Interesting historical perspective. Title isn’t quite right – and left me a tiche disappointed. What you spoke of is NOW, not the future, isn’t it? The future takes the search and immediacy techical capabiity to customize solutions for each customers’ lifestyle/workstyle preferences. The dependencies shift – they come into your transactional vehicles – or some community transactional site, armed having this info already. You’re not “selling”, nor are you advising – you’re merely fulfilling. . .

Barry – Really like the main concepts. I see the traditional marketing funnel from awareness –> trial–> repeat —> loyalty reversing. If you can connect in a trusted way (as you say) your loyalists will reverse this and build your awareness.

Barry – enjoyed the video as well as following your posts and a big brand’s legitimate foray into transparency. I assume the video was used for internal presentation, but like that it’s out there for all to view. I agree with Jane that some of this was more about the past and present than the future. When you reference the future as digital and show things like Netflix, it highlights that digital delivery is now with VOD, games on demand and digital downloads of music outpacing physical sales. For me, Best Buy has always been the place to get the visceral experience of seeing, hearing or holding a product – which I may end up buying online. I would take a page out of Home Depot’s book with their in-store how-to events to help create that loyalty and truly support my dream – even if my dream is simply to figure out how to hook up my new LCD TV to my DirecTV receiver ; ) The other aspect of the future for tech resellers that mfgs like HP and Dell have figured out is customization. The sku in stock in your store is fine, but what if I want to add a webcam or more RAM. I’m used to that on Dell.com. Think about the potential for TVs in this realm – specify screen size, refresh rate, ports etc within a workable menu of options. I’ve purchased 3 pairs of “custom” shoes from NikeID.com for just this reason over the last few years which have been more expensive than the standard version of the shoe. As margins shrink on everything (and they’re already so slim in tech), new revenue streams like this are essential to both growth and survival.

The future of marketing is indeed digital, but to get there we need to vanquish the vocabulary that keeps marketing siloed: traditional vs nontraditional, online vs offline, brand vs. interactive. Is a print ad with a mobile call to action offline or interactive? (The rant continues at http://wikibranding.blogspot.com/2008/09/digitally-inspired-brands.html)

Barry how will you be using this video outside of this blog. I love the video. The history snap shot is great, but who will get to hear about “Dream Support”? Is this an internal term in which your focus is to help our dreams come true whether we know that or not, or should we actually be saying as your customers, “I have a dream that BBY can help me obtain.”?

When we talk about dreams what are we actually talking about? I love TV and you’re going to help me get the biggest and best, or I want to become a blog-oholic, twittering, social media guru and you have the tools to help me obtain that dream? I got a Nintendo when I was 8 and I thought I was dreaming when I tore open the wrapping. There’s a story behind that because I didn’t think I was getting one, but is that the dream we’re talking about?

Thanks for allowing us to speak into all of this!

Jerad

Nice segment. I’m surprised no mention of how the internet now plays a greater role in influencing customer purchasing decisions than floor employees. Your business, you correctly share is about “dreams”…but, these dreams are complex and require “education” to make sure they come true at the right value. Digital communication is the most powerful tool customers have to “educate themselves”. It will be critical to understand how to use each media, analog v. digital in your brand communication. TV is about reach and emotional connection, Social is about listening, search is about surfacing the relevant information at the right time and banners are for timed messages that you want to blast at scale. They all work together by message, by category in unique and powerful ways. You’re on the path, Barry. The question is, how fast will you inculcate change at your company?

Very enlightened – recent BBY move to focus on dreams of both customers and employees. It’s time to listen to what people want instead of telling them what to want. Best Buy USA is one of the few retail brands that is making use of, or starting to make use of, the many channels that have been dominated until now by online retailers. I think that one of the biggest mistakes companies can make in implementing a marketing plan is sticking to it. Economic conditions change, consumer behaviour adapts, technologies are developed. Being aware of these changes, anticipating them, and participating – this is what we need to be doing.

I really enjoyed the history lesson here – it put everything that you were saying into context. Great segment. Your brand is already strong with a loyal customer base, and I really look forward to seeing the new strategies come to fruition.

