Following hot on the heels of Apple's retail store success, Microsoft announced today that they are opening their first "Retail Experience Center", a brick and mortar home for consumers to "build connected shopping experiences and consumer loyalty, improve business insights and decision making, create operational efficiencies," and ultimately, "address rising consumer expectation and competitive pressures during today's challenging economic times."
Hmmm...What does this mean? I'm interpreting it as they are trying to help coach small business owners to utilize their technology in the best way to provide an optimum consumer experience for their customers yielding maximum profitability and hopefully, if they're lucky, an increase in consumer retention.
While I appreciate Microsoft's entrepreneurial economic resurgence desire, I am not convinced that this 20,000 square foot facility located conveniently (ahem) in Redmond, Washington at Microsoft's HQ was the way to really reach out to the American people.
You would think that during these "challenging economic times" people would be shutting down stores not opening them, and I can't help but be pessimistic about the self-promotional nature of this endeavor. While many services that are provided to help people are certainly self gratuitous in some shape or form, it seems like Microsoft could have taken the show on the road, setting up a moving exhibit showcasing their services in multiple markets that would have reached a much larger (and much more representative) demographic.
If the show wasn't made for the road and if the objective really is to help their average consumer, creating a "store experience" that would best help people "cut costs, create efficiencies, streamline operations, and drive customer loyalty through connected experiences" shouldn't they have setup shop somewhere on 5th Avenue here in the NYC, in the Mall of America, Union Square in San Francisco, Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, Tyson's Corner in Virgina, or perhaps in the Grove in Los Angeles, all prominent (and highly trafficked) consumer retail markets?
Instead of taking their "showcase of new and emerging technologies" to the average consumer, they are keeping it homeward, which seems to clearly decrease the reach and magnitude of this endeavor.
How much of an impact that this "Retail Experience Center" has on Microsoft's image, sales, and how helpful it is for the average consumer within this target demographic remains to be seen.
One thing that resonates with me from Microsoft's press release is how important consumer loyalty is.
I'm not certain what Microsoft's tactics are for addressing that need, but I hope to make it over to the National Retail Federation 98th Annual Convention and Expo here in NYC where Microsoft says it will be showcasing this center at booth no. 637, so I can find out.
What are the best ways to utilize technology to hang on to your consumers while concurrently generating new ones?
Now this is the million (multi-million?) dollar question, one that I constantly work to address as I build relevant CRM tactics, programs, and initiatives for many of my clients that integrate with their overall CRM strategy. Obviously there is no clear-cut answer, but there is a resounding theme that echos through: you absolutely have to talk to your consumers.
(Photo courtesy of Microsoft)
