It only been one short year since CAG Comic #1 was released. At this rate, we should have a series going by 2040.
Drawn by our very own WhipSmartBanky, #2 is based on Best Buy's Customer Centricity program and a related document that was leaked to CAG. If you are not already familiar with Best Buy's new strategy, I recommend first reading the article below before viewing the comic.
During the first CAGcast, I mentioned receiving a leaked Best Buy document, which dealt with their controversial Customer Centricity program. For those who have not already heard, the program is based on consultant and professor, Larry Selden’s “Angel Customer/Demon Customer” theories. Best Buy is attempting to easily identify who their Angel Customers (most profitable) are, and cease doing business with their Demons/Devils (least profitable). They have separated the Angels into 5 different groups and are currently building and converting stores (mostly in California) specifically tailored to serving their Fab 5.
The document, which was provided to Best Buy’s largest suppliers, discusses how important the Customer Centricity program is to Best Buy’s future and provides detailed information on the customers they will be focusing on. This is an attempt to better inform suppliers on products that will be more likely to appear in the newly focused Best Buy stores. The scary part is that it appears this document was sent to major video game publishers as well. Hopefully we won’t be seeing games published based upon Customer Centricity research.
Here are Best Buy’s target customers:
1) Barry is male with money to burn, age 30+ usually married with kids. He purchases pricier items, like fancy home theaters and wants personal service from a male salesperson
2) Buzz is male in his low 20’s to 20 years old, single or married without kids and spends most of his time and money on technology and entertainment.
There are three versions of Buzz:
Fun Buzz puts entertainment purchases first, plays with tech in-store, and looks forward to “New Release Tuesday”.
Status Buzz needs the latest and greatest gadgets so he can show off the latest gadgets to his friends.
Responsible Buzz is the most CAG-like of the bunch. He is in no rush and makes sure he is making the right purchase.
3) Ray is a married male low 30s to mid 50s who needs to convince Mrs. Ray (who is looking for family value) before purchasing.
4) Jill is an upper-middle class mom who typically doesn’t like the Best Buy experience; needs female personal shopping assistants who treat her with respect to help with digital photography, kitchen and laundry products.
5) Best Buy for Business is small business customers, many who work out of their home (like me!).
They are likely to react well to a personal business consultant salesperson and Best Buy’s technical support service, named Geek Squad.
It’s too early to tell if the millions Best Buy is spending on research and implementation of Customer Centricity will pay off. Will Best Buy be able to employ (and retain) the types of sales force needed for this ambitious plan? Will customers react favorably to being catered to, or will they prefer a more hands-off approach found at stores like Walmart and Target? The numbers from Best Buy’s test stores look promising, but I can’t help but feel that this might be the marketing equivalent of killing a fly with a hand grenade.
Drawn by our very own WhipSmartBanky, #2 is based on Best Buy's Customer Centricity program and a related document that was leaked to CAG. If you are not already familiar with Best Buy's new strategy, I recommend first reading the article below before viewing the comic.
During the first CAGcast, I mentioned receiving a leaked Best Buy document, which dealt with their controversial Customer Centricity program. For those who have not already heard, the program is based on consultant and professor, Larry Selden’s “Angel Customer/Demon Customer” theories. Best Buy is attempting to easily identify who their Angel Customers (most profitable) are, and cease doing business with their Demons/Devils (least profitable). They have separated the Angels into 5 different groups and are currently building and converting stores (mostly in California) specifically tailored to serving their Fab 5.
The document, which was provided to Best Buy’s largest suppliers, discusses how important the Customer Centricity program is to Best Buy’s future and provides detailed information on the customers they will be focusing on. This is an attempt to better inform suppliers on products that will be more likely to appear in the newly focused Best Buy stores. The scary part is that it appears this document was sent to major video game publishers as well. Hopefully we won’t be seeing games published based upon Customer Centricity research.
Here are Best Buy’s target customers:
1) Barry is male with money to burn, age 30+ usually married with kids. He purchases pricier items, like fancy home theaters and wants personal service from a male salesperson
2) Buzz is male in his low 20’s to 20 years old, single or married without kids and spends most of his time and money on technology and entertainment.
There are three versions of Buzz:
Fun Buzz puts entertainment purchases first, plays with tech in-store, and looks forward to “New Release Tuesday”.
Status Buzz needs the latest and greatest gadgets so he can show off the latest gadgets to his friends.
Responsible Buzz is the most CAG-like of the bunch. He is in no rush and makes sure he is making the right purchase.
3) Ray is a married male low 30s to mid 50s who needs to convince Mrs. Ray (who is looking for family value) before purchasing.
4) Jill is an upper-middle class mom who typically doesn’t like the Best Buy experience; needs female personal shopping assistants who treat her with respect to help with digital photography, kitchen and laundry products.
5) Best Buy for Business is small business customers, many who work out of their home (like me!).
They are likely to react well to a personal business consultant salesperson and Best Buy’s technical support service, named Geek Squad.
It’s too early to tell if the millions Best Buy is spending on research and implementation of Customer Centricity will pay off. Will Best Buy be able to employ (and retain) the types of sales force needed for this ambitious plan? Will customers react favorably to being catered to, or will they prefer a more hands-off approach found at stores like Walmart and Target? The numbers from Best Buy’s test stores look promising, but I can’t help but feel that this might be the marketing equivalent of killing a fly with a hand grenade.