I liked the video. As with previous comments, I don’t see the future part coming through in this video. It comes across as a historical view leading up to the present. Netfilx is the present. Blogs are the now thing. Twitter is now. Where is the tomorrow? Back in the 80’s or early 90’s, I remember this great campaign that AT&T had. They would set up some (then) far-fetched scenarios. Like they would say, ‘Have you ever answered your email….while on a beach?’ Then it would cut to somebody on a beach with a futuristic looking laptop doing their work. Then it would end with ‘You will.’ What was great about these commercial is that they threw something out there that futuristic and seemed somewhat far-fetched at the time, and then they made a promise of delivery. You will. I think that is what is missing from this video. A vision for the future and a promise of delivery. Side note, I think the video was very well crafted and presented. I enjoyed the quick cuts of previous commercials. They were fun to watch. Good luck.

The link below is a great article about a retailer that offers that dream support. And because of their dream support, they are able to thrive while others fail. In my opinion, this is what people are dreaming of when they think of ‘dream support’.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090501/why-circuit-city-failed-and-why-bh-thrives.html

Barry,

This is very interesting stuff. Some feedback from my POV…

Consumers have definitely changed the way they use traditional media over the
past 10 years…and the pace of change has gotten faster, not slower, in the
past 3 years.

Traditional print media (newspapers and magazines) have lost readership and
circulation…there are few exceptions. I think most of the print media have
inadvertently aided the shift by relying more on the new media (search, banner
ads, etc.) for a greater portion of their new subscribers. This trend has
been going on for 10 years…but really accelerated in the past 5 years.

Network TV viewership is in a long term downtrend…but I think that trend has
flattened in recent years.

Book sales are down – most especially from the traditional outlets.

People are either less informed and reading less…or they’ve found other
sources they are more comfortable with for the information they used to get
from traditional media. I think it’s the latter.

This change in media usage by readers and consumers has definitely increased
the challenge for marketers trying to reach them. We’re all experiencing -
and adapting to – not only a shift in media importance – but the media
consumers are favoring more today has to be used differently to be used
effectively.

Users of the new media want to ask more questions, get faster answers, make
comments and suggestions, and interact with other users. Importantly, they
know they can…

It’s no longer just the advertiser creating campaigns to be read and reacted
to. It’s become much harder to maintain control of your brand’s image and
reputation. Reputation and trust are highly valued but the readings on these
factors are now filtered through the opinions and experiences of others -
users primarily but not exclusively – which are so much more readily available
than in the past.

So it’s not just what you say and how you say it – behavior…or how well you
deliver on what you say…and even how well you deliver on what others think
you should have as objectives…they all contribute an important part to brand image
and trust.

To some extent this is a generational phenomenon…but those to whom it is
important are getting larger, and those to whom it isn’t as important are
dying.

This is what you’re pointing to in this video and in your blog…and I agree
with it.

Obama changed the way political campaigns are run and financed by learning how
to use the new media to approach the new voter and campaign contributor. This
approach hasn’t yet found it’s way into the way we run Washington, but when it
does, we’re going to see some big changes in players and the way things get
done.

Barry,
Really enjoyed the video. I have covered Best Buy for about 20 years now and am a fan as an an industry analyst and a consumer.
A couple of points that jumped out at me:
1) I think there is still a lot of room to incorporate the Dream Support concept into the customer experience, both online and in-stores. Rather than the site and store experience navigating you from a solution standpoint it is still steering you towards individual product categories. It seems like there is an opportunity to start with the problem consumers are trying to solve. For example, I just bought a laptop last week on Best Buy.com and then picked it up at the Paramus, NJ location. At no time was I asked questions about intended use, important features, other equipment I owned, which could have lead to an upsell opportunity.
2) The video touched on the mobile opportunity–to see ads on your mobile device and respond to them in near real-time. I would be curious to hear how Best Buy plans to tap into this new channel for engaging customers.

Thanks for the video.

Lots of great stuff here. Interesting the divergence of opinions. By the way, Bryan Judge (see 2 comments above) is my Dad. I got interested in marketing because of him. He worked for P&G in the day and now owns The Institute Of Children’s Literature, a direct to consumer correspondence school that teaches people how to write Children’s books.

[...] de CMO van zo’n groot bedrijf het zelfs over social marketing heeft, en kennelijk ook echt de daad bij t woord voegt, kun je er zeker van zijn dat het niet meer over theorie [...]

Agree strongly with the concept that retailers that will succeed in the future are those that have a multifaceted relationship with customers beyond price. Consumer expectations have out grown that as a compelling argument for long term loyalty. The shopping experience at Walmart compared to Target is a glaring example of this. Not a strong believer in the Walmart model being a good long term winner. It is our responsibility as retailers to recognize and activate any area that creates value for our customers. That may be convenience, knowledge base, guidance, etc. Not merely $ value.

