Another instance of a Nokia Exec speaking out is this writeup from MEX about a session led by Cliff Crosbie, Global Director of Retail Marketing, Nokia. Cliff quoted an article in The Sun saying, "owning a mobile phone can improve living standards more than being given the right to vote." He then asked the question "When does exceptional service happen?"
Cliff’s point was that, in retail, the responsibility rests on the person. The front-line employees, or more appropriately "brand ambassadors." It’s those people with whom potential customers interact, and those people who ultimately decide whether or not you have a "customer" or a "consumer" on your hands.
In the session, they broke out into smaller groups to answer the
question, "What three things would you change about the way that
handsets are sold?" Jared highlights 8 responses:
- Build trust with your customer
- Mass customization of handsets (ala Dell)
- Consultative Sales
- Simpler Pricing
- Focus on product lifetime
- Migration Assistance from old to new
- Out of the box usability
- "Simplexity"
From that, I have some thoughts: I like the idea of "simplexity." I
would define it (not having anything to do with the MEX conference) as
"the degree to which a device makes it simple to complete a complex
task." An example would be the Web Upload feature on Nokia N-series
devices. Click and there it is, in your Flickr account. To the average
consumer, uploading photos to an online service at all is a complex
task, much less directly from your mobile. However, clicking three or
four times is simple.
I would also ask Cliff, of those listed above, which is Nokia doing?
And in what markets? Which ones could be done better? I also recently
read this post on The Nokia Blog. It’s a killer example of Nokia doing
#1, 3, and 6, if not others. However, they fail miserably at #1 in the
US, as evidenced by my warranty woes.
What else do you think could be improved? To my readers who work in
retail, what are your thoughts on this? Personally, I think that Nokia
does a great job in other countries, but falls short on basics in the
US. Basics like marketing and the four P’s. I worked in retail for
several years, and I can tell you that not advertising won’t get you
many sales. And advertising a product that a consumer can’t easily
purchase is even worse. It’s got to be a combination of the 2. I’m
extremely anxious to visit the Nokia Flagship store in a few weeks. I’m
going to "secret shop" it for sure. Go in hours before the event and
see how knowledgeable the salespeople are. Are they friendly? Do they
live the products they’re selling?
