My Web 2.0 Expo Keynote: until Best Buy adds people to its website our jobs are not done

March 31, 2009 By

The Web 2.0 Expo starts this morning. I’m up early to give my keynote.

My title? “You don’t need a social media strategy, here’s what you do need.”

See, when I got together with a bunch of bloggers this weekend many of them said that companies are asking them for help with their social media strategies. One person said she was asked to help evaluate “social media tools.” You know, like TweetDeck or Twhirl which lets you use Twitter better than just the web page.

Our whole industry has gotten completely off track by this kind of lame talk.

How did we get there? We have people giving talks as “social media experts” who are only following 29 people (seriously, I did see this just a week ago and I’m not going to even mention the person).

It’s to the point now that when I see someone claim they are a “social media expert” that I run the other way as quickly as I can. I’ve been participating in online communities since 1985 and I’m still not expert, so how can someone who is only following 29 people be expert about anything regarding online communities?

Anyway, I’m getting off track. Back to my keynote.

If I were actually giving a keynote this morning I’d put one corporate site up on the screens: BestBuy.com.

I’d implore the audience to wonder where they went wrong. Why hasn’t one of the world’s largest retailers gotten a clue yet?

Where do I get off telling one of the world’s most successful retailers that their web site sucks?

Easy: when you walk into a real Best Buy store, what do you see? I see lots of people with blue shirts on. Employees! People! Folks who can help me pick out a new big screen or camcorder or computer. What else do you see? Customers! Oh, yes, people again.

But when I go to BestBuy.com, what do I see?

No people.

Web 2.0 hasn’t reached BestBuy’s headquarters yet.

Unfortunately today you won’t hear any keynotes about why Web 2.0 has failed to reach Best Buy. No, you’ll hear all sorts of congratulatory stuff about how Web 2.0 is going to save us from the recession. Or you’ll hear more hype about Twitter or how you can build your own social media strategy that will make you better than Zappos.

Here it is in simple terms: add people to your web sites. Zappos has. They feature customer reviews right on their home page. Amazon has. They have reviews right on their home page.

That’s all the social media strategy you need for 2009. After all, if Best Buy isn’t able to do it yet, you probably aren’t able to do it yet either. Figure it out.

Think this doesn’t matter? Well Zappos just passed a billion dollars in sales and Amazon has a P/E ratio of 47.88 compared to Best Buy’s ratio of 15.51.

Why does adding people to your home page make sense?

For several reasons:

1. The real social media strategy you should have is to get people to promote you. Most people are more likely to promote you if they think you’re listening to you. (Zappos does this by having more than 300 employees on Twitter who will fix any problem you have instantly). Amazon does it by having great reviews. If I review some products my name is on the site and I’m more likely to tell other people about Amazon than some other site, like Best Buy’s, that might have a lower price but doesn’t feature me.
2. Most people like a personal approach. I want to know that there’s real people behind a business. Best Buy’s approach feels cold. Zappos’ approach feels warm. You can feel it by visiting both of their sites.
3. It’s a lot harder to chose to screw some business when you know someone there. At Ford Motors there’s Scott Monty. Last weekend we bought a Toyota, but I feel guilty for not buying a product from Scott. This is a dude I’ve never met and only know from dealing with him on my blog and over on Twitter. Yet I feel guilty for not buying from him. (To be fair, Toyota has a bunch of people on Twitter too, but Scott was visible a long time before I knew Toyota was there).
4. Everyone goes through a sales process. I used to help run a consumer electronics store in Silicon Valley and I saw this up close and personal. But go to Best Buy and see if there’s a consultative approach. There’s none, other than “save 15%.” That doesn’t add value and doesn’t help me figure out which big screen I need. Add some blue shirts to the web site and we’ll go down the sales process together and close rates will go up.
5. Adding customers to the home page is low-cost but high return.

So, today, at the Web 2.0 Expo, I’m going to be working to figure out what the best approaches are to add people back to our web sites. Even this blog is too cold and needs more people added to it. More on that later.

Enjoy your day today at the Web 2.0 Expo, I’ll be hanging out in the hallway by the escalators. Feel free to call me +1-425-205-1921 — Rocky and I will be hanging out recording cool companies and meeting people.

