(Here’s another installment of “brand experience briefs” — insights from my audits of new and interesting retail and restaurant concepts.)

What:  Subway Café

• a test concept featuring (as stated in the company’s press release) “an upscale coffeehouse ambience, an expanded menu, and Seattle’s Best coffee offerings including espresso drinks, lattes and frozen blended beverages, along with amenities such as Wi-Fi, and DIRECTV”
• “There are coffee people out there who like to have their Starbucks but want to have something to eat too,” one of the store managers explained the concept to the local newspaper.

Where:  Twenty locations including two stores in the San Diego market – one downtown, the other on the edge of Mission Hills, an upscale neighborhood.

What worked:

• Décor and fixtures – The only thing that seemed even somewhat appropriate were the décor and fixtures.  Instead of the standard Formica countertops and generic fixtures that adorn a regular Subway, the Subway Café featured nicer items.  A stone wall made the store seem higher quality than your typical Subway, bar stools and tables gave the place a hipper feel, and the wall hangings were eye-catching.

What didn’t work:

• Product – The coffee is advertised as Seattle’s Best brand, which is a positive association for me, but the coffee drink I ordered (a Caramel Latte) was made in one of those one-cup dispensers and that detracted from the perception — and reality — of quality coffee.  That Subway Café uses a machine to make their coffee drinks means they miss all the compelling cues of a standard coffeehouse and the benefits those cues suggest and deliver — no fresh ground coffee, no hand-made product, no sense of real ingredients.  Plus the drink tasted awful – and trust me, I am not a coffee snob.

The food selection was equally off-the-mark.  The pastry selection, standard and stale-looking, didn’t tempt even my overactive sweet tooth.  Plus the assortment skewed toward breakfast items despite my visit taking place in the late afternoon – why not offer more daypart-appropriate items like cookies, brownies, etc.?  Or better yet, use those ovens the store already has to make fresh-baked items?

• Training – The employee who served me was not trained.  She didn’t know the menu, she had to study the instructions for operating the one-cup machine (really?!), and she couldn’t answer a standard coffeehouse question (“We have half-and-half” is not an acceptable answer to the question “Do you have soy milk?”)
• Brand visuals and messaging – The store was filled with signage for Subway, Seattle’s Best (old and new visual identities), and Tazo Teas, but none of the designs or messages were integrated.   Further, the Subway Café logo has no cohesiveness – it looks like someone simply slapped on the word “Café” to the end of the Subway logo. This visual disjointedness detracts from any sense of a concept.

• Overall concept – If Subway Cafe intends to create a “third place” a la Starbucks, it’s got a long way to go.  Delivering a coffeehouse experience requires more than putting up some coffee signs and installing a coffee machine.   A different level and type of product quality and selection, service, and ambiance is called for.  Subway doesn’t have the credibility, nor the executional chops, to go there.  Plus, Subway’s primary brand equities are fresh, healthy, and made-to-order-right-in-front-of-you – Subway Café leverages none of these.

What I’d change:

• Shift gears — Focus on building Subway’s breakfast daypart.  Subway shouldn’t try to be something they’re not — especially since they’ve got a great concept as is.  This new concept is probably intended to offset the sluggish growth Subway will eventually experience, as the chain reaches a point of saturation in most markets.

So instead of creating a new concept, they should introduce a “Breakfast at Subway” program.  Offer fresh brewed Seattle’s Best drip (skip the coffee drinks), more breakfast sandwiches and sides (including fresh and perceived healthy items), and breakfast combos.  Keep executing the heck out of the grab-and-go experience that Subway does so well – and leave the coffeehouse aspirations to others.

Bottom line:  Starbucks and McDonald’s have nothing to worry about.

(Interested in learning how to improve your in-store experience?  Sign up for a Brand Experience Day.  We’ll head out into the field to experience retail concepts — good and bad — and then regroup to identify and apply the insights to your business.  Learn more.)

other brand experience briefs:

• Walmart.com store
• 77kids
• Central Market

The holiday shopping season is upon us and retailers are trying to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the new retail reality.  As a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article observed, “Americans don’t shop the way they used to.”

