Interesting Article on Apple

[Shaun @ Tru6]

While a very different model, I think much of what is said in the article applies to Wayne and Pelican as well. A lot of similarities.

Can Apple's Polish Rub Off on Other Retailers? | Secret to Building Successful Consumer Electronics Retail Store | Business News Daily

Can Apple's Polish Rub Off on Other Retailers?

Apple's retail stores are the poster children for bricks-and-mortar retailing done right. In sales per square foot, retail's magic metric, Apple posts sales of $5,914, leaving other high-end merchants such as Tiffany ($3,070), Coach ($1,776) and Best Buy ($880) in the dust. What's the secret of their success?

Received wisdom would say that it's all about having great products like the iPod, iPhone and iPad. There is no shortage of Apple fanboys who would agree with that notion. But, retailing experts say, a great product is just table stakes.

"It's easier to deliver a great customer experience around unique products," said Doug Fleener, president and managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group, a retail and customer experience consulting firm.

But hitching your star to a great product that's sold in a vacuum can be a double-edged sword, Fleener told BusinessNewsDaily.

"A lot of companies would have let the products sell themselves," he said. "Apple could have just created another consumer electronics store."

But they didn't. And they didn't rest their laurels just on the design or location of their stores.

Customer Experience is key

The star of the show is not the space. It's what's in that space, said Cliff Courtney, chief strategy office of Zimmerman Advertising. What's in that space is a world-class customer experience. And that experience is not just about the product.

"Product will only take you so far," said Leslie Kossoff, head of the Kossoff Group.

"Really good success happens by design and on purpose," said Mike Wittenstein, head of the Storyminer consumer experience design studio. "Apple puts its customers into its business design."

The Apple experience is as customer-centric as it gets. Nothing is left to chance, which is a natural extension of Apple CEO Steve Jobs' storied obsessiveness, Fleener said.

"The customer experience is part of the whole value proposition," he said. "It's really about a fanatical attention to detail. When you’re in an Apple store it's all about the customer."

Anticipation

Apple customers have the expectation that they'll come out of an Apple store better off and smarter than they were before.

"If you deliver a great experience, they feel better about your brand and their day," Fleener said.

Part of that "great experience" is to make customers feel welcome and to make the best use of their time and interests and decrease the potential for frustration.

"It's what you do once you've got them inside the store," Wittenstein said. "Instead of going through the store like a pinball, you're greeted and your customer experience is architected to route your visit the best way. They stay focused on your needs. And they're also good listeners. Value does not have to be economic all the time."

Three pillars of the experience

Three pillars support the Apple experience, Courtney said. One of them is the Apple product list. Though Apple doesn't pin its hopes on its products alone, Apple's wares clearly have a magnetic charm.

"You could put those products anywhere in a mall and get a crush of people," Courtney said.

The second pillar is Apple's skill at marketing across channels. There is little difference in the customer experience between Apple online and in its bricks-and-mortar stores, other than the ability to play with the products.

"They're flawlessly consistent," said Courtney. "They know who they are."

The third pillar and key driver of Apple's customer service success is the people who work in the stores, Courtney added.

Employees hold the key

You're only as good as the people you hire, said Wittenstein. "The quality of the people at the Apple stores is key to the experience. They are passionate about the brand."

"They're probably the best employees in the country," Courtney said. "First and foremost, they hire people who are Apple fanatics. Companies need to see people as a competitive advantage. No matter what someone sells, I can probably buy it somewhere else."

And purchasing, he said, is not as price-sensitive as some would suggest. A 2010 customer experience impact report commissioned by RightNow showed that 85 percent of consumers are willing to pay more to ensure superior customer service.

In crafting Apple's customer experience, Jobs has taken a page from Walt Disney's playbook, Wittenstein said.

"Disney is the grandfather of them all in terms of customer service," he said.

With Disney, the customer experience starts with the employee experience, Wittenstein said. Disney believed that treating your employees well pays handsome rewards.

"Treat your employees like gold," said Kossoff. "They will treat your customers like gold."

Though the Apple customer experience is special, it's not unique. It can be replicated. But it takes the right kind of leader.

"The standards in a store are on a piece of paper," Fleener said. "It's the leader who makes it happen. What Trader Joe does for food, Apple does for electronics."

[RWebb]

are you saying that Wayne is the Evil OverLord (to use Ian's phrase)?

[john70t]

How can Apple succeed while Gateway failed?
Gateway outlets were perhaps oversized and overbuilt, but the concept seems to be the same.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by john70t

How can Apple succeed while Gateway failed?
Gateway outlets were perhaps oversized and overbuilt, but the concept seems to be the same.

The concept is not even close.

With Gateway stores you went in, picked your PC and configured all the options, paid for it then went home to wait for it to be built and delivered. Not a very satisfying experience. If you were willing to wait then buying online from Dell was faster and cheaper.

When I go to an Apple store my transactions are completed within 5 ft of the entrance. There is always store staff near the door when you arrive, if you know what you want just tell them, you play with an iPad while they run and fetch your item, then when they return you check out right there on the spot, no waiting on line for a register, receipt is emailed to me and in my inbox before I'm out the door.

