Comments on: The Art of Buying and Selling in the Digital Age http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/2009/11/30/the-art-of-buying-and-selling-in-the-digital-age/ Digital Media Diatribes and More Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:51:13 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Whitney http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/2009/11/30/the-art-of-buying-and-selling-in-the-digital-age/comment-page-1/#comment-920 Whitney Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:05:06 +0000 http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/?p=883#comment-920 Hi Mike- Thanks for stopping by! I think the gradual aggregation of stores into these "supersized" projecs- malls, supermarkets, super Walmarts, for that matter- taking advantage of economies of scale, followed by a period of disaggregation may be a new business cycle. But what never gets old is that sense of belonging, of being part of a community, of being a regular. We go the local pizza joint, Grotto's (there are a couple in Delaware, but hardly a real "Chain") and to one outlet in particular, because we are treated like regulars. They recognize the family, the manager comes by and says hi, and we have a sense of being part of the fabric of the place. That's why people hang out in local coffee shops, why the TV show Cheers worked- people like gathering places, and they like being seen and noticed. Anonymous gets old, yet its largely what we have with online purchases, so in order to differentiate, i think Bricks & Mortar have to work harder to make their experience personal and different. It doesn't have to be difficult, and can be done without any real expense- all it takes is some humanity. Hi Mike- Thanks for stopping by!
I think the gradual aggregation of stores into these “supersized” projecs- malls, supermarkets, super Walmarts, for that matter- taking advantage of economies of scale, followed by a period of disaggregation may be a new business cycle. But what never gets old is that sense of belonging, of being part of a community, of being a regular. We go the local pizza joint, Grotto’s (there are a couple in Delaware, but hardly a real “Chain”) and to one outlet in particular, because we are treated like regulars. They recognize the family, the manager comes by and says hi, and we have a sense of being part of the fabric of the place. That’s why people hang out in local coffee shops, why the TV show Cheers worked- people like gathering places, and they like being seen and noticed. Anonymous gets old, yet its largely what we have with online purchases, so in order to differentiate, i think Bricks & Mortar have to work harder to make their experience personal and different. It doesn’t have to be difficult, and can be done without any real expense- all it takes is some humanity.

]]> By: Mike Masin http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/2009/11/30/the-art-of-buying-and-selling-in-the-digital-age/comment-page-1/#comment-919 Mike Masin Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:56:03 +0000 http://www.whitneyhoffman.com/?p=883#comment-919 B&Ms evolved from local merchants to superstores. In the 1950s my parents bought their meat from the butcher, milk and cheese from the dairy, bread from the "bread man", cake from the baker, fruit and vegetables from the "vegetable man" and groceries from the grocer. Note that they didn't buy from "a" [fill in a merchant]; they bought from "THE" [fill in a merchant]. It was a personal relationship; the merchants knew my parents by name and knew their likes and dislikes. My father was in the restaurant business. He "knew" his regular customer's names and what they liked He also knew how to make every customer feel important and make them feel like a regular customer. The lesson still applies. B&Ms evolved from local merchants to superstores. In the 1950s my parents bought their meat from the butcher, milk and cheese from the dairy, bread from the “bread man”, cake from the baker, fruit and vegetables from the “vegetable man” and groceries from the grocer. Note that they didn’t buy from “a” [fill in a merchant]; they bought from “THE” [fill in a merchant]. It was a personal relationship; the merchants knew my parents by name and knew their likes and dislikes.

My father was in the restaurant business. He “knew” his regular customer’s names and what they liked He also knew how to make every customer feel important and make them feel like a regular customer. The lesson still applies.

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