experience signatures - nrf 2015
TRANSCRIPT
Experience Signatures Christian Davies, Executive Creative Director, Americas FITCH
So, we are here today to discuss the concept of Experience Signatures The undeniable future of all things retail
The next 45 minutes What is an Experience Signature? Why they matter Who does them well and who doesn’t How you can create your own Q&A (hopefully)
SO, WHAT IS AN EXPERIENCE SIGNATURE?
An Experience Signature is a higher order, unifying principle of retail branding
What i s i t?
higher order – ASPIRATIONAL unifying principle - HOLISTIC
What i s i t?
It informs, rationalizes and influences the ways in which a retail business presents itself to the world
What does i t do?
A unique combination of brand-led touchpoints that exist between a retailer and the people that shop its stores
What a re i t s ingred ien ts?
By an enhanced perception of a retailer ’s presence leading to increased loyalty, preference and sales
How is i t measured?
Every shopping journey is made up of touchpoints
And every retailer, simply by virtue of being in business, already has touchpoints between itself and its customers
Literally any point that shoppers touch the retailer, whether through physical, digital or human interactions
PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB SOCIAL
GUEST
These moments of connection are all too often fractured, and only sporadically effective
PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS SOCIAL
SERVICES
WEB
EVENTS
GUEST
PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
E V E N T S
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST
PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
E V E N T S
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST
The first step towards an Experience Signature lies in taking these sporadic moments, unifying them, and bringing them into harmony
PEOPLE PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
PEOPLE PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST
PARITY
DUPLICATION
PEOPLE PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
BRAND
DISTINCTION
DIFFERENTIATION
Only with touchpoints working in harmony, and infused with the brand’s DNA can we be said to have achieved an Experience Signature
A way to express yourself to the world that both feels intuitively right and which simply couldn’t be someone else’s
WHAT AN EXPERIENCE SIGNATURE ISN’T
NOT YOUR BRAND
Your BRAND is who your are, what you stand for…it’s your story
If your brand is your ESSENCE, your Experience Signature is your PRESENCE
NOT YOUR PRODUCT
BRAND is who you are, PRODUCT is what you sell
Your Experience Signature enhances your products, reinforces why they exist, brings them to life and adds meaning to them
WHY DO EXPERIENCE SIGNATURES MATTER?
Because they lie at the heart of why one retailer differs from another in the minds of the people who shop there
An Experience Signature encapsulates all the things that a retailer is famous for
It encompasses the reasons we come back for more
The things we tell stories about, the things we tweet, blog and post
Most of all , an Experience Signature creates retail that is truly defensible over a lasting period of time
Or put another way, Retail’s Holy Grail
SOUNDS GREAT RIGHT?
Except for one thing
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS, THE PROBLEM
The number of retailers today who have achieved an Experience Signature is very small
OMNI-CHANNEL IN ACTION
Consumer Purchase
Multi-Channel Purchase Paths
And, in actuality, the number is shrinking as retail becomes more fragmented and complex
In certain categories Experience Signatures are not merely a rarity, they may be in danger of actually becoming extinct
THENCE, THE OPPORTUNITY
To tell shoppers who you are, what you are selling, why you exist and what you believe in
Most of all WHY YOU ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER GUYS!!!
And to do it at every touchpoint you have with your customers, every single day
SO, WHO IS DOING IT WELL?
The first things to say is that non-retailers are, for the most part, doing this much better than retailers
Virgin
But there are retailers which own best in class Experience Signatures - perhaps unsurprisingly they also represent best in class retail . Period
A BETTER EVERYDAY LIFE FOR THE MANY PEOPLE
TOOL
$0
COMMS
BOOKBOOK COMMS
SOCIAL
COMMS SOCIAL
EVENTS
EVENTS
WEB
TOOLS
TOOLS
PEOPLE
SPACES
SPACES
SPACES
SERVICES
SERVICES
BALLS O MEAT
WITH GRAVY
(AND LINGONBERRY JAM)
LITTLE TOUCHES
PEOPLE PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
IKEA
And their masterstroke? I just described a completely unique retail ecosystem. And I didn’t mention the product once.
OK, SO WE SHOULD JUST GO BE IKEA?
IKEA Only sells its own products Which they also design and manufacture It only has one voice – its own And it only sells in its own stores
IKEA, Nike, Lego et al are stil l doing things amazingly well. But a Signature can be harder when you are a multi-category/brand retailer
And yet, the best retailers in the world have figured it out
SO, HOW DO WE GET THERE?
To achieve an Experience Signature you literally have to activate every touchpoint and infuse it with purpose, meaning and character
And while an Experience Signature isn’t the same thing as your brand, developing one begins with your brand
If you don’t know who you are or what you stand for, nothing else will work
It also begins with knowing your customers. At FITCH we plot the touchpoints leading to an Experience Signature against 3 shopper mindstates
D E L
Exploring Purchase intent in the category
Locating Specific product or service
Dreaming No specific purchase intent
Being inspired Learning
Having fun
Browse easily More information Narrow choices
Easy to find Useful reminders
Reassurance
PHD
Physical: The tangible – from objects that can be touched to settings that can be experienced
Human: Dynamic interactions – with individuals, employees and social groups
Digital: Electronic Tools – technologies that talk to everyone, or just talk to me
PHD
D E L
Through PHD/DEL we audit our client’s and their competitor ’s touchpoints, brainstorm new concepts and uncover opportunities
PHD
D E L
IN CLOSING…
100 years ago, at the birth of modern-day retail , Experience Signatures were the norm
Fueled by founders, who infused the retail brands they created with their heart and their soul
Guys like this guy
Exceptional service, selection and quality
Or this guy
Pile it high, sell it low
Or this guy
Or this guy
Or this guy
The theater of retail
But over time, we have lost our way, becoming more obsessed with the size of our operations, than what we stand for, or how we behave
We talked ourselves into the idea that size really does matter, and brawn has beaten out brain
But no-one falls in love with scale. They fall in love with brands that make shopping a delight every time. They fall in love with experience
The sort of experiences those early pioneers were all about, and which today’s retailers must rediscover, or risk becoming irrelevant
And that’s where we find ourselves today. Shelf after shelf of me-too products at discount prices and foot traffic fall ing at an alarming rate
To that end look at the impact of the decline of meaningful Experience Signatures on a single touchpoint - physical spaces
November and December Foot Traf f ic 40 bil l ion visits 30 20 10
Source:The Wall Street Journal
17.6 BILLION
2010
2011
2012
2013
November and December Foot Traf f ic 40 bil l ion visits 30 20 10
Source:The Wall Street Journal
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Why does this decline in relevance of the physical space concern us so much?
Because in many ways physical stores remain the most robust of all the channels when it comes to meaningful and powerful touchpoints
Clearly, opportunities continue to be missed
Its time to reverse the tide. But, you will need an internal champion if you ever hope to achieve this aspirational goal we have discussed today
These guys were all over it
This guy is all over it today
A Champion
CEO
A Champion
Chief Experience Officer
Only then will this amazing industry called retail get the future it deserves And only then will those that shop our stores get the experiences that they yearn for
THANK-YOU
www.fitch.com