Earlier this week, industry sales veteran Ray Windsor sent an open letter to members of the industry describing the peril he sees for the 12-volt market given his recent experience during the preceding weekend at a local electronics retailer. Although Ray’s experience was related to the intent to learn about and purchase home entertainment electronics, it’s really easy to see some of the parallels in our own industry.
Read it and I’ll comment on the other side.
An Open Letter to Specialty Retailers
After an experience visiting a home theater specialty retailer near my office, with the goal of gathering an education and making a purchase, 7.1 receiver, DVD player, cables, etc., I am not sure if I came away with an epiphany or an intense case of fear, nervousness and frustration.
This specialty retailer is in a location that you cannot get to from here. It was mid day Saturday. All of the TVs were on. I asked the clerk (read “clerk” with disdain) about the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 system configuration. The difference was explained to me. He made an attempt to demonstrate the 7.1 sound in their high-end room. After about 10 uncomfortable minutes he was unable to coax any sound from the elaborate set up. My enquiry about Blu-Ray DVD was met with similar results. Forget the speaker demo. It’s OK (sort of). I understand how folks might “rob” the demo room in a product availability emergency. Maybe a cable was missing…?
My real fears result from the clerk’s absolute lack of interest in learning about where I was in the education / buying process. He allowed me to direct the entire affair. My questions were answered for sure, BUT THAT’S ALL. Forget about “How long have you been thinking about this? Where have you been looking? Do you have a big TV, theater system, audio system at home now? Are you going to do the installation or have it done? Is this a project you are in the beginning of or just finishing? Etc., etc.” Who let this guy on the floor? Management?
No attempt to understand the state of the consumer was made. No attempt to make a sale. No attempt to add knowledge other than answer the questions. No difference from the big red COKE machine in front of the body shop next door. A complete waste of time for me as a consumer. Another nervous point on the education graph, extending a disturbing trend line for me as a manufacturer committed to championing the value of the brick-and-mortar specialty retailer.
Half an hour later on the Internet I learned that I should have a DVD player with Internet connection, built in Wi-Fi, and at least HDMI version 1.4. I learned about 7.1 receiver power, inputs, outputs, digital, analog, tuning and a myriad of other important features. I did not possess enough knowledge to ask these questions of the clerk when I entered or left the brick-and-mortar store. Of course I learned price variances. (Kudos to Yamaha, Denon and Audioquest.)
Is this the common experience of the consumer who seeks out a brick-and-mortar specialty retailer with the intention of making an immediate purchase OR is this just an anomaly? Retailer had a bad day? Unfortunately I have this kind of experience more often than the brick & mortar specialty retailer or manufacturer community should feel comfortable with.
Do manufacturers really need brick & mortar (value add) retailers if this is the kind of value added? The Internet (COKE machine) pages offered up more information, and every page tried to close the sale with a “BUY NOW” button. I note that several of the brands mentioned above performed admirably in their endeavor to manage pricing on the Internet. It can be done.
If a brick-and-mortar specialty retailer won’t even try to create a sale to a flesh and blood consumer standing on the floor in front of him, what respect (forget loyalty) should he expect, does he deserve, from the manufacturers under his roof who did not receive even a poor shot at the deal?
With tears wetting my keyboard, pain in my heart and great concern between my ears for the future of brick-and-mortar specialty retail, I will make my purchases at FULL RETAIL on the Internet.
Somebody help. Convince me I am wrong. Contact me at (877) 689-7833.
Ray Windsor
Although some may see this as unrelated to our 12-volt business because it involved home entertainment products, I see it concurrent to John Haynes’ letter to the industry (which we covered in an earlier blog post) on the opposite end of the supply chain. It’s yet another reason that retailers of CE products in general, but also of car audio, are providing fewer reasons to get consumers to buy in a brick-and-mortar environment and why consumers are making the choice to shop online. It’s not enough that some brick-and-mortar stores are doing a good job and are knowledgeable. By and large, it’s pretty evident that as an industry everyone at every location needs to know our CE products better and how to ask the important questions that ensure customers get something from us they can’t completely get from purchasing online… or can they?
John Haynes, in his letter, was concerned that manufacturers are offering certain online retailers the products directly (or looking the other way when they’re not purchased directly), which creates an imbalance on the playing field. Traditional supply channels are certainly challenged by consumer access to the Internet and the ease of online shopping, but WHY is that happening in the first place? Sure, some of the manufacturers in our business want to grow aggressively, but it’s more because many manufacturers are simply trying to mitigate the shrink from the sectors that used to sell more of their products — namely the specialty retailer and, to some degree, those larger regional chains (like Tweeter) that closed or no longer sell our 12-volt goods.
Then you have Ray’s experience where, commendably, he tries to live by the same credo he’s often suggesting that retailers can find and be a customer himself in a brick-and-mortar retail store. As you read in Ray’s letter, it was only to find out firsthand how poor that particular retail experience was. It’s often really coming down to the need for better, more qualified customer facing salespeople. At the very least Ray’s experience shows they lacked overall in product knowledge and hands-on experience using the products, let alone the wherewithal to qualify a customer to ask what should be mandatory questions. It’s sad that Ray had a bad experience in a retail store. I too have had some myself.
Really, I see Ray’s commentary as identifying a big issue at the other end of the supply chain and explaining how the Internet is a viable resource for consumers, both because the online retailers are supplied and the fact that, particularly in this case, they filled the demand much more effectively than a brick-and-mortar retailer demonstrated they could. It’s a cautionary tale, I believe, one that 12-volt retailers might want to sit and absorb.
Sure, I know there is just as much of a chance that Ray, or any of our potential customers, could have a great experience shopping us in the 12-volt aftermarket, but I think we all know we could be doing a better job at this. It’s a goal that’s constant, no matter how good we think we are.
Lastly, I will say that in our recent Mobile Electronics magazine Industry Guide survey, retailers who replied showed us that more than 30% do not even have a website of their own, and many relied only on their Facebook, Myspace, and/or Twitter presence for their online efforts. With a situation like Ray faced, if Ray happened to have a similar experience with a 12-volt retailer, how would he have found a local alternative if those retailers who COULD HAVE SUCCEEDED in meeting Ray’s needs DO NOT EVEN HAVE A WEBSITE? Why would someone drive across town to see a retailer if they have no other way to learn about them as a company or even know at all if they were there? Think about it.
If you think online retailers are winning, then it’s because they are making themselves accessible to the consumer. Some do a good job of it, some do, well, not such a good job of it, but the online retailer has put themselves in front of the buying public. If you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer without a website, what are you waiting for? You do not have to sell products online to have an online presence and appeal to customers, particularly local customers. First, they need to know how to find you and a little about what you offer, then you follow through with them in the store.
We are in a high-tech business so we can’t act like low-tech people. We need to meet needs of a changing customer contact point profile — which absolutely includes making the retail shop visible to people surfing the internet!
Share your comments for Ray and for us below, particularly if you have some helpful suggestions for an industry that could use some fresh ideas!
Print | posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 5:50 PM