The Customer Is Always Right -- Part Two
By TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 4/17/2000
Whenever I discuss the diverse categories we cover at TWICE, I always mention to the uninitiated that we don't just cover different products, but completely different industries.
Never has this point rung more true than during the last two-week period. Take a look at this week's issue. The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) held their annual shows, while the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show (K/BIS) and RetailVision drew crowds from their respective audiences.
The confluence of all these shows at the same time makes things interesting for our staff, no question about it. But the perspectives that each industry and each show provides can enable one to see common trends and visualize the often elusive and proverbial "Big Picture."
So, what would two major appliance shows, a broadcasters convention, and a trade show for computer retailers and dealers have in common? The answer is more than you'd think at first glance. Of course the common challenge is the Internet and e-commerce.
The web has fundamentally changed retailing, as we know it, whether you sell CDs, books, computers... or washing machines. Knowledge is power, and the power in the retail transaction is now more in the hands of consumers than ever before. The Internet has provided consumers with more information, and more shopping choices. Gone are the days when retailers and manufacturers could monopolize most information about the products that they sell.
Retailers and vendors have to be more savvy in operations and services to meet the needs and expectations of today's consumer. Those businesses that can't adapt to the changing rules of the game will disappear.
Just listen to these comments from some top executives in several industries:
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"The consumer today wants to be in control and does not want a retailer or supplier shoving something down his or her throat. Consumers reward those who let them have as much control as possible." -- Mike London, Best Buy
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"In the old [pre-e-commerce] economy, making a decision to do nothing was sometimes the right decision, but not anymore. Now you must change and move quickly." -- Keith Fox, Cisco
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"Today both retailer and supplier must understand that the consumer, not the retail outlet or chain, is the customer. And that customer is at the controls and will decide where to shop." -- Dennis Reaves, Wal-Mart
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And Adam Levin of Levin Consulting told manufacturers during his presentation at RetailVision that retailers "can't just put your product on the shelf and see what happens." He noted that the main reason why consumers don't buy a computer product at a store is that they can't find it.
So, you major appliance guys, take a look at the RetailVision story. And you computer mavens, read the AHAM and K/BIS stories. And the rest of you, read them all, because you're all dealing with the same trends, regardless of the product. It seems that in the new economy a cliché from the old economy is truer than it's ever been: "The customer is always right." Retailers and manufacturers, no matter what industry they serve, will be out of business if they don't aggressively adapt to the changing marketplace and follow that old bromide. --Viewpoint by Steve Smith
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