UPDATE: Funny, but Ribbit and Best Buy recently announced a social media app for mobile phones. So, maybe BestBuy has a clue but it just hasn’t gotten to the home page yet.

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  • http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/ Lewis Green

    What can I say? You got it right. People are what matter; not what tools we use.

  • http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/ Lewis Green

    What can I say? You got it right. People are what matter; not what tools we use.

  • Sparky

    Using Best Buy as an example is right on. I wonder if long term they will survive with this kind of mindset. There is a shift underway in the retail space and those who “get it” will survive.

  • Sparky

    Using Best Buy as an example is right on. I wonder if long term they will survive with this kind of mindset. There is a shift underway in the retail space and those who “get it” will survive.

  • http://99daz.com/ Darren Daz Cox

    I think the deal is that the majority of the public have access to a physical store and browsing is more fun in real life than with little gifs that may or may not show the actual product.

    I go into Best Buy when I either need something specific or if I have extra cash and want to browse but if I want something that my local store doesn’t have I’d search Ebay first before even thinking about Bestbuy.com, why pay retail and then have to wait for it to ship?

    In some ways, a slow site is a sign that the real world shopping is meeting the needs, not everything needs to be web based!!

  • http://99daz.com Darren Daz Cox

    I think the deal is that the majority of the public have access to a physical store and browsing is more fun in real life than with little gifs that may or may not show the actual product.

    I go into Best Buy when I either need something specific or if I have extra cash and want to browse but if I want something that my local store doesn’t have I’d search Ebay first before even thinking about Bestbuy.com, why pay retail and then have to wait for it to ship?

    In some ways, a slow site is a sign that the real world shopping is meeting the needs, not everything needs to be web based!!

  • http://www.blogtrafficexchange.com/ Blog Traffic Exchange

    Have you seen this? Best Buy 2.0

    http://www.consumersprice.com/preview

  • http://www.blogtrafficexchange.com Blog Traffic Exchange

    Have you seen this? Best Buy 2.0

    http://www.consumersprice.com/preview

  • http://seat6d.com/ Denrael

    I understand what you are saying, and want to believe you. The concept is sound, but it is based on the concept that the sales people in the store are indeed helpful. The concept of humanizing their website is solid, but if the level of service I get is similar to what I receive at a brick and mortar store, then I feel I would find it more annoying.

    That being said, I will admit that I have had some excellent service in best buy. Back in small appliances, even large appliances I consistently get people who know what they are talking about. Put those people on the website and I’m there (well, not really, Amazon is just such a better shopping experience, but I’d have a better chance of being there). If however you put the people from computers or cameras on the web, I would reach a high level of frustration quickly. My experience (others may vary) is that they can seldom answer a question if it goes beyond what is on the info card/price tag. In computers I’ve asked about number of memory slots. In cameras I’ve asked about sensor size. In any case like this, they will study the card and then shrug. They do not offer to go find out or in any way go out of their way to answer my question. If I am shopping in those areas I now go in with my iPhone so I can look up my own answers.

    When I think of companies that get the human aspect, Kimpton comes to mind as well as the Northwest Platinum Desk. In both cases, they will move heaven and earth to get the answer you need, though in most cases, their training is such that it is already at their fingertips. From a similar footprint to Best Buy, the level of expertise of the average employee at Ultimate I have found to be higher as well.

    Other’s experience with blue shirts may differ, and I hope it does. Best Buy is a local company for me and I want them to succeed. I’ve shopped them for years, and I will continue to shop them until a better option is available at least in some departments.

    So, by all means, humanize the web, but don’t assume that just putting any human in a blue shirt there will guarantee success.

  • http://seat6d.com Denrael

    I understand what you are saying, and want to believe you. The concept is sound, but it is based on the concept that the sales people in the store are indeed helpful. The concept of humanizing their website is solid, but if the level of service I get is similar to what I receive at a brick and mortar store, then I feel I would find it more annoying.