Between developments in social commerce, mobile apps that facilitate shopping on the go, and increases in multi-channel purchasing, retailers are faced with a multitude of possibilities for engaging customers.  They need to create a cohesive brand experience across all touchpoints.

A Customer Experience Architecture is a tool that retailers can use to optimize, prioritize, and unify all of their customer experiences.  It’s a framework for describing and delivering the optimal experiences to different customer segments in different channels.

It’s an “architecture” similar to other strategic architectures like a brand architecture or an information architecture that are used as planning tools.  Plus, assembling a Customer Experience Architecture is like building a house.

A few years ago my husband and I got the crazy idea that we would build a house.  That delusion didn’t last long, but we learned a lot about the process of designing a house — and I learned a lot about the process of designing customer experiences.  After all, a house is more than the materials to make it – we were really building our desired home experience.

So here are the steps for building a Customer Experience Architecture:

1. Brand platform — Our first step was to hire an architect and the first thing he worked with us on was our vision for the house – did we want a mission style?  Modern?  Spanish?  etc.  That vision is equivalent to your brand platform, the first step in developing a Customer Experience Architecture.  You start by defining what you want your brand to stand for, the overarching idea that represents you.

2. Customer experience strategy — We then worked on translating that vision into the overall feeling of the house we desired – e.g., did we want a cocoon to rest in or a clubhouse for our family to gather in or an entertainment hub for our friends and neighbors?  That’s the second step – articulating your customer experience strategy, the overall experience you want to deliver across all channels.  Perhaps you want to create a “place” to discover and try; or perhaps you want to deliver legendary service.

3a.  Channel requirements and objectives — Next we broke our plan down into the specific considerations and priorities for each room – e.g., a wide-open kitchen; a walk-in closet in the bedroom, etc.  We had to factor in the limitations of the property we had purchased and the budget we wanted to stick to.  In the same way, in a Customer Experience Architecture, you break down your plan by channel.  Outline the business requirements and objectives of each and factor in your operational capabilities and assets.

Your website may use sophisticated filtering technology, for example, that makes it easy for the customer to find whatever they’re looking for, so you may specify that channel for carrying a very broad assortment.  Or, the location and layouts of your brick-and-mortar stores may be perfect for grab-and-go purchases, so that channel may be all about speed of service.

3b.  Segment needs and drivers — At the same time in our home-building process, my husband and I defined our different needs so the architect could tailor his designs to address those differences – e.g., in the living area my husband “needed” a large area for watching TV on a big screen while I needed a sightline to the kitchen.

Similarly, your target segments have different needs in general and in different channels.  Some may value convenience over price; others may be looking for an entertaining experience.  Whatever they may be, outline those different needs and drivers of their purchase decisions and brand perceptions.

4. Customer experience — Then like our architect, outline the ways you are going to meet those segment-specific needs in each channel.  Use all the levers of customer experience – product, service, content, community, value, facilities, etc.  What product categories will you feature?  Will you do sampling and demonstrations?  What added value services will you offer?  What information is provided and how?

5. Assessment and integration — Once your Customer Experience Architecture is assembled, assess it as a whole “house” – is the brand strategy delivered throughout?  Do the discrete experiences ladder up to the overall customer experience strategy?  Do the experiences complement and enhance each other, or do they conflict or detract from each other?  You may need to go back to the drawing board a few times.

You also need to show how you will integrate the experiences.  A map that shows how different experiences feed into and from each other will ensure customers get a seamless shopping experience.

6. Prioritization — The next step is to value the different segment/channel intersections and prioritize them.  Use criteria like profit potential, fit with your long-term strategy, differentiation, and value to the customer to determine which experiences are the most important.  You should also look for synergies between the intersections, meaning if you focus on one, you might also be improving another.

