Creating Consumer Experiences Without Meeting the Consumer

As we continue to discuss ways to improve consumer experiences, we have focused on creating consumer experiences from the perspective of a retailer or vertically integrated company that directly interfaces with the end consumer. If you are a manufacturer that relies on various retail channels to interact with your end-consumer, how do you ensure your company’s strategy and your desired consumer experience is articulated by those selling your products?

It is a common dilemma for businesses: You can control the quality of your products and services, but you can’t control the people dealing with your consumer. So, how do you create great consumer experiences when you have little interaction with them?

Well, one solution is to only choose those retailers (dealers) that align with your company’s sales strategy and vision, but in the short term limiting your distribution network may be a devastating decision, severely hampering top line growth.

So, what should you do?

Your best option is to get involved and create a powerful experience for your customers that will trickle down to your consumers. For a hand-made bike builder in Saratoga Springs, NY that is exactly what they did.

Ben Serotta, the founder of Serotta Competition Bicycles, set out to make custom bikes frames that fit riders perfectly. However, he discovered that many of the salespeople at the independent stores carrying his frames didn’t really understand how to fit a rider for a bike. His vision of the perfect fit for riders was impeded by imprecise measurements and untrained sales people. Creating the best, custom bikes for cyclists wasn’t enough, if the service they received was far from customized. Ben had tried to educate the stores through instructional manuals, brochures and in-store demos. What more could he do? What more should he do?

Outside of opening his own stores, Serotta had only one option – train the store workers himself.

Serotta started a formal training program in “Proper Fit”, where he invited a dozen top-notch bike fitters to Serotta’s headquarters. The tuition for this 3 day course was $1000, which caused some dealers to balk, but Serotta offered a money-back guarantee and promised the techniques learned could be directly applied to any bike, not just his. He also enlisted actual bike fitters to teach the class, so that participants wouldn’t feel like they were getting a long sales pitch. The program has grown in the past seven years. Now more than 100 participants come to NY each fall and winter to attend the 3-day course. They learn about biomechanics, attend sports lectures, get tips from top fitters about interviewing clients, and practice hands-on fitting.

The company has doubled sales since establishing this school, despite slashing its dealer network from 320 shops to 130.

What are the lessons to be learned from Serotta:

1. Create value – By charging $1000 tuition for the training program, students took the class more seriously.
2. Start small – To make the program more manageable, Serotta shrank his dealer network and focused on training workers at the top stores. The basic 80/20 rule.
3. Don’t sell – Serotta taught an ideology not a brand. The techniques could be applied to any bike.
4. Be humble – By having fitters teach the class, Serotta gained credibility by acknowledging that workers on the front lines knew more than he did.
   
5. Trust training - Serotta equips dealers with knowledge to sell products, then trusts them to use it.