Shopping in real life (IRL) sucks. To be more precise the billing sucks. And the rest of it could be hugely reimagined using tech – and human brains – to make it more enjoyable. When I interviewed Vijay Mallya in 2009 for my first book – No Money Marketing – this was the insight he shared. Indians hate waiting. Airlines in those days introduced kerb check-in where staff with hand-held devices could start the process. Screens on domestic flights were a Kingfisher introduction. Now with AI and screens in every pocket, there has been no progress on the customer experience. Even as our attention spans and ability to wait has shrunk.
Go to any big store and you will find yourself stuck waiting for billing with absolutely no attempt being made to occupy you pleasantly. Even as the staff mills around uselessly or sneakily watches a cricket match on phones hidden inside shelves (that was Miniso last week). Could the staff not have hand-held devices to start the billing once you have stuff in your basket? Or screens in the queueing area to tell you the offers on cards, your loyalty points, and cost of a bag?
Or do you remember when shops would offer you a free lime juice or cup of tea? How about reintroducing that and letting us sip that as we wait for staff to process our billing?
Yes, yes, AI is happening. But it can be used to make humans a little happier at least in some use cases!
Barbra Streisand and In-Home Shopping
Streisand is a famous singer/actress of yesteryear more famous for “The Streisand Effect”. The Streisand Effect is when you “ban” something and immediately everyone wants it. Streisand’s fancy estate had its photos taken aerially as part of some sea erosion project and she sued to prevent it from being in the public domain. A photo that till then had 6 downloads became a viral sensation. And if you care, she lost the case. Marketers definitely use the Streisand Effect on purpose and to good effect.
What the photos did not reveal is that she also has a mini-mall in her basement. Mock shops to showcase her collection of antiques, and dolls, along with a fully functioning candy shop. I mean, sure, I keep stuff in the basement, but this is a whole different level! I could get used to it 🙂
Reimagining Customers in the AI Age
Businesses must use AI for operational efficiency. Yes, of course. The real innovation is when we can reimagine what our customers will look like in the era of AI. What can an AI-empowered customer do that they cannot today? And can marketers anticipate this customer and devise new products and services ahead of the curve? Whether it is skincare, haircare, banking or healthcare, the ability to process information at a giant scale on a phone will change customer behaviour, and these are the board-level conversations that organizations ought to be having.
The new customer can use an AI agent to do their shopping for them – are we ready for that? This is applicable for B2C and B2B. How do we get into the data chain that is analysing the best options for the customer? Or how do we make our product so desirable that the customer doesn’t care about the data?
Core vs Surround Brands and the Impact of AI
A core brand relies on its functional benefits to get a sale – it does something faster, better or cheaper maybe. A surround brand makes you feel better eg any bottled water would slake your thirst, but if you drank a bottle of Evian you’d feel rich and sophisticated AND less thirsty.
Products and services might start as core brands and move to being surround once the original functionality gets commoditized and innovation or uniqueness is no longer possible. With AI this premise has to be questioned. It opens up the possibility for fresh functional benefits – and if the incumbents don’t address it, someone will grab that market.
Indian IT services brands have broadly migrated towards being surround brands differentiated by client logos, locations, certifications, key individuals. But now they need to revisit that and showcase core AI skills. Those that have done so are producing better financial results than the others. It’s a big marketing pivot too – to talk about HOW your services are better.
To know more about the core vs surround model you could buy my book 🙂 It’s on page 80.
Me and AI
For this particular use case – my newsletter – I think the best thing I can do for you dear readers is to avoid using AI. There is a certain serendipity and uniqueness that AI writing is yet to produce.
Have a great week!