There has been a tidal wave of automotive advertising flooding the airwaves the past few months with claims and promises of improved product quality, safety, style, gas mileage. Media spending is way up, with every manufacturer trying to entice customers back into the showrooms.  

But to what end?
Consumers hate car shopping and they don’t want to go back into the dealership. Big surprise—the shopping experience there is still one of the most frustrating, untrustworthy, and manipulative games you can be subjected to.

Add to that the fact that the recession has also caused most dealers to suspend investment in their facilities, and you understand why the thought of venturing into a dealership is bleak. Promising better on TV only to deliver the same old retail experience only fuels consumer frustration and mistrust.

Instead, consumers do everything they can to stay out of the dealership, with online research and shopping being the preferred norm. Now even purchasing online has gained popularity.

Successful brands like Apple, Whole Foods, IKEA, even Walmart, understand how to leverage the power of shopper insights to deliver game changing customer experiences that build brand excitement, loyalty and bottom line results.

Auto companies must do more to improve the customer experience in showrooms! And there couldn’t be a better time. With the  recent upheaval in the industry, the marketplace is ripe for someone with the courage to innovate and completely reinvent the paradigm.  Success will come to those who differentiate.

The upcoming flood of hybrid and electric car provides an excellent opportunity for change. Consumers already perceive these cars as different, perhaps in some ways even more like an appliance. A completely new retail and shopping experience could and should be explored.

Will the automotive industry ever learn?
Give me even one dealer out there—or a player outside the industry altogether—who’s ready to exploit a pretty obvious opportunity. They’d have more business than they could handle. That would be exciting to see.

Once. Twice. Yes, starting very soon, Apple will have done it for a third time: changed the way we buy and listen to music. Apple acquired digital music startup Lala in December and shut the site down in May, leading tech pundits to speculate on the coming of “an iTunes in the cloud,” once the streaming music service is incorporated into Apple’s business model.

Although Apple won’t comment on its plans, as a loyal Lala.com user and Apple fan, I’m fully expecting to enjoy a cloud-based iTunes experience in the near future, and I think it’s great that Apple continues to advance their retail strategy and break paradigms of the industry by sourcing great ideas, making them profitable and bringing them to a larger audience.

I look forward to having full access to my music library anywhere an Internet connection is available, as well as being able to add/purchase songs from any computer with the added benefit of instantaneous downloads to mobile equipment. I hope Apple is able to keep some of Lala’s unique features, such as letting customers listen to an entire piece of music for free before purchasing it. Also, I really appreciated being able to pay 10 cents for the rights to stream a song an unlimited number of times from the Web as opposed to downloading a song.  I think Apple’s genius lies in asking questions like: Why do I have to download music?

For years, the majority of cash at quick service restaurants has gone “through the window.”  The growing car culture has dictated a focus on drive-thru efficiency to the point where the dining room has become an afterthought to operators and subsequently a barrier to customers.

The cost of updating and maintaining a dining room has seemed cost prohibitive to many QSR chains and their franchisees, especially in light of the high drive-thru ratio. But by not offering a unique, pleasant dining experience, they have let the brand image wither on the vine. And it’s now coming back to haunt them. I contend that the high drive-thru ratio is in large part due to customers avoiding the “ick” factor of enduring outdated, smelly, deteriorating environments with no sense of place or brand personality.

The dining room is the brand.
Most customers will, at some point, come inside and that is the greatest opportunity to make a connection. Panera and Starbucks understood this a long time ago and snagged loads of customers that wanted a clean and cozy place to enjoy the product. McDonalds and Burger King have seen the light and announced major remodeling and prototype initiatives that appear to be paying off.

So to my friends in the QSR and Fast Casual game: differentiated, branded and engaging experiences win with customers; there is only so much connection you can make at the pay window. So elevate your brand with every possible touchpoint including the most important and substantial asset you have—your dining room.

It was a surprise to see major players like McDonald’s, Subway and Panera were not included in Nation’s Restaurant News, Top Ten Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains. The article focused instead on the “up & coming” brands beginning to populate the restaurant landscape.

I’m always looking for restaurant innovation that goes beyond new menu items and expanded dayparts. That’s why I was gratified to see that Which Wich? was #1 on the list. They have been on my radar screen for quite some time, because they have transformed the customary submarine sandwich experience. They have a guest experience that brings new meaning to the phase “brown bagging” it. Their unique ordering system puts the guest in control while improving the process for employees. Plus, it’s clever and simple. At Which Wich? customers place their orders by using custom red Sharpie pens to mark up pre-printed menus on sandwich bags.

The article made me think of a famous quote, “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” And if you think about brands that take chances and continue to be successful they are always searching for new ways to connect and engage with their guests, and in many cases, their franchisees and employees. Delivering a unique experience that is aligned with the brand vision while keeping it simple—in today’s marketplace, that is being innovative.

So with much fanfare, and at least as much controversy, Apple’s iPad has been released to the masses. Okay, I admit it, I ran out and bought one the day the 3G model was available and I also admit that I’m a bit smitten with it. I have no doubt that it will change my behavior in much the same way my iPhone did. But as much as the general public was anticipating the launch, I wonder if retail wasn’t equally as excited about it as part of the digital retail experience of the future.

From what I’ve seen so far, I can use it as a creative tool (no more losing my pen cap thanks to the sketch app). And I’ll be more efficient with my time away from home.  I can imagine that, put to the right use, a device like this has the ability to bring a different set of efficiencies to retail.

Maybe the iPad and the inevitable wave of competitors will have the ability to transform my experience at checkout. Maybe checking in at a hotel will be easier. Maybe big, clunky counters will become the symbols of a time when associates and customers weren’t connecting.  Maybe the augmented reality apps will give retail a new way to resonate with customers that both informs and delights. Maybe benefits for retailers and customers alike are in store, pun most certainly intended.  Maybe those customers walking out of an Apple store are leaving not only with an iPad, but a buyPad as well.

To be most effective, a sustainability initiative must be approached holistically. Sustainability and brand thinking are alike in that they radiate outward from the heart of the business. Just as brand is part of everyone’s job, sustainability can be too. Both brand and sustainability strategies are ideally intertwined, well thought out and well executed from vision to prototype. Typically, companies with this kind of forethought get high marks for differentiation and credibility, such as Whole Foods Market and Starbucks. There’s a direct benefit to the value of the brand.

Whether a company has a long history of social responsibility or a newly awakened desire to conserve resources, there are trusted ways to make decisions based on return on investment. If a large fleet of stores is in need of image refreshing, that’s an opportunity to look at controlling energy costs and sustainable building strategies. Even stores primarily in tenant spaces can look at a healthier environment and LEED certification.

In terms of the cost savings to be realized from energy and operational upgrades, if a company needs to go outside for sustainable design expertise, it’s best to align with a team that’s experienced in retail architecture and engineering. A considered, holistic approach allows a company to have their sustainability expert step in at any point in the store development process to find the most relevant and immediate opportunities.