Idea PikaPika VI “Paradigms that melt on retail” by Lluís Martínez-Ribes.
March 24, 2012, we began the itinerant IDEAPIKAPIKA on Arpa Design store in Barcelona Centre. On this occasion Lluís Martínez-Ribes spokes of the paradigms that melts at RETAIL.
We need to distance from routine to see if reality changes, and observe the environment. If we all walk towards the same direction, how will we know there is no other one? The formula to calculate the profit of a product like the difference between the final price and the indirect expenses is obsolete. According to “the new capitalist manifesto” by Umair Haque, the calculations must be done in the long term and measure the side-effects. The ending of the sustainable and continued sale and buy should create a relation that must be long and longlasting. It is about creating a compromise between brands and customers. The benefit comes from the customer, from their considerations. Humanism is gaining in importance. A good seller must wonder what their establishment contributes to the customer, being it either a store or a bank. Because of this, the co-creation with customers is fundamental. But listening to the customers is not enough. We have to interpret their comments in order to be ahead of their needs. If we do not proceed this way, we are only improving, but we are not innovating. The technical specifications of a product are not enough to sell more, we should make the customer fall in love. Between the 85% and the 95% of our decisions are taken by the limbic system (it means an emotional decison) , which has nothing to do with reasoning. If we want to gain the customer’s loyalty, we must make it easy for them, avoiding then any kind of efforts. This is more important than either having a high-quality product or offering a high-quality service:” first avoid annoyances, then delight”. In this case, the order of the factor does affect the final product. We must understand we have changed from selling products or services to selling complete solutions. Costumer does no longer distinguish the way to interact with brands, it does no longer make sense to talk about “on” and “off”. We surf the web, we use social networks, and we visit the stores (more and more thought of as a showroom). Customers are individuals. Multichannel is not enough to make a customer decide for our brand. Customer should be the center of our strategy in order to ease the chances to be chosen by him, making them buy using the method they prefer, being it on-site either or on the internet.