Listening to breakfast TV today, I heard that many people are turned off by self-service tills such as are increasingly seen in supermarkets. This doesn’t surprise me – I don’t like them much either. But why don’t we like them? I think there are two marketing issues to look at here...
Firstly, people generally like to deal with people. There’s a dialogue – a two-way process. Automation may be technically clever, but you just don’t get the feedback. It’s like those telephone answer services that make you press buttons to take you through a process – at the end of the day you are left feeling dissatisfied and unsure that someone out there somewhere will act on your call. The same can be true when you buy online when the only feedback you get is an auto-reply. You have the sense of being in a vacuum. The key for those who provide goods or services via either telephone and online automated services is to add a level of contact that suggests (and ideally really does incorporate) a personal contact. This could be a call-back or a further personal email to confirm that someone really has listened and will act. The supplier reaps benefits in building customer confidence and trust – vital for establishing enduring customer relationships.
The other core issue is one of service. Having someone to cater for your needs – in the supermarket that translates into someone to check your purchases out for you – is a critical component of the buyer/seller relationship. The buyer wants to feel important to the seller. Asking buyers to do the checking out themselves suggests that the seller just doesn’t care. It’s the difference between a cafeteria and a waiter-served restaurant – both have their place but the customer will always feel more special at the latter. If your business is based on customers returning again and again, you’ll need to make them feel special. Service is the key.
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