    That being said, I will admit that I have had some excellent service in best buy. Back in small appliances, even large appliances I consistently get people who know what they are talking about. Put those people on the website and I’m there (well, not really, Amazon is just such a better shopping experience, but I’d have a better chance of being there). If however you put the people from computers or cameras on the web, I would reach a high level of frustration quickly. My experience (others may vary) is that they can seldom answer a question if it goes beyond what is on the info card/price tag. In computers I’ve asked about number of memory slots. In cameras I’ve asked about sensor size. In any case like this, they will study the card and then shrug. They do not offer to go find out or in any way go out of their way to answer my question. If I am shopping in those areas I now go in with my iPhone so I can look up my own answers.

    When I think of companies that get the human aspect, Kimpton comes to mind as well as the Northwest Platinum Desk. In both cases, they will move heaven and earth to get the answer you need, though in most cases, their training is such that it is already at their fingertips. From a similar footprint to Best Buy, the level of expertise of the average employee at Ultimate I have found to be higher as well.

    Other’s experience with blue shirts may differ, and I hope it does. Best Buy is a local company for me and I want them to succeed. I’ve shopped them for years, and I will continue to shop them until a better option is available at least in some departments.

    So, by all means, humanize the web, but don’t assume that just putting any human in a blue shirt there will guarantee success.

  • http://www.thebrandonshow.com/ Brandon J. Mendelson

    I really liked this post. I don’t always agree, but this is worth sharing with those just getting into the social media world.

  • http://www.thebrandonshow.com Brandon J. Mendelson

    I really liked this post. I don’t always agree, but this is worth sharing with those just getting into the social media world.

  • http://www.buildcontext.com/blog Ben Hedrington

    Robert,

    This deserves much more conversation than I will give right now and I will use this here at Best Buy as a great conversation pusher just like my tools http://spy.appspot.com and others have done so inside the company to get people to understand the value in these channels. There are grassroots teams across the company experimenting in these spaces but, as you point out, being who we are it needs to be bigger, brighter and center stage.

    I’d liek your feedback since we are top of mind…

    I personally have created a tool that allows companies like us to combine the voices of many on Twitter to converge into the companies Twitter stream. I call it http://www.connecttweet.com (blog post here: http://bit.ly/xypWk)… my vision for Best Buy is that thousands of employee voices really are our voice to the market not a big black box and many execs agree when we have talked about this… I’d love your feedback on this concept I believe it meshes with your overall point about bringing the voices to the forefront and something I have been talking about for a while… but to you point not yet doing.

    This post will propel me to do more. We’d love to talk more about this I’m @benhedrington you can email me ben.hedrington@bestbuy.com or ben@hedrington.com any time.

  • http://www.buildcontext.com/blog Ben Hedrington

    Robert,

    This deserves much more conversation than I will give right now and I will use this here at Best Buy as a great conversation pusher just like my tools http://spy.appspot.com and others have done so inside the company to get people to understand the value in these channels. There are grassroots teams across the company experimenting in these spaces but, as you point out, being who we are it needs to be bigger, brighter and center stage.

    I’d liek your feedback since we are top of mind…

    I personally have created a tool that allows companies like us to combine the voices of many on Twitter to converge into the companies Twitter stream. I call it http://www.connecttweet.com (blog post here: http://bit.ly/xypWk)… my vision for Best Buy is that thousands of employee voices really are our voice to the market not a big black box and many execs agree when we have talked about this… I’d love your feedback on this concept I believe it meshes with your overall point about bringing the voices to the forefront and something I have been talking about for a while… but to you point not yet doing.

    This post will propel me to do more. We’d love to talk more about this I’m @benhedrington you can email me ben.hedrington@bestbuy.com or ben@hedrington.com any time.

  • http://www.krisgreenwood.com/ Tom

    I agree with Brandon on this…

    Great post…

  • http://www.krisgreenwood.com/ Tom

    I agree with Brandon on this…

    Great post…

  • http://www.garykoelling.com/ Gary Koelling

    Thank you sir, may I have another?

  • http://www.garykoelling.com Gary Koelling

    Thank you sir, may I have another?

  • dc

    The idea is sound but there is a problem with the logic. If you have spent any time with customer service at a Best Buy you’d immediately realize why they don’t want to add ‘people’ to their site — they are terrible at customer satisfaction and giving customers a voice on their website would open a floodgate of vent-blasting the likes of which would destroy the tiny mirage of “good service” they currently enjoy.