[mossguy]

Paging iLand

[Rob Channell]

I bet Wayne's sales per square foot are pretty good. How many square feet of retail space does Pelican Parts have, anyway?

[Jim Bremner]

My experiance at the Apple store was the WORST customer service that I've ever gotten except for the reaming that I got from Bank of America.

I had an ipod go bad at Christmas time and they blew me off. I wen't back after Christmas and explain that the Ipod that I got for last christmas wasn't working.

"well it's over a year old, it's out of warranty"


I explained that My wife bought it for me for Christmas and I started it's use on Christmas and that it failed in November. And that I tried THREE times to bring it to them. ALL three times the wait was over 4 hours! to get help.


"Sorry sir it's 13 months old it's out of warranty"

BUT I"VE USED IT LESS THAN 11 MONTHS!

"Sir, please don't raise your voice at me, I can't do anything for you it's 13 months old!"

Will you give me a discount on the next one I nuy to replace this one that failed in 11 months?

"no sir, it's 13 months old. It's out of warranty! But we'll recycle it for you!"


I've now bought three PCs! as well as two blackberrirs!

I will never own another Apple product!

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

My experiance at the Apple store was the WORST customer service that I've ever gotten except for the reaming that I got from Bank of America.

I had an ipod go bad at Christmas time and they blew me off. I wen't back after Christmas and explain that the Ipod that I got for last christmas wasn't working.

"well it's over a year old, it's out of warranty"


I explained that My wife bought it for me for Christmas and I started it's use on Christmas and that it failed in November. And that I tried THREE times to bring it to them. ALL three times the wait was over 4 hours! to get help.


"Sorry sir it's 13 months old it's out of warranty"

BUT I"VE USED IT LESS THAN 11 MONTHS!

"Sir, please don't raise your voice at me, I can't do anything for you it's 13 months old!"

Will you give me a discount on the next one I nuy to replace this one that failed in 11 months?

"no sir, it's 13 months old. It's out of warranty! But we'll recycle it for you!"


I've now bought three PCs! as well as two blackberrirs!

I will never own another Apple product!

That's unusual.

Question, did you make an appointment or just show up?

[Jim Bremner]

I just showed up the first two times. the final visit I called to get screwed.

13 miles each way.

[Z-man]

I think Jim's experience is the exception, not the rule with Apple.

I believe that Apple better understands the 4-P's of marketing:
Product
Price
Place
Promotion

Gateway was just one of many choices for PC's, while Apple's products are in a class by themselves (until someone starts to copy their stuff). And if they aren't the first to market with an item (like the desktop and laptop computer for example), they market their products (ie Promotion) in such a way that they capture a market segment often overlooked. (Ex: Apple IIe's in the classroom in the 80's)

If that is not the case, then just name ONE product that was made by Apple that wasn't successful. (I can only think of Apple TV, but it is too early to tell since that makret is still too immature to forecast the future with any great certainity...)

Love them or hate them, they know how to market themselves, and in a capitalistic society, that is the key.

-Z-man.

[RWebb]

Newton
Pippin
Lisa
some USB mouse they had about 12 years ago


I left out some lousy version of things (early iTunes).

So, what do I win?

[Z-man]

Netwon lead to the iPod, iPhone & iPad. It's OS was the predecessor to iOS. From wikiepedia: "Newton platform started in 1987 and officially ended on February 27, 1998" I wouldn't consider a 12 year run a failure. Also from wiki: "Two ex-Apple Newton developers founded Pixo, the company that created the operating system for the original iPod."

Pippin: Ok - I'll give you that one -- Apple's gaming console / network computer never really took off.

Lisa - this PC was developed at the same time as the original Mac. It was developed after the Apple II, and in many ways, it had some better features than the original MAC. BTW: the last version of the Lisa was sold as the Macintosh XL.

USB Mouse (made in 1998)- ok - another failure -- claimed to be the biggest failure of Apple. So they couldn't design a lousy mouse? That's their biggest failure? I'd play those odds anyday!

iTunes - the original version was developed by SoundJam MP (Jeff Robin and Bill Kincaid) in 1999. Apple bought it in 2000, and developed it into what it is today. It is perhaps one of the most integrated products Apple has today -- MAC & PC, iPod, iPhone, iPAD...etc. Yes - it took 11 years to develop, but I wouldn't call that product an entire failure.

So -- you are correct -- there were a couple of things that didn't pan out for Apple, but there aren't that many companies out there that can boast the same success rate as Apple can.

Oh - and your prize -- the latest version of Apple iTunes, downloadable at Apple.

-Z-man.

PS: Yes, I have drunk the Apple Kool-Aid, and it's ok...

[RWebb]

Netwon lead to the iPod, iPhone & iPad, just as Windoze 1 lead to....

[stomachmonkey]

I would have said Newton but it was not really a failure more so than a product before it's time.

Now the Apple Quicktake, their digital camera, I would call that a failure along with the Macintosh TV, not to be confused with the current Apple TV.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Netwon lead to the iPod, iPhone & iPad, just as Windoze 1 lead to....

Windows 98, Windows ME, Vista.