In the end I Boston, news that a storm is
coming. In general, most people will be put down from the job at hand, to
supermarket shopping, even if they can't go out, also have enough food
throughout the winter.
Usually I'm not do such a thing, but this
year I decided to follow the footsteps of all, to the supermarket to buy two
whole cart things, then go to a look very technical check-out counter. I put
all the things to put on the counter, and say "hello" with the clerk,
but didn't get the other party of any response. Wait until the bill, I to a
small machine brush my card, finally hear machine "hello" with me,
and all my life I recommend some won't buy things. In fact I still continue to
try to chat with the clerk, I talk to the weather, talked about the snow, but
have no response to each other or do the work at hand to, until I had paid for
all the money, I looked at the clerk said, "listen, I know you don't want
to say" hello ", it seems that you don't want to say
"goodbye", but is it possible you will say 'thank you'?" At this
time, the girl in the shop is very excited to looked at me and said: "we
have needless to say 'thank you', later" thank you "will play in the
receipt!"
I recalled feel very curious, that a small
machine, high resolution touch screen plus card reader, recognize my name,
thank my patronage, to recommend some is reasonable of commodities. At the same
time, behind the counter young female clerk also in good use of her logistics
functions, quietly with a scanner to scan I buy goods. But I later found, she
made the machine should and the machine did she should do, for this is the
division of labor between machine and perfect, but order completely wrong.
Whether or not this story to you what inspired, I encourage you to, when we
focus on the development of the service industry, we must recognize science and
technology in it what role should be.
Emotional ties with consumers
To talk about the relationship between
industry and science and technology, can be divided into four key points:
first, we need to know about business and the development of science and
technology background; Second, understand business and promoting the
development of science and technology factors; Third, explain business and the
development of science and technology of the influence of; Fourth, and most
important, business opportunities.
We are now in a industrial production
capacity surplus world, service industry is no exception, often because the
competition is fierce and low prices, is now customers are unprecedented world
class products and choice. Current industry to try the resources of the
competition is not the material, but have enough of the customers.
When the professionals gathered together,
will be mentioned in the world at present is the most representative brand. We
often hear the starbucks coffee or apple computer, the name of the company, the
company no longer be the starting point of the product competition, their
competition point already sublimation to consumers use the product experience
and the products and consumer emotional ties.
Let me for example, in the office of the
Boston, for me and the other 500 colleagues for, drink the office coffee
nothing to pay, but every day, a group of and a group of the workplace will
leave the company, walking street and then spend eight dollars for a cup of
special allocate starbucks coffee. It is not reasonable economic behavior,
these make free with logic why people will make not reasonable thing? This is
because products produced between consumers and emotional ties, and these
special experience make starbucks have strong pricing power and high profits.
Enterprise future rely on four big thrust
In this context, I believe by the four derived
from science and technology the impetus, and will change the future of
enterprise marketing gimmick and provide services direction.
The first impetus, and most of the people
on the earth, especially in industrialized countries, people are using network.
The height of the network world link, in the past two or three years triggered
a no one can predict the phenomenon: community network. From South Korea,
Japan, Cyworld Mixi British Bebo, Facebook and MySpace to the United States,
millions of people has been on the Internet for a contact, high connectivity
has and life as a whole.
The second force, more and more people have
connected network tools. The world of computer use more than 1 billion sets,
and the mobile phone has more than 3 billion department. Last summer I met a
friend of a coat, and I asked him, "why do you want to wear a jacket on a
hot day?" He put the coat uncovered, show 4 pockets, each pockets on a
mobile phone, said: "not the pocket, these mobile phone to put on
where?" From the marketing point of view, this story may give us an
important inspiration.
The third force, new product development is
not confined to the strengthening of the function, but how to do these
functions can be combined into a fully integrated into the People's Daily life
tools. There is a from MIT out company iRobot, developed a robot vacuum
cleaners, this machine has its own artificial intelligence, use simple linear
method navigation route cleaning, cleaning the furniture, home will bypass the
pet, children. This type of vacuum cleaners in the U.S., Europe, and part of
the Asia is a best seller. This machine is very interesting, it and people have
interaction, the price is not high, and may link network, the most important
is, everyone like this tool, buy the pint-sized robot family feel it is an
important partner. I don't know you normally at home how look upon your vacuum
cleaner, but I won't run every day can't wait to go home with my vacuum cleaner
together. Some people really pay attention to these small robot, and even give
them the names of the home as a pet.
This trend leads the fourth impetus: if we
can reset the combination products, giving it a artificial intelligence, let it
perfectly integrates People's Daily life, to have interactive robots, in the
packaging with emotional factors, as well as the success of product to come.