  • http://trevorlandia.blogspot.com/ Trevor Long

    Social media is Web 2.0′s version of WOM, of course better, but does word of mouth run the whole marketing strategy? I think not.

    I’m no expert either but as a young online marketer I know it is important to realize that all the marketing functions must work together for more effecient communication. Social media strategy is just a PART of the whole marketing strategy.

    http://trevorlandia.blogspot.com

  • dc

    The idea is sound but there is a problem with the logic. If you have spent any time with customer service at a Best Buy you’d immediately realize why they don’t want to add ‘people’ to their site — they are terrible at customer satisfaction and giving customers a voice on their website would open a floodgate of vent-blasting the likes of which would destroy the tiny mirage of “good service” they currently enjoy.

  • http://trevorlandia.blogspot.com Trevor Long

    Social media is Web 2.0′s version of WOM, of course better, but does word of mouth run the whole marketing strategy? I think not.

    I’m no expert either but as a young online marketer I know it is important to realize that all the marketing functions must work together for more effecient communication. Social media strategy is just a PART of the whole marketing strategy.

    http://trevorlandia.blogspot.com

  • http://empoprise-bi.blogspot.com/ John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises)

    Definitely valid points, but I hope that companies don’t just blindly “add people” and hope magic will happen. The tools are not the solution.

    For example, last year I attended the International Association for Identification (IAI) conference in Louisville, Kentucky on behalf of my employer, who provides software and hardware solutions for law enforcement. One of my co-workers, knowing of my former Twitter account, told me that I should “twitter” what we were doing at the IAI. Great idea, but after performing a Twitter search, I deduced that I was the only person on Twitter at the time who had even heard of the IAI. No sense tweeting to myself.

    I’m pondering the extension of social media tools outside the consumer industry, but the activities in the consumer sector are certainly worth monitoring. I’ll check out this new Best Buy initiative.

  • http://empoprise-bi.blogspot.com/ John Bredehoft

    Definitely valid points, but I hope that companies don’t just blindly “add people” and hope magic will happen. The tools are not the solution.

    For example, last year I attended the International Association for Identification (IAI) conference in Louisville, Kentucky on behalf of my employer, who provides software and hardware solutions for law enforcement. One of my co-workers, knowing of my former Twitter account, told me that I should “twitter” what we were doing at the IAI. Great idea, but after performing a Twitter search, I deduced that I was the only person on Twitter at the time who had even heard of the IAI. No sense tweeting to myself.

    I’m pondering the extension of social media tools outside the consumer industry, but the activities in the consumer sector are certainly worth monitoring. I’ll check out this new Best Buy initiative.

  • Pingback: Scobleizer: Technology, innovation, and geek enthusiasm » Blog Archive My Web 2.0 Expo Keynote: until Best Buy adds people to its website our jobs are not done «

  • http://maneydigital.com/ Mike Maney

    Robert,

    I think Best Buy is more aggressive and doing more than you realize. It’s worth your time to check out this post on how they are using their APIs to replicate the in-store experience online, and this one on the work they are doing around Remix.

    If you aren’t already, you may want to follow @BestBuyRemix (Keith Burtis, Remix community manager) and @micheleazar (VP of social channels).

    Mike

    Disclosure: I work with Mashery, which provides the API platform for Best Buy.

  • http://maneydigital.com Mike Maney

    Robert,

    I think Best Buy is more aggressive and doing more than you realize. It’s worth your time to check out this post on how they are using their APIs to replicate the in-store experience online, and this one on the work they are doing around Remix.

    If you aren’t already, you may want to follow @BestBuyRemix (Keith Burtis, Remix community manager) and @micheleazar (VP of social channels).

    Mike

    Disclosure: I work with Mashery, which provides the API platform for Best Buy.

  • http://www.lessontech.blogspot.com/ Andrew Pass

    Robert,

    Very impressive. You are followed by thousands of people but you get it right when you say that the point is to follower other people.

    Thanks for the insights.

  • http://www.lessontech.blogspot.com Andrew Pass

    Robert,

    Very impressive. You are followed by thousands of people but you get it right when you say that the point is to follower other people.

    Thanks for the insights.

  • Eric N.

