lead by getting out of the way

In early December, I again visited the large bookseller I wrote about in an earlier post. To my surprise, they had installed new kiosk terminals in the same locations as the old ones. There were no other changes in the store.

The kiosk (pictured below), features a bright white and stainless steel, lectern-style stand, touch screen and a thin profile, iMac inspired keyboard. The messy visual impact aside (note the sign “Touch Me, Search Here!”, the black phone and the pile of boxes next to it), I was curious to see what this updated version had to offer.

Even though the kiosk had an update software interface, much to my surprise I still couldn’t access the wish list I maintain on the company’s web site. The new unit simply used the same software just with updated graphics. In addition to accessing my wish list, the feature additions I would expect would be to point me to where the book I’m looking for is located in the store (I still don’t understand how this company arranges it’s stock!) This company’s store layout is arranged for browsing at leisurely pace. It’s not that I mind browsing, it’s just that sometimes I’ve only got a few minutes and I just want to see if they have a particular book in stock. It just boggles the mind that someone made the decision to make the new kiosks (and they’re very well made) without these basic features. I could come up with others, but the kiosk upgrade reveals a larger problem.

I can’t escape the impression that all this company really cares about is selling me a book, a CD, or whatever. And yet, my reason for being in the store is to seek knowledge. There are many places I got to find the books I want to read: other independent and second-hand booksellers, garage sales, the library not to mention this new thing called the Internet.

How has the company’s investment in the new kiosk changed the Customer experience? Just like everyone else, I have a lot of choice today, I create a buying experience by making choices of where to go. And as I do it, I learn which sources best give me the knowledge I’m seeking, or access to it. The kiosk is an opportunity to personalize the service the entire network of stores offers to Customers and along with it learn more about my preferences. Instead the company chooses to rely on Customers helping themselves taking pride in their wide product selection and buying power.

I would be willing to bet that this company has only one Customer ‘type’, probably ‘book buyers’ or something very similar. They’re taking a mass-market approach to the business, and their only focus is on executing well in their distribution and supply-chains. And yet, the message that comes through this company’s stores echoes the old hawker’s cry, “don’t just stand there, buy something.” This may be unintentional, but it points to a huge gap in Customer understanding.

This gap, while problematic for the moment, is actually a chance to get to know the Customer better and really differentiate right now and in the future. We shall see if this company does it or if someone else will.

Whichever way it goes, this company is missing out on a huge opportunity to re-establish itself as leader by re-inventing book-selling again. Today they claim this position based on sales volume. What good is any of that to me and the great many who shop there if they never have the book I want when I want it?

I was talking with a senior exec over lunch recently who complained about lack of engagement in his organization. He expressed serious concern that, even though individual units did well, as a whole his company was failing to adapt to the sweeping changes taking place in the market. He was frustrated that people across functions and up and down the corporate ladder “aren’t even on the same page.”

After some discussion about specific challenges, I asked him to tell me in his own words what his company wants to be in the market. “What do you mean?” he asked. “At the end of the day, what do you want to be known for?” He then proceeded with a 10-minute explanation about his company’s products, his people, their distribution network and financial performance. I pressed him to tell me why any of this matters to Customers. He sat back in his chair, and said “Well, it doesn’t. I’ve got a whole marketing department and sales organization to figure that out.” Translation: Customers aren’t my concern.

I told him that if I was working for him I would get the distinct impression that he doesn’t think Customers were very important. Ditto, if I was a Customer. He shot back, “But they are important! I’ve made huge investments in people and technology over the years. At any rate, my VP of Sales is responsible for individual Customers. Besides, what’s any of this got to do with our ability to adapt to change?” I explained that, as a senior leader, he and his colleagues set the tone for the kind of values and attitudes practiced throughout the company; so by extension, he was the company’s cultural guide.

As lunch arrived, I asked him to tell me how his company defines its Customers. He gave me the standard answer: they do business with such and such industry, this vertical, that demographic. “You have some pretty tough competition don’t you?” “We do okay,” he said. Again I pressed him to tell me if they measure how much profit his firm makes from each Customer. “No, our profit metrics are by product line and business unit.” “What about how much profit you make over the life-time of the Customer relationship?” “No, we don’t do that.” “Do you measure how much of the Customer’s total ‘spend’ accounts for the profits you make?” “No we don’t. But I fail to see how that would help us.”

I explained that what matters is what gets measured. If he wants to get everyone on the same page, then he would have to start by focusing on Customer profitability. Without that, very little real change was going to take place inside his firm. I made it clear that I wasn’t talking about Customer satisfaction metrics (which his company had implemented twice before with limited success). These play a very minor role relative to product and unit measures. If he truly wanted to improve his ability to adapt to change, then measuring total profit by Customer was the place to start.

On our way back to his office, he told me “You know, I’ve always prided myself on making the hard decisions in building this company. Until today, I believed we were doing things right. I would never have made the connection how our management systems affect our decisions. We have a long way to go to achieve Customer focus, but I know that once our team sees things the way you’ve explained them, that they’ll respond.”

Overheard at a major Canadian book store in Ottawa yesterday-

Customer: “Can I use your kiosk to access the wish list I created on your website?”

Employee: “No, they’re just for ordering. Sorry.”

This company has gone to great expense to build a website and brand. This site lets customers like you and I to create wish lists of items (in this case books and CDs).

This just doesn’t make sense to me. Does this company see the web as something different from its bricks and mortar stores? I suspect they do.

However to me, the Customer, it’s all part of the same buying experience. Why can’t I access my wish list from any store? For that matter, why can’t the employees also be given access to that info so that when I come into a particular store they can greet with more than the standard “Hello, can I help you find something?”

Of course you can! It just takes a different perspective, seeing things from the Customer’s point of view of the buying experience.