Sharpening the Sword is a regular column by retailer John Riley of Grasshopper's Comics, a 1300 square foot comic and games store in
Since I wrote the article last week about the economy and adding value to the experience of coming to your store, there have been about a thousand articles written about whether the country is in a recession or not. And perhaps more importantly, there have been many articles written about whether the people in this country believe that we're in a recession or not. This is actually more important, because if people believe that we're in an economic downturn then their natural reaction will be to cut back on spending, which could bring on a recession even if there isn't one.
Anyway, last week I discussed the concept of providing a valuable experience to your customers, value beyond just the ability to shop in your store. We have an absolute advantage when people seek to maximize their entertainment dollar, which means that an economic slowdown might not affect us as dramatically as other retailers. So this week I thought it would be interesting to see how other industries might actually survive on this concept in order to better apply it to our own.
First let's start off with the Super Bowl (won by our own Giants, by the way)! Everyone who watched the Super Bowl had a choice to make. They could watch it in the comfort of their own homes, with any food they wanted, friends, and plenty of drinks. Or, they could go to a sports bar, and spend easily four to five times the money for the same food and drinks. So why would you make that choice? Well, because the sports bar adds an intangible element of community to the equation. The sports bar is going to be very high energy, full of cheering fans and spirit. That intangible element must have some value to make people spend $5.00 on a single beer when they could spend $5.00 on a six-pack and watch the game at home.
Let's move on to the local multiplex cinema. Here's another place where people have choices to make. You can choose to take your wife or girlfriend to the movies, spend $22.00 on tickets, plus another $10.00 on snacks, and watch the film with a lot of other people who you may or may not find annoying. Or you could buy the same movie a few months later (or rent the movie for as little as $1.00) and watch it at home on your 60' plasma screen with surround sound and any snacks you'd like. So why go to the theater? Part of it might be seeing the movie on the 'big screen,' although with the size of home theaters and the quality of home surround sound it's usually a better technical experience at home. But another part of the decision might be seeing the movie with other people. A good comedy is funnier with a big crowd, a horror movie scarier, an action movie more intense, because they all feed off the energy of the audience. And of course, there is the intangible element of being able to talk about a new release with others who've seen it.
For many people those intangibles aren't really worth the extra expense. The movie theater chains have been fighting with this problem for years. They've tried to modify the theaters, add other forms of entertainment, shook up the food/snacks available, but the theaters themselves still seem to attract that core audience of young people who just need somewhere to go, people on dates, etc...people who essentially are looking for the the experience of 'going out.'
Last but not least, let's look at the king of all experience companies: Disney. With few exceptions, Disney doesn't really do much in the way of thrill rides. Almost anyone will tell you that when it comes to thrill rides, there are other companies that do it much better. But what Disney does better than anyone is provide a completely immersive experience. When you enter their 'world' you forget about reality. You feel safe. You buy into the world that they've created, because every detail that they can think of has been addressed. As everyone knows, a Disney vacation is anything but cheap, but people are willing to pay for the experience of going to Disney World, a place that is literally 'like nowhere else.'
In our industry one phrase I've heard thrown around for the last year or so has been the 'Cheers model' of game retailing. Basically, it's just what it sounds like, the concept that the game store creates a community in which 'everyone knows your name.' I've often heard people comment that good comic shops are like bars but without the alcohol; lots of people standing around talking and having a good time and building relationships. Although I think different people view this idea in different ways, it's clear that the key element is the focus on the intangible elements of community within your store.
There are areas where our stores have tremendous trouble competing, such as the buying power and pricing of the big box stores. But the one area that we have tremendous ability is increasing the value of the experience that we provide our customers. We can create our own world, like Disney does. We can create a high energy community experience like the sports bar. And we can provide the experience of discovering and discussing cutting edge comics similar to the movie theatre.
The three industries above are just a few examples that we can take some ideas from. But the important part is to realize that in these times of economic tightening it's important to increase the value of the experience you're providing as much as possible. You're already providing an experience for your customers. The question is, is it the one you want to be providing? And if your customers suddenly have to choose between you and another form of entertainment when they didn't before, will the experience of coming to your store measure up?
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