7. Description – Finally once you’ve set your priorities, use narratives, images, idea boards, videos, etc. to convey your vision for each priority experience and the granular details that comprise them.

Creating a Customer Experience Architecture isn’t rocket science.  And believe me, it’s a lot less painful than trying to build a house.   It simply requires discipline and a deliberate process.  Great customer experiences don’t just happen.

But the return on your investment is significant.  One retailer used a Customer Experience Architecture to get all of its employees, executives, and vendors on the same page about how it would increase its competitive advantage.  It showed how the company was going to get more business out of their existing channels and how to appeal to growing segments.  The framework increased marketing efficiency by helping the company target the right people in the right way.  And it improved customer satisfaction.

As the number of brand touchpoints grows in today’s retail environment, retailers need to focus and unify their customer experiences. A Customer Experience Architecture enables you to deliver a cohesive experience that builds your brand and your business.

(To learn how to use a Customer Experience Architecture for your business, to request a custom proposal, or to book a workshop, contact me at mail AT deniseleeyohn DOT com.)

Two of my favorite brands recently introduced innovations that brought me such delight, I was prompted to think about what was so remarkable about them. What was it about them that not only delivered a great experience, but also grew my esteem of their respective brands??

I realized these innovations, despite them being on polar opposites of the technology scale, have 3 things in common.  In fact, these shared characteristics seem to distinguish all brand-building innovations from the many forgettable new products and services we’re inundated with everyday.

What:  Two delightful innovations.

Ben & Jerry’s Flipped Out – a fun twist on a brownie sundae.  Flipped Outs pack Ben & Jerry’s delectable ice cream, fudge brownie pieces, and chocolate fudge topping into a single serve pack.  You flip it over onto a plate, lift the cup off, and eat and enjoy.  Not only is this a yummy treat but it’s a fun one.  The act of flipping the dessert and removing the packaging is a simple, but powerful one – it’s a moment of anticipation and fun which makes the whole experience a delight.

The new Nike+ — a new and improved version of the sensor/tracking system for running.  Nike has brought a whole new level of functionality and enjoyment to the Nike+.   The new Nike+ includes a customizable homepage which allows you to personalize your runs to illustrate your mood, the weather, the route, etc.; a search function to be used to find other runners, initiate challenges, and broadcast your results; a new shoe finder; and other features.  Even for a casual runner like me, using it makes me feel better equipped and more inspired to run.

How: Even though Nike’s high tech system seems completely opposite from the low tech Ben & Jerry’s Flipped Out, the two innovations are both great brand-builders because they both:

• enhance the core value of their respective brands – In the race to introduce the latest and greatest products and services, many companies pursue innovations that may be cool but have little to do with the core value they currently deliver to customers.  But the strength of these two innovations is that they are derived from the very core of their respective brands.  Ben & Jerry’s is all about ice cream that’s fun and creative (not to mention all natural and socially responsible); Flipped Out takes those attributes to a new level.  Nike’s brand brings innovation and inspiration to every athlete and Nike+ does this personal, tangible way.  Neither innovation is simply cool for cool’s sake; said more positively, they stayed true to their brands while enhancing the value they deliver.
• are different from how competitors are innovating – The trends in ice cream these days are natural, lower fat/calorie, and new flavors.  With Flipped Out, Ben & Jerry’s decided to “zag” while everyone else was “zigging.”  So the new form/new packaging stands out as truly remarkable in the crowded category.  Likewise, most other sporting goods brands are focused on product innovations like greener materials, lighter/faster shoes, and performance fabrics.  Nike+ creates a completely different playing field, introducing a whole new way to experience the sport.   Rejecting the usual innovation levers and looking beyond category trends, Ben & Jerry’s and Nike created breakthroughs.
• work – Both innovations work, really well – no glitches, no “still working out the kinks”, no disappointments.  To be honest, I feared Flipped Out wouldn’t be as good as it sounded.  I was concerned the flipping/lifting would be difficult or messy and I doubted its taste would be up to my ice cream aficionado standards.  But neither worry was necessary.  Not only did the flipping/lifting work, it was kinda cool, and the product itself was much better than other pre-packaged sundaes.  With Nike+, I knew it would work seamlessly because every other online interface I’ve had with Nike has been great.  The system is easy and intuitive to use, and as I explored all the new functionality, everything worked like a charm.  Can’t say that about many other innovations today, right?!

