The Customer Experience

It’s no secret that the high street is a tough place to be. In a cut-throat environment where competition is immense and profit margins tiny, retailers face a battle to strengthen sales and market share during a continuing economic recession.

For Sony, the situation is particularly acute in TV/home theatre. Faced by row after row of flat screens, customers find it hard to make a decision about the product that is right for them. Often, they are steered by the salesperson towards a lower-priced competitor model for a quick sale. Our response has been to practise what we preach by creating Golden Spaces – specially designed in-store display and demonstration areas that give shoppers a fantastic first-hand experience of our products.

Located at ‘hot spots’ in some of Europe’s most prestigious and high-value retail locations, our Golden Spaces can now be found at 130 (and counting) prime stores across Europe.

Engaging with emotionally-driven dialogue

Each Golden Space is staffed by its own Brand Activator, a full-time consultant who we have specially trained to engage with customers and connect with their emotional ‘hot buttons’. Our high-impact areas invite customers to sit comfortably as they experience A/V solutions by Sony, from Blu-ray Disc™ and BRAVIA® home theatre to 3D TV. There is no hard sell here. Instead, the Brand Activator asks the customer questions to find out more about their needs and interests. By demonstrating fantastic sound and visual content that is relevant to each customer, the Brand Activator can quickly create a real sense of passion and excitement, persuading customers that “this product is just right for me”.

“The average TV demonstration in store can feel like a science lesson”, says Paul Robinson, Sony Sales & Marketing Manager, AVME (Audio Video Marketing Europe). “With Golden Spaces, we’re moving the conversation away from hertz and pixels to a more engaging, emotionally-driven dialogue between customers and our Brand Activators.”

Pointing out that two thirds of TV purchasing decisions are made in store, with the customer standing right in front of the product itself, Paul continues: “Purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by the emotional benefits of a particular brand. By adding emotional value to our products, our Golden Spaces initiative plays a crucial role in Sony maintaining a brand premium in store… where it really matters”.

Customer-centric engagement

Within each Golden Space, demos are powered by a networked PC and touchscreen that allow shoppers to browse over 30 compelling, specially crafted content clips. From football, music, nature and action movies to cartoons for kids, customers can drive demos themselves or under the friendly guidance of the Brand Activator. It is a far more customer-friendly and effective approach than being forced to watch the same movie on Blu-ray Disc™ as everyone else.

Running demos via a PC – rather than the more usual disc locked in a player drawer – has some key advantages. We can remotely monitor what is being viewed by customers and when, allowing us to assess which demos are popular and how long customers are viewing for. Just as importantly, clips can be updated at any time via the network. Everything is controlled centrally, with content managed by the same specialist partner who operates the massive eye-grabbing screens in London’s Piccadilly Circus.

Working with specialist partners to deliver the total solution

Creating our Golden Spaces is a massive challenge, with plans to roll-out just under 200 spaces still being implemented. This target will ensure that our unique message will be within easy reach of an incredible one in five European consumers. So far, the installation rate has been phenomenal, with the first 40 Golden Spaces up and running within a month of launch.

Throughout, our experience of working with and managing third party specialist partners has been crucial. Our strategic consultation skills and project implementation expertise – across the professional broadcast, audio-visual, system networking and digital signage fields – has proved invaluable in delivering a total ambience marketing solution.

To explore how we can add more customer engagement to your retail space: Click Here