    Bull, either companies like BestBuy start giving a shit about their customers (on and off-line) or we will find alternative companies that do. Customer service, caring, and interest should be baked into your company culture. Think about it before you sell something or hire anyone.

  • Eric N.

    Bull, either companies like BestBuy start giving a shit about their customers (on and off-line) or we will find alternative companies that do. Customer service, caring, and interest should be baked into your company culture. Think about it before you sell something or hire anyone.

  • http://forums.bestbuy.com/ Gina

    Hi Robert,

    The power of our people is what propelled Best Buy to become an industry leader in retail. I agree with your point about Bestbuy.com not showcasing our Blueshirt and Geek Squad agents in the same manner as in our stores. However, when a brand moves online it doesn’t mean they create a carbon copy of their physical store locations.

    My team and I manage and moderate many of Best Buy’s Web 2.0 engagements. We populate the internet with their Blueshirt and Geek Squad knowledge. We have tri-lingual support on Twitter: English (BBY_Community, GeekSquadHelp), Spanish (BBY_Comunidad) and French (BBY_Communaute) – I am not aware of any other company that harnesses the power of it people in this fashion. We also have bilingual Community Forums (http://forums.bestbuy.com). I write the Best Living blog and one of my team members writes The Red Ring of Death and Other Gaming Nightmares blog. In addition to these blogs, we also have Best Buy Connect (http://bestbuyinc.com/connect/), which features employee blogs and Twitters. Also, on Bestbuy.com there are written and video Ratings and Reviews that are created by customers.

    Furthermore, we also engage in communities that are not operated by Best Buy. We have a Best Buy Community channel on YouTube and feature these videos on our Community Forum. We engage on our Facebook page, help customers on Get Satisfaction, promote Best Buy @15 on MySpace and dialogue with customers on their personal blogs – there are many examples out there in the blogosphere; here are two: http://tinyurl.com/6f6ua4 and http://tinyurl.com/BBY-penguin.

    Therefore, I partially agree with your statement that, “Web 2.0 hasn’t reached BestBuy’s headquarters yet.” While Web 2.0 has reached Best Buy’s headquarters, we are still in the process of embracing it and integrating it into our complete experience. Until full integration we will continue to utilize other means of connecting our Blueshirts and Geek Squad agents with both our customers and the online public.

    If you would like to chat more, I welcome the conversation. I’m on Twitter – Gina_BestBuy.

    Gina
    Community Manager, Best Buy
    Creating meaningful communication in a virtual world

  • http://forums.bestbuy.com Gina

    Hi Robert,

    The power of our people is what propelled Best Buy to become an industry leader in retail. I agree with your point about Bestbuy.com not showcasing our Blueshirt and Geek Squad agents in the same manner as in our stores. However, when a brand moves online it doesn’t mean they create a carbon copy of their physical store locations.

    My team and I manage and moderate many of Best Buy’s Web 2.0 engagements. We populate the internet with their Blueshirt and Geek Squad knowledge. We have tri-lingual support on Twitter: English (BBY_Community, GeekSquadHelp), Spanish (BBY_Comunidad) and French (BBY_Communaute) – I am not aware of any other company that harnesses the power of it people in this fashion. We also have bilingual Community Forums (http://forums.bestbuy.com). I write the Best Living blog and one of my team members writes The Red Ring of Death and Other Gaming Nightmares blog. In addition to these blogs, we also have Best Buy Connect (http://bestbuyinc.com/connect/), which features employee blogs and Twitters. Also, on Bestbuy.com there are written and video Ratings and Reviews that are created by customers.

    Furthermore, we also engage in communities that are not operated by Best Buy. We have a Best Buy Community channel on YouTube and feature these videos on our Community Forum. We engage on our Facebook page, help customers on Get Satisfaction, promote Best Buy @15 on MySpace and dialogue with customers on their personal blogs – there are many examples out there in the blogosphere; here are two: http://tinyurl.com/6f6ua4 and http://tinyurl.com/BBY-penguin.

    Therefore, I partially agree with your statement that, “Web 2.0 hasn’t reached BestBuy’s headquarters yet.” While Web 2.0 has reached Best Buy’s headquarters, we are still in the process of embracing it and integrating it into our complete experience. Until full integration we will continue to utilize other means of connecting our Blueshirts and Geek Squad agents with both our customers and the online public.

