What a girl...or guy...wants

Thursday, March 22, 2007

I spoke with an IBO this week who was concerned about inclusion of some IBO-only information in the new Choices.  We included information on the IBO profit potential of the new Ribbon (formerly Gift & Incentive) program in the insert in Choices that also includes shipping, ordering, and other information.

This IBO had purchased 1,200 copies of Choices to send to his retail customers.  And he was in the process of ripping those profitability pages out.   Beyond the sheer inconvenience, he was angry that we hadn't considered his and other IBOs' customers when we made the decision to include this information in a book designed for use not just for IBOs but for customers as well.  

Shame on us.    

We're talking about changing to make it easier for IBOs to retail product and then we go and do something that inhibits their efforts.

The truth is, we've made assumptions about what customers want or need.  Assumptions about the way IBOs interact with their customers. Assumptions that what's OK for an IBO will work for a customer.  And  those assumptions have meant we do things in a way that doesn't make sense to savvy consumers, like insisting on case lot purchases for certain products.  (PS -- Thanks to everyone who has been offering ideas here and at Ada-Tudes on what we need to fix in our business.) 

And we haven't taken the pulse of the real, live breathing people who will buy our products at retail from an IBO.  Taken the steps to understand not just what our IBOs need to attract and retain customers, but to help identify and meet the needs of target customers for our products. Finding out, to quote a song, what a girl wants, what a girl needs -- or a guy, ias the case may be.

Supporting IBOs means helping them meet the needs of their customers.  If we don't develop products customers want, then IBOs will have a hard time making a sale.  If we don't create awarness of our brands, again, it'll be a hard sell for IBOs to find customers to try them and switch from what they're using today.  And if we don't create communications specifically for IBOs to put in the hands of their customers and help them sell the product, then we're setting them up to fail. And that's the last thing we want to do.

Choices for Fall will be designed to be used with a customer, with a removable insert for IBO use.  But that's just the start.  As we identify the retailable product pathways we're going to fully support them from two angles -- first, how we support the IBO through training, education and support, and second, how we arm them with tools to sell the product and brand and make the sale to a customer.  And start a profitable and rewarding relationship.  

 

 


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Comments

rdknyvr said:

Friday, March 23, 2007 | #

Beth,

Would it be possible to say a bit more, or provide your working definition of what you refer to above as a "retailable product pathway?" I'm trying to better understand your thinking on this, meaning you and your colleagues. For example, in my own mind I'm reflecting on how Apple redefined its approach to retail, from company-organized product categories to how customers might want to approach, buy and use things. I don't have a fully formed solution in my own mind, but if things are at a stage where you can share in a bit more depth... are you considering broader themes or "worldviews" that pattern some of the directions in which contemporary consumers are moving?

With appreciation,

Beth Dornan said:

Friday, March 23, 2007 | #

Happy to elaborate.  The pathway refers to the collection of support we provide IBOs to retail product...the product itself, the pricing, the training, the support materials designed for use with a customer, the ordering process and developing a focus on products customers want to buy.

What Apple went through is what we're beginning...looking at the world through a customer's eyes.  As you know, there are processes that have sprung up within our business that make sense to IBOs but are confounding to customers.

For example, when our products finally made the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Web site, I called the number listed to see what I'd experience if I were a potential customer who wanted more information.

The number, of course, was our customer support line.  I was asked first for an IBO ID number.  Now if I'm not an IBO or a current customer, I don't have one.  Since I didn't enter a number, I was then asked if my language preference was English or Spanish.  Then I was informed that my call might be monitored for quality purposes.  We're clearly geared toward an IBO calling in and need to revamp what we're doing to better serve customers.

And this means developing products with a target customer in mind, as you suggest. This is not just Quixtar but Alticor as well defining a customer focus and doing all we can to create customer awareness that leads to acceptance of our brands and products -- and sales for our IBOs.  

Gene said:

Saturday, March 24, 2007 | #

Beth,

Glad to see someone from Q called the 6500 line, I have often thougth that it did not sound "customer" oriented, and in fact, if I were a customer calling, I belive it would make me uncomfortable, like I had a wrong #.  Customer service should be about that- the customer, and everything we do to simplify purchasing will increase profitability.  The simpler it is to find an item, or someone to help you, the more likely you will make the purchase, and for Q and the IBO, that means increased profitability.  How do we give a corporate giant like Quixtar the feel of a corner grocery?

The IBO is key as we are the "(wo)man on the ground", but past the IBO level, I think this is a question we can all mull.

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