IPod is the best example, from the first generation of iPod to today's
iPodTouch, it is a small computer packing in a small space, 70% to 80% of the
parts in the Chinese Taiwan area production, production process while in
mainland China, but also by the a company responsible for Taiwan, so in the
end, this is a Taiwan products.
But interestingly, made in Taiwan iPod
company and do not get the products and consumer emotional ties between, but
for the United States to apple computer company earn most of the profits. When
consumers to buy the iPod, the inside of the machine parts and systems for them
is not important, the important thing is to the experience of their iPod, they
buy iPod is a mood on the choice, not a rational choice. Otherwise, how do we
explain the iPod prices in the United States than other similar products more
than double that, and in two to four times higher than Western Europe?
Many americans when running is taking his
iPod, when they ran to the physical strength was exhausted, iPod suddenly chose
a particularly powerful songs to stimulate their potential, make them run the
world, can let the people think: "day! This machine than my wife is also
know me!" Although they also know that iPod just using the simple random
system chose a song, but because some factors, but let them to iPod produced an
emotional connection, make the products more precious.
Seize the new model will seize new business
opportunities
At present the development of science and
technology and industry for the future of the company will have what kind of
impact? Now we heard a lot of business story, but ultimately is about the same
content, which has three key points: first, the company will be in the future
more human instead of the machine equipment; Second, the front end and back end
on the operation will be combined with science and technology and talent, and
support each other and help, not like me in the supermarket experience; Third,
the network access devices everywhere, make services to move to any country,
and need not be in the consumer side can meet their needs.
From the point of view of China, large
brand and product marketing is a complicated process, and the enterprise the
challenge is how to fusion high-tech pipeline and avoid the high cost. Besides,
more and more people in the community web sites, blogs and BBS interaction,
built many enterprises and consumers' "the contact point" (Touchpoint).
And in so many "the contact point", some are enterprise can control,
some enterprise can influence, but some consumers to make their own decisions.
How to deal with the "contact"? To answer this question, the
enterprise needs to make clear the consumer decision-making process.
The past americans buy cars through the
newspaper ads, the mainstream media, friend chat, then reference magazine, and
finally to find agents to buy cars. Today's American young people buying model
change, they will turn to blog, community site search you need material. If we
take consumers' decision-making process as a linear process, we can calculate
in the beginning of the process how many consumers, where lost some consumers,
why would lose those consumers, and how to reduce the number of loss.
The perfect combination of science and
technology and talents
We go now to apple computer company, know
how to use the company of consumer products and brands of mood, strengthen its
unique pricing power, and apple computer has put this approach to bring retail
store.
Apple computer company's retail store looks
nothing new, its strength lies in the combination of science and technology and
people. Apple computer company every retail stores, set up science and
technology workstation, let customers any free trial a products; In order to
more rich friendliness, store personal shopping service, the products are
introduced. The most special is the "genius" (Geniusbar) and
"professional service support" (Pro-caresupport) two special
administrative area, experts can provide answer any questions.
For consumers, these wore a black T-shirt
with mine of information science and technology experts, and any kind of simple
technology use can all help products to consumers leave deep impression. For
example, the checkout consumers, the clerk will not open bill, when consumers
when questioned, the clerk will tell consumers: "we have from your iTunes
material found in your E-mail address, at the same time, we will send you the
invoice to the mailbox." Usually, this will let the consumer greatly
surprise, think this is some kind of magic, or think this company very clever.
To make consumers impressive, and not directly to the high-tech products sold
out, but a perfect combination of science and technology and the use of
talents.
In the past few years, apple computer
company found that more and more people use "genius" and "the
professional service support", so the company launched the customer
priorities plan: if customers are willing to pay an annual fee of $100, and
that he will not have to line up, don't have an appointment, can always come in
to the store enjoy service, last year, 1 million people received the special
service. So apple computer just by consumers want to chat with science and technology
experts of psychological, earn $100 million, this is the perfect combination of
science and technology and talents, created by the pricing power. Apple
computer company in the United States only 300 home retail stores, but they are
the highest profit retail market retail stores. Languishing in third BestBuy of
electronics stores each square feet make us $800 to us $1000, ranking second in
the difuni (TiffanyandCo.) to earn $2800 per square foot, and apple computer
retail stores per square foot of can earn 5000 dollars.
Through the example we learn, the future of
the marketing opportunity, is the experience of consumers and the emotion, if
the enterprise can capture the "contact", the enterprise will take
uncounted value. And these value belongs to those who know how to seize the
consumer products positive emotions and feelings and use innovative marketing
and r&d imagination planning process of the manufacturers. That is, the
humanities, arts, and emotions into important "the contact point",
the enterprise can hug filled with infinite hope in the future.