    If you would like to chat more, I welcome the conversation. I’m on Twitter – Gina_BestBuy.

    Gina
    Community Manager, Best Buy
    Creating meaningful communication in a virtual world

  • Ron Proctor

    I agree that following others is key; we need to reach out to others … then they will reach out to us.

    See you at the Expo!

  • Ron Proctor

    I agree that following others is key; we need to reach out to others … then they will reach out to us.

    See you at the Expo!

  • http://www.geise.com/ PXLated

    Couldn’t agree more but it wasn’t always that way at bestbuy.com…in the beginning (launch June 2000) it was all about people, service. It was all about how BestBuy wanted to be your “smart friend”, the one you turn to for unbiased recommendations. It was about providing better, more consistent customer service and providing anything and everything you the customer would want or need to know about the products so you could make the right selection for you. And it was loaded with people images. Happy, smiling customers interacting with products. And the reason it was that way was it was Brad Anderson (BBY-President) and John Waldon (BBY.com-President) vision. I was the design director (consultant) so know the original vision very well.
    The wayback machine doesn’t seem to have an archive with visuals so I’ll open up the back end of my old site where you can get the visuals as well as a little story about the original site… http://www.geise.com/index.php/portfolio/C185/online/

  • http://www.geise.com PXLated

    Couldn’t agree more but it wasn’t always that way at bestbuy.com…in the beginning (launch June 2000) it was all about people, service. It was all about how BestBuy wanted to be your “smart friend”, the one you turn to for unbiased recommendations. It was about providing better, more consistent customer service and providing anything and everything you the customer would want or need to know about the products so you could make the right selection for you. And it was loaded with people images. Happy, smiling customers interacting with products. And the reason it was that way was it was Brad Anderson (BBY-President) and John Waldon (BBY.com-President) vision. I was the design director (consultant) so know the original vision very well.
    The wayback machine doesn’t seem to have an archive with visuals so I’ll open up the back end of my old site where you can get the visuals as well as a little story about the original site… http://www.geise.com/index.php/portfolio/C185/online/

  • http://www.geise.com/ PXLated

    Just so one isn’t confused by the coloration (lack of BBY-Blue), back then, customers didn’t identify BBY with blue, BBY was testing Concept-5 stores and planned on converting all stores to that concept, it didn’t use blue. And, most brick/mortar chains were trying to differentiate their online operations from their offline stores (because of the Amazon valuations) and take them public at some point. The dot-com bust changed all that.

  • http://www.geise.com PXLated

    Just so one isn’t confused by the coloration (lack of BBY-Blue), back then, customers didn’t identify BBY with blue, BBY was testing Concept-5 stores and planned on converting all stores to that concept, it didn’t use blue. And, most brick/mortar chains were trying to differentiate their online operations from their offline stores (because of the Amazon valuations) and take them public at some point. The dot-com bust changed all that.

  • Nick

    Thanks for helping out the US economy by picking up that Toyota. Make sure not to visit Detroit, douchebag.

  • Nick

    Thanks for helping out the US economy by picking up that Toyota. Make sure not to visit Detroit, douchebag.

  • http://blahblahbleric.com/ Eric Matas

    Web 2.0 annoyance #1: 5 minute experts. It is semantically possible for people to dabble in social media/networking and become more informed than most; thus they are “experts” in comparison to others–like my 5-year old daughter, for instance. I suggest, then, that these experts give the keynote at their local area day care centers.

    Imagine it! Pre-schoolers tweeting! Blogging about boogers!

  • http://blahblahbleric.com Eric Matas

    Web 2.0 annoyance #1: 5 minute experts. It is semantically possible for people to dabble in social media/networking and become more informed than most; thus they are “experts” in comparison to others–like my 5-year old daughter, for instance. I suggest, then, that these experts give the keynote at their local area day care centers.

    Imagine it! Pre-schoolers tweeting! Blogging about boogers!