Perhaps the most salient thing which both innovations have in common is that they take brand “engagement” to a whole new level.  The term “engagement” has taken on a lot of different meanings in today’s social media world, but I found these innovations to be truly engaging in the ways engagement is usually measured – that is, the amount of time I spent with them, the enjoyment I felt while interacting with them, and the way I am telling others about my great experiences.

related post:

• brand inspiration
• the man behind walkman

Like so many others, the fitness club industry is suffering these days.  The Denver Post recaps some of the difficulties chains like Life Time Fitness and the YMCA are facing.

Michael Robinson, chief financial officer of Life Time Fitness Inc. is quoted as saying, “When somebody looks at that Visa statement and they know that times are tougher, they’re making a decision a little bit quicker to leave the club if they’re not utilizing it.” The article reports, “Attrition rates are rising, forcing clubs to offer steep introductory discounts and spend more on advertising and marketing.”

I question whether those tactics are going to turn fitness businesses around.  These companies don’t need to increase their marketing budgets or promote the heck out of their prices — they need to deliver a better in-club experience.  Said another way, they shouldn’t be investing more in brand communications; they should be focused on brand operationalization — closing the gap between what they say and what they do.

Awhile back, I did an analysis comparing the image fitness clubs want vs. the reality of what members experience, as told on review sites like eOpinions.  The disparity was startling:

• the brand image clubs intend to project about their staff:

  

• the reality prospective members are reading about them:

-  “dishonest, unprofessional from club personnel to phone reps”
-  “when I went in to use my 2 week pass, they immediately tried to get me as a member using high pressure tactics.”
-  “the accounts rep was more than eager to sign me up and take my money. Shortly after joining and frequenting the gym, I discovered the staff was some of the most unfriendly and pretentious snobs around.”

• the brand image clubs intend to project about their facilities:

• the reality prospective members are reading about them:

-  “the locker rooms are not regularly cleaned. The locker room floors and showers continue to be consistently dirty. Simple ongoing maintenance is neglected. The floors are dirty and corroded.”
-  “Certain lockers are worn, damaged, or missing parts.”
-  “only one or two of the six showers in the ladies’ locker room work properly at any given time, or they’re missing a soap dispenser off the wall…The lockers also don’t all work properly.”
-  “the scale in the ladies locker room is probably STILL broken.”

• the brand image they intend to project about their equipment:

• the reality prospective members are reading about them:

-  “equipment is not maintained…[it] remains unusable for extended periods of time.”
-  “there is usually always something broken, worn out, ripped up.”
-  “machines that wobble, come unhinged, or remain un-repaired for months (they just frequently change the date of the “do not use-broken” notice)”

These are just a few of the disconnects my analysis revealed.  Indeed there is a rather large “say-do” gap when it comes to fitness club brands.

Because of the increasing availability of reviews for everything as well as the power of social media in general, fitness clubs — like all businesses — can no longer hide behind splashy advertising.    Plus, why wouldn’t clubs want to feed and leverage the power of positive word of mouth, particularly in a category that benefits from friends belonging together?!  What’s more, I’m sure the cost ratio of attracting a new member vs. retaining an existing one is quite significant.

Investing in delivering a great brand experience for their members seems a much more powerful approach than spending more on advertising and promotions. Tools and methods for delivering a great brand experience — for how to close the “say-do” gap — will be featured in a forthcoming post.  But for now, I hope this prompts a reconsideration among all business leaders who are deciding how best to combat the effects of the economy.