The advertisements I've seen (well, those I've been able to read; I'm shamefully unable to read any Cantonese) have been quite sophisticated. A memorable camera ad that I saw in a Fotomax (a photography/print shop where I bought passport photos) depicted a woman walking across a busy street. She appears slightly blurred, but then comes into focus, staring at the viewer. A third section depicts a young man with a camera, looking out at something. In the bottom corner, a Polaroid of the man with his arm around the young woman, the background depicting an apartment in which the couple have just begun to unpack. The slogan reads "Photographs are more than just pixels and data". Beautiful ad. Tells a story in a purely print media, but it could have very easily been a TV ad as well.
Advertising is only one small part of sales, however. The other aspect I truly admire involves sales pitches. In the USA, retail workers do not get to change the price of items, or give customers better deals. Companies couldn't allow that behavior in America, because they have to meet profit margins to satisfy investors, and retail workers, far and away, are high school/college students who aren't formally trained in the skills of sales.
Today, I went to Starbucks. The coffee server chatted with me as I waited for my order. She asked how long I had been in Hong Kong, asked how often I drank coffee, asked about my major...
I want to stop you right here, reader. When was the last time you had a Starbucks employee that didn't just go through the motions of your transaction? In my experience, the most I've received out of a Starbucks employee was detached apathy, a latte, and my change.
Well, her kindness worked. My new friendly Starbucks barista had an exciting offer for me. I could get a snazzy reward card that stored value for Starbucks, and for $50 (that's Hong Kong dollars; we're talking about 6.45 USD), I could get one of these cards. What's more, I could get stars every time I got coffee, which got me free things. Now, I'm a big fan of coffee. Not usually of Starbucks, but I'm a long way from Rise Up or Viva Espresso, and Green Tea smoothies are always on the menu, so I'm not complaining. The prices are very good, too. So I decided to do it.
Pictured: Cool Starbucks Card.
Once again, pause. Here's how this would have happened in the USA:
Barista: Your total is $7. Do you want to apply for a reward card today?
Me: No.
I have a tendency to reject things like that out of hand. Many of us do; we live in a society with constant bombardment from companies who want to earn our repeat business without a large amount of effort. But a simple sales pitch, mixed with an ounce of friendly behavior, is a game-changer.
Retailers, this is a message to you. Train your workers in the art of the pitch. I'd love to suggest letting workers be able to provide discounts and coupons to ensure customer loyalty. I'd love if that type of customer relationship management found its way into Best Buys, into Staples, into Giant, because research shows that making your employees more powerful pays for itself. But I know that isn't going to happen, so for now... baby steps?
One final note I have to make is the aftermath of that Starbucks card. I unfortunately cannot activate it, as I need to provide a Chinese mobile number, and I'm having trouble with my SIM card. I bought a prepaid one today, but I have to get it cut down to Nano SIM size. I hope I didn't break it trying to do it myself. I also fear that it won't work because my Verizon phone is not unlocked. I'd like to be able to do that, and I know it can be done, but not easily. The way cell phone companies (at least, Verizon in particular) seem to make things hard for their customers baffles me.
I have a few more thoughts on the attitude of businesses in Hong Kong, versus the United States, but this is getting wordy, and I'm sure your eyes have glazed over. Next time, perhaps. I leave you with something I cannot get over: Fliiike! A real-time facebook like counter. SO COOL. Seen for the first time today in the University Library.
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