  • http://www.jakeludington.com/ Jake Ludington

    The spirit of what you’ve said here is spot on, but having people present doesn’t mean you have solved the problem of creating a relationship with your customers. Best Buy has people in their stores, but they still don’t have the traditional model (i.e. face-to-face) of customer relationships worked out. I have done a number of shopping expeditions to Best Buy stores to gain a better understanding of what people are experiencing when they buy computers. When asking about which notebook computer to choose at multiple Best Buy locations, the sales people always key in on selling me a product replacement plan and offer to charge me to remove trialware from the computer. Trying to get them to tell me why I might want the Toshiba or the HP notebook doesn’t get me to the point of having an informed choice. If employees aren’t being trained to provide this data effectively in person, how is Best Buy going to create that culture online?

  • http://www.jakeludington.com Jake Ludington

    The spirit of what you’ve said here is spot on, but having people present doesn’t mean you have solved the problem of creating a relationship with your customers. Best Buy has people in their stores, but they still don’t have the traditional model (i.e. face-to-face) of customer relationships worked out. I have done a number of shopping expeditions to Best Buy stores to gain a better understanding of what people are experiencing when they buy computers. When asking about which notebook computer to choose at multiple Best Buy locations, the sales people always key in on selling me a product replacement plan and offer to charge me to remove trialware from the computer. Trying to get them to tell me why I might want the Toshiba or the HP notebook doesn’t get me to the point of having an informed choice. If employees aren’t being trained to provide this data effectively in person, how is Best Buy going to create that culture online?

  • MRK

    Agree with Eric N. BestBuy don’t give a crap about their customers, and until they change that attitude, customers will find alternatives. Personally, BestBuy is a place where I go if I need something urgently or just to browse before I buy online.

    If I recall correctly, isn’t this also the same company that showed different pricing on their website when browsed from within stores? That’s just hitting new lows to rip-off customers.

  • MRK

    Agree with Eric N. BestBuy don’t give a crap about their customers, and until they change that attitude, customers will find alternatives. Personally, BestBuy is a place where I go if I need something urgently or just to browse before I buy online.

    If I recall correctly, isn’t this also the same company that showed different pricing on their website when browsed from within stores? That’s just hitting new lows to rip-off customers.

  • http://www.magicwoodworks.com/ keithburtis

    Robert, Thank you for your opinions. I am social media community manager for the Best Buy Remix project. Not sure how many people know, but Best Buy has opened up it’s API of information to allow developers to create third party apps on Best Buy content. I don’t want to reiterate the things that some of my coworkers have said, but one thing I am sure is that you will see improvements on the horizon.

    As a company I know Best Buy has web 2.0, engagement, and change as top of mind.

    Thank you for the suggestions.
    Keith Burtis – @Bestbuyremix
    http://remix.bestbuy.com

    PS- It was nice to meet you at SXSW.

  • http://www.magicwoodworks.com keithburtis

    Robert, Thank you for your opinions. I am social media community manager for the Best Buy Remix project. Not sure how many people know, but Best Buy has opened up it’s API of information to allow developers to create third party apps on Best Buy content. I don’t want to reiterate the things that some of my coworkers have said, but one thing I am sure is that you will see improvements on the horizon.

    As a company I know Best Buy has web 2.0, engagement, and change as top of mind.

    Thank you for the suggestions.
    Keith Burtis – @Bestbuyremix
    http://remix.bestbuy.com

    PS- It was nice to meet you at SXSW.

  • http://www.geise.com/ PXLated

    Jake – I turned down the BBY gig three times. I was finally convinced to do it when Brad Anderson said he saw online as a way of providing superior service, speaking with a single voice, being manufacture/brand agnostic, etc. Getting you unbiased recommendations and the product that is right for you. He also said, blow the blockages, route around the party poopers and don’t let the brick-n-mortar side get in your way. Coordinate where you can, route around where you have to.
    In-store you have employees that don’t do their homework (BBY has good training from what I saw if the employees would just do it), have their own personalities/agendas, extremely high turn over and some managers can be a little too aggressive because their salary/bonus depends on it. Online you have neither of those problems.
    —–
    I must say though, I’ve had pretty good in-store experiences the last year or so. Except for the prick who insisted I buy a Blackberry on the Verizon network. Could have been an easy sale but he wouldn’t sell me what I wanted. Finally walked out on him. No matter what corporate does, you’re going to end up with some emplyees like that.

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