"You break it, you buy it."
When I encounter this phrase, displayed in some retail stores, it makes me want to close my wallet just before I turn and run. With two small kids in tow, I'm definitely heading out the door, but even when the children aren't with me, the warning turns me off. Not only is the business proprietor encouraging me to make an early exit, thus leading to reduced spending, but an even bigger opportunity has been missed: the opportunity to invite customer engagement.
Children are great at engaging all their senses in the exploration of new things. They want to touch, smell, taste, play, move, and test products that are new to them. So, why do we assume it is any different for adults? With full pay cheques, rather than an allowance to spend, why should we be content to look at product displays through panes of glass? Adults need to play too.
Thus my question to all business people is, "Are you engaged yet?" I mean with your customers. Have you found a way to engage them in some way using the five senses-taste, touch, smell, sound, sight?
During a recent trip to Revelstoke, I spend my Saturday morning cruising the local farmer's market I noticed a young female entrepreneur with a lineup in front of her tent with a sandwich board advertising fruit smoothies. Curious, I took a closer look to find out what the fuss was about. For $5 a pop, customers chose their favourite flavour of smoothie while the young proprietor concocted the desired combination of frozen fruit and berries, honey and almond milk.
What came next in the assembly line was really what drove the sale home. Customers hopped up onto a bicycle seat with half of a bike beneath them and a small platform in front. The blender vessel, lid tightly affixed, was placed upon the blender base anchored to the small platform. As the customer began to pedal, the blender turned. The faster the pedaling, the smoother the drink. It was the ultimate example of customer physical engagement and it was working to produce high-volume sales.
Some fabulous examples of other businesses which have perfected the art of sensory engagement include:
* the Body Shop - they offer plenty of olfactory and touch stimulation by making all their products available for sample.
* Sweet Memories Ice cream, Victoria, - this sweet shop pumps out the delicious smell of baking waffle cones directly out onto Government Street via a fume duct from their kitchen.
* Ice Breaker Merino wool garments - they include a code on the label of every product that you can enter on their website offering customers a look at the farmers, the living conditions and photos of the sheep in the high country, basically walking you through every step of their supply chain.
Apple stores and Ikea both encourage you to try before you buy, making all their products available in store for customers to use before they make a purchase.
If you aren't engaging your customers by stimulating at least one of their five senses, you aren't giving them a reason to pay attention. Without their attention, product sales will not reach high volume numbers that could be possible if you invite your customers to play. At the very least, remove your "Break it, buy it" messaging and have faith that customers will have the decency to pay for in-store goods which they have accidentally damaged. They are adults after all. It will inevitably increase the length of time you'll have to influence their purchasing decision without scaring them into retreat.
Until next week, stay in the black and keep coming back.
