TWICE/Campaigners Poll: Shoppers Want Hands-On Help

El Segundo, Calif. — There's no such thing as too much hand-holding when it comes to selling CE.

That's the message sent loud and clear by shoppers who participated in a recent in-store poll conducted exclusively for TWICE by Campaigners, a field sales and marketing firm based here.

Asked to choose the three most important things a sales person could do to make their shopping experience more productive, nearly one out of five shoppers (19 percent) said “provide a hands-on demo or interactive clinic on how to use a product.” Thirteen percent wanted “an explanation of a product's practical application or benefits, in layman's terms,” while 12 percent said “a better understanding of a product and the technology” behind it would be most appreciated.

Taken together, just under half (45 percent) of all respondents indicated a desire for more product-specific information from sales associates in CE stores.

The survey, of 777 shoppers, was conducted across the U.S. in national and regional CE chains during the last two weeks of August.

Other suggestions included:

• “Explain setup/installation” (11 percent)
• “Better understand consumers' needs” (10 percent)
• “Be available to answer questions in a timely manner” (9 percent)
• “Suggest complimentary products and accessories” (6 percent)
• “Provide a feature/benefit chart that compares products” (5 percent)
• “Indicate any compatibility issues with currently-owned products” (5 percent)

The bottom line: even with a wealth of information now readily available over the Internet, consumers are still gun-shy and knowledge-starved when it comes to CE devices, and would like to be able to turn to sales associates for more in-depth help.

Campaigners is a full-service field sales and marketing agency that has created hundreds of campaigns for clients such as, DirecTV, Fujifilm, JVC, LG, Motorola, Roxio and Vonage. The firm was founded in 1997 by former Hewlett-Packard marketer Melissa Orr, and has since driven more than $3 billion in retail sales through its in-store sales training, market intelligence, merchandising, special events and mystery shop services, the company said. Campaigners conducts its field work with educated, highly trained and motivated “delegates” who create a “seamless extension of clients' own sales and marketing teams.” For more information, visit www.campaigners.com.