A question for you, dear reader: Have you ever shopped at a top-line apparel or accessories store in India and felt that the exclusive store experience was far from satisfactory?
Our loyal reader, Nafisa, definitely thinks so. She feels that salespersons at these stores often fail to carry through on the expectations from the brand. The manner in which they fell short of her expectations:
- At the very basic level, lack of adequate knowledge of the product. Unaware or unable to explain the USP, don’t know of competition or how their product is different / better
- Lack of interest in the overall category which could be crucial to the brand experience
- At a service level – lots of aggravation for customer and rarely do they respect customer’s time. No different from cheap brands and stand-alone store
- A level of disinterest relating to customer concerns
- Laze / lack of earnestness– no follow up with potential or existing customers. No follow – up or feedback loop when the brand has a website with the requisite options especially for the purpose
Why we think this is important:
In all interactions and transactions in a store, the organisation is presenting itself – or part of itself – to people with whom it either has a relationship or is trying to build one. If it is to be successful, it has to be consistent and clear in what it says and does in all these relationships; in addition, the impression transmitted from all touch points with the consumer must be consistent too, i.e. in-store interactions must match what the brand promises through other media such as TV and print ads, PR etc. In-store experience is a significant component of how people sense the brand and contributes to their perception of it, especially in the premium segment, where part of the reason for the purchase is the image that is being sold, the identity or idea which the consumer buys for himself / herself through the purchase.
Nafisa’s rant on this significant issue prompted us to run this as a theme for a series of blog posts. We’ve been doing some ground-work for this series – visiting retail outlets and making observations, speaking to a few people from the industry to get their opinion on the topic etc. We haven’t restricted our work to apparel and accessories either; we’ve looked at premium brands in a few other categories too. So do keep visiting our blog regularly to know more. Also, we’d love to hear from you about your point of view on the topic, so do write in with your comments, the more detailed, the better.
By,
Nafisa De Figueiredo and the Escape Velocity Team
you have a great blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?
this is true of any high end experience. even restaurants. My pet theory about why this happens is that the service staff demographic is nowhere close to the target consumer demographic for the brand. they see it as just another sales job, and probably don’t understand the exclusivity the client craves. If the staff actually used and believed the brand or its product quality.
Hi,
Well, we have another post coming up in a week or two about the reasons for the oft-seen poor service, the factors you mention are amongst the possible reasons. Look out for that post.
Regards,
Zenobia
Really great article with very interesting information. You might want to follow up to this topic!?! 2011
Thank you for appreciating our blog. Keep visiting…
Really interesting blog, keep up the good work!
Thanks, Glad you like our blog. Do keep reading.
Regards,
Zenobia
I’m really loving the contents of your blog. Hopefully you keep posting regularly. Thanks.
Hi,
Thanks for appreciating our blog.
Keep reading or subscribe to our blog to get regular updates.
Best,
Roshni
Kudos! What a neat way of tihkinng about it.
Hi Cathleen,
Thanks, glad you liked our post. Keep reading…
Best,
Roshni
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Best Regards,
Lawrence
Dear Lawrence
Thanks for the encouragement. And thanks to your cousin for directing you to our blog.
Continue visiting.
Best,
Roshni
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Hi,
Really glad to know that you enjoyed the posts so much. Do keep visiting.
Regards,
Zenobia
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Hi Sandler
Thanks for appreciating our post. Do continue reading our blog for more interesting information.
Best,
Roshni
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Hi,
Thanks for appreciating and bookmarking our blog. Looking forward to more comments from you on upcoming posts.
Best,
Roshni
Wow, fantastic blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is wonderful, as well as the content!. Thanks For Your article about The experience of shopping for premium branded goods in India .
Hello
We’ve been blogging for over a year now. Glad you liked our blog. Do continue visiting..
Best,
Roshni