fell on a Sunday in 2010.
According to The Telegraph, a spokesman for Debenhams said they had drafted in extra staff, and were opening far more tills than normal, to cope with the expected queues of shoppers. "We're not breaking any laws, and we need to make sure we serve our customers."
Quite right too, but we have learned from a reliable source that in at least one branch of Debenhams, staff have been instructed to avoid all contact with the public during this browsing time.
I wonder how that feels to the customer who needs a bit of advice and help to make a buying decision? Is it really serving the customer? I don't think so!
Let's hope that Debenhams' mystery shopper company doesn't send its people in to their stores early on a Sunday morning!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
