I am just a sucker for a good marketing program. Recently, I have evaluated several products based on their extensive marketing and the claims they made within—to my great disappointment (Tommy John and MyPillow, just to name two). As someone who is “fashion challenged,” I am constantly trying to find clothes that at once make me look cool and hip (seriously!) and totally unlike a bouncer (which, unfortunately, is what my basic shape tends to resemble). So, after hearing their commercials and online ads, I became enthralled enough with UNTUCKit to buy a couple of their shirts online. Upon receiving the shirts, I really liked the way they were cut, and, true to their advertising, they were the perfect length to wear untucked.
Unfortunately, one of the two shirts didn’t fit me at all, so I gave it away without wearing it once. The other became less and less a part of my wardrobe. What I didn’t care for was the fabric: it was “unforgiving,” which doesn’t work with my frame (it requires a lot of “forgiving”). I was ready to put UNTUCKit into the category of great marketing/not-so-great product, when I happened to be in the Lenox Square mall in Atlanta visiting my Apple Store and walked past an UnTuckIt. It didn’t click until I was literally three stores past that it was an UNTUCKit store, but as soon as it did, I went back and engaged in a conversation with the sales rep.
I expressed my joy about the shirts but my dissatisfaction with the cut and fabric for my body shape. The rep was able to look up my online order and discovered I had ordered a “slim” version of the one shirt—definitely my error; I would never knowingly order a slim of anything. The other shirt had fit, but felt constricting, so he showed me the line of UNTUCKit shirts that have man-made fibers included with the cotton to provide the “give” I was looking for. I was able to try on different shirts and determine the sizes, colors and styles that best fit me, and got great advice from the sales rep. When it was time to buy, he placed my order online, and the shirts were shipped to my home address at no charge.
I don’t know how much it costs to have a store in Lenox Square, but it cannot be cheap. And it does seem odd to have a store that is focused on enthralling people with the product but not necessarily having them walk out with product in hand. Personally, however, this store reverted me back to being an UNTUCKit customer (I am wearing an UNTUCKit shirt as I write this post). I am now empowered with the knowledge of the correct shirts to order should I choose to return to their online store. This innovative model of using the store for engagement but handling distribution via online and shipping makes a lot of sense. Each individual brick-and-mortar store isn’t challenged with stocking inventory, and the footprint of the store can be quite minimal. They are consultative-sales-oriented brand ambassadors and overcomers of objections.
It would be interesting to know how UNTUCKit handles the sales performance of each of these stores—are they franchises or company stores? If this a model in which a branch is advocating for the organization, and people can become familiar with the brand at the physical store but do their purchasing online, how does that individual store get “credit” for the sale? This would be a huge problem for organizations like financial institutions with accounting systems capable of accounting for only one branch’s (store’s) performance, rather than measuring the contribution of the individual store (branch) to the whole enterprise. Organizations that get this right will stand to gain the most as we continue to move toward a blended method of purchasing: going in-store to pick up and touch and ask questions, and then going online to buy.
How is your organization handling these challenges? Are you focusing on how to remove barriers for future customers, services and markets? If you need to look at your products or processes from a fresh point of view, contact me at david@davidpeterson.com. Let’s talk about how Innovation-Driven Growth can unlock future success.