Barry, this is a great video that demonstrates what is possible for marketers of big brands. Given that the number one complaint about marketing departments that we have worked with is that they are not delivering powerful actionable customer insights to the rest of the business, social media technologies are the missing link. The ability to really hear what customers think and observe how they behave real time is the ultimate source of insight.
I think the point about transparency is critical also, trust does not exist without transparency and without trust real loyalty and business relationships cannot develop.
An interesting question to ask consumers is not what do they think of best buy but what do they think best buy thinks of them? The answers will help guide whether there is real trust or not…

[...] May 13, 2009 · No Comments I found an interesting video today made by the Best Buy CMO, Barry Judge: [...]

It’s great to see a brand, a corporation, a conglomerate faceless entity acknowledge that in this era of hyper connectivity there is no blanket mass media anymore. The biggest revelation was hearing a brand manager willing to acknowledge that they no longer have exclusive control over the brand message – it is the user who has significant impact.

This may concern many brands – but an old adage comes back into play – the best advertising is word of mouth. This is now accomplished electronically.

In the end a win-win scenario is created. The customer becomes the message which depends on customer care from the company. If the customer is happy – the company gets a good word.

Focusing on the customer first will create customer appreciation – and then customer loyalty. Many years ago this was called service.

So just how exactly is Best Buy going to live digitally with communication and the brands we carry? What is Best Buy going to do in the “Long Tail” of marketing? I’d like to know and see it happen! I was hoping the video would have the answers.

Barry,

Please accept my sincere thanks for allowing me along with the members and guests of the Direct Marketing Association to gain insight into your vision and point of view regarding Best Buy’s approach to marketing.

The video – The Marketing Capability: The Future is Digital – was presented at the DMA Annual Conference for Multichannel Merchants in New Orleans. DMA has posted this on the-dma.org, and its LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook Pages. Each posting has created a favorable response, especially from our board of directors, of which over twenty were present at the initial showing of the video.

I particularly embraced your comment that “technology in and of itself isn’t that interesting”…it’s how you use the technology. This is true for both customers and the marketers who attempt to reach them. Twitter and Blogs are not exciting. It’s what you say and how you market by using this technology that’s exciting.

By adopting this approach NOW, we are developing a relationship with our customers that will serve us well into the future!

Thank you for your continued membership and support of DMA

Neil O’Keefe
V.P., Multichannel Segments, DMA

Barry,
The quality of the production is really strong- love the style, the presentation, the delivery. but I didn’t really get the point. What are you trying to accomplish with this video? Who is your audience?

I feel that your main points were scattered and not integrated well. If you asked me to give a quick synopsis of what I just watched I would say “It was something about Dream Support but I don’t know what that means really. And then he talked about how the world is turning transparent, digital, and interactive – but I think everyone already knows that.”

Just my honest thoughts…

The “Dream Support” discussion was a particularly good insight into meeting your customers’ unspoken needs and hopes — unquestionably, marketers must earn trust and be transparent to build customer loyalty in today’s hypercompetitive business environment.

However, building Dream Support into a 2-minute interchange at the point of sale isn’t easy, especially during the holiday season and busy periods. Please keep “thinking out loud” because people are watching and listening.

[...] embargo, Barry Judge, el CMO de Best Buy, protagoniza un interesante viral en Youtube que nos muestra a través de un [...]

Barry -

Great video…you obviously are one of the few clients / brands that understand the new reality. No doubt, Best Buy will win.

[...] in reality they’re as advanced as any of the examples I give above – let’s start with a short introduction from Best Buy’s Chief Marketing Officer, Barry [...]

I am so happy to see your blog. I think that it is an effective way to know American headquarters’ marketing team. And we feel that we really have a connection with the BestBuy, and truly join this giant band family by this way. But it is really pity that YOUTUBE is blocked in China, so I will try another way.

Adrian Jing from FIVE STAR CN.

Great video and perspective. A couple of quick notes:

Digital is the platform but the need for social connections and entertainment will drive people to that platform. People still want to watch their “shows”, people still want to talk about the “big event”. Interactive media allows that to happen more efficiently than old media.

The fragmentation of audiences and media is a key differentiator between interactive media and “old media”. A Twitter page is great for one on one communication, but doesn’t replace the numbers that came from the network TV world. Finding the ways to achieve scale in a cost efficient manner will be a challenge.

I always thought an in-store magazine would be a great branding tool / profit center for BBY.

I still think it could.

Tweets and all that are swell, but the customer could take home a nice four color “Best Buy” lifestyle guide every month, and have it paid for by vendor (and non-vendor alike) advertising.

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