There’s a famous story in the annals of retail lore about a customer who walked into Nordstrom to return a car tire. Nordstrom did not sell car tires.
I’ve heard this story many times but never met the poor soul who accepted the tire and then invited the customer to exchange it for a new shirt. What’s certain is that thousands of customers have returned items to Nordstrom which were well-worn and should not have been returned — or were mistakenly identified as Nordstrom’s merchandise.
Nordstrom accommodated. And never said no.
“What Nordstrom realized is that the post-purchase experience influenced the purchase decision.”
Nordstrom also realized that word of mouth, mattered.
Whether Nordstrom survives the “casualization” of America is another topic. They’ve been around since 1901 and survived plenty of trends and focus shifts.
What’s clear is that Nordstrom sold one thing beautifully: they sold trust.
In sharp contrast, those retailers who competed on price experienced a different fate.
Sears, JC Penney, Mervyn’s, Payless, Radio Shack, Toys R Us. All gone. Or, nearly gone.
Lessons from the World Retail Congress: How To Create Real Value
A few years ago I was invited to speak at the World Retail Congress in Dubai about how to create real value.
I’d been featured in a book by author Martin Butler: “The Art of Being Chosen.” Martin had invited me to join him on stage to speak about the art of creating real value and I was slotted to deliver the closing keynote.
Martin got it big time. We agreed that value has nothing to do with price. And here’s why. When we make a purchase decision, we pay with money — but we also pay with time and emotion.
In fact, when we show our customers that we value their time — and their emotion — customers will pay a price premium for the experience.
“Nordstrom’s focus on the post-purchase experience handed consumers something invaluable: time and emotion.”
Omnidian: The Solar Post Purchase Experience
The team at Omnidian shared a common goal: to protect and accelerate capital investments by businesses and homeowners in solar energy — by focusing on the post-purchase experience.
We asked ourselves a lot of “what ifs.”
The Homeowner Experience
What if:
Energy production was monitored 24/7, with proactive service alerts and 100% covered maintenance? What if we gave homeowners a cash-back energy guarantee? They could literally, “set it, and forget it.”
We asked thousands of residential solar shoppers across the nation what they thought of the product. Nearly 50% of all active solar shoppers were willing to pay nearly $2,000 for the protection plan as an add-on to their solar purchase. (We got the price to $12.99 a month.)
Then, we set out for the real work. Creating an exceptional post-purchase experience.
We added loads of features unique to the sector:
An operations center with access to real-time remote diagnostics and a team of rosy-cheeked award-winning solar experts delivering 5-star service to clients.
Quarterly Performance Reports — delivered by U.S. Mail — keeping homeowners posted on the progress relative to their year-end energy guarantee.
A beautifully designed, world-class Welcome Kit from our Elite Dealers who agree to prepay for the first year of coverage and include it with every new system!
Not to mention, custom updates to our clients’ websites — so that solar shoppers can see not only the quality of the purchase — but the quality of the post-purchase experience.
“We are selling trust. We call it ‘Solar Without Fear.'”
In a post COVID world, it is likely that consumers will want to de-risk their lives as well as de-risk their purchase decisions. The wildfires of yesteryear, rising retail electric rates, and the possibility of a phase two quarantine are real risks consumers will seek to mitigate. Residential solar purchases are part of the solution. Consumers know it.
Most importantly, we should remember that consumers are fleeing to online — not to choose a product — but to choose a provider.
In order to become the 1st choice in the market, we need to think about how to create a safe and secure post-purchase experience.