We all could take a lesson from the people who stage homes for sale. This is the practice of setting up a house using furniture and accessories so potential buyers actually can see themselves living in the house. How often do we try to sell our empty "houses" / products by talking about the square feet or the school district instead of helping a potential customer visualize themselves living with our products?
Apple has done a great job positioning all their products as part of a lifestyle for the customer. You really have to go below the fold on the web page to get any speeds and feeds. This even goes to the Apple stores. As Computerworld says:
Baker attributed Apple's success to a number of factors, but he said that its retail stores -- and the way it crafts consumers' complete "buying experience" -- was the most important. "The market sometimes discounts this, but Apple's stores are key to what they do," he said. "[Hewlett-Packard Co.] is looking to replicate some of this, but even that shows how difficult it is to use third-party retail without managing the entire experience."
Having been to the Apple section at Best Buy and Comp USA (r.i.p.), I much prefer going to the Apple store. Best Buy puts the Apple section next to the car stereo area where all you hear is "thump, thump, thump". It's like starting a fine open air restaurant next to the expressway and wondering why no one shows up.
For those of you who like to measure things, Apple went from 9% market share to 14% market share in one year. Are you showing empty houses or managing the entire experience?
While CompUSA doesn't have the Apple products anymore, 11 stores have already re-opened... and I like the new website...
Posted by: Lonny Paul | 21 March 2008 at 08:09 PM
That's good to hear! I always went to CompUSA, mainly because they had technical support people at the store so I could ask good questions. They weren't real good at merchandising but I didn't care.
Posted by: brucefryer | 22 March 2008 at 09:03 AM
Here's another "staging tip" for any kind of store. Don't let your employees pick the music that comes BOOMING over the loudspeakers. If you must have music, it should be background...and keyed to your target customer. I've left stores - even when I wanted to buy something - because the music was so overwhelming.
(Oh, and don't put those damned flickering fluorescent lights in the dressing rooms. We all look like dumpy zombies...)
Posted by: Mary Schmidt | 25 March 2008 at 09:40 AM