How Apple Store Seduces You With the Tilt of Its Laptops

Walk into any Apple Retail Store when it opens in the morning and you might notice that all of the new MacBook Pro notebooks with retina display are positioned at exactly the same angle. Employees who open the store use an iPhone app as a level to tilt all the screens to exactly the same angle (the Simply Angle app is a popular choice to measure degree of inclination). How Apple positions the angle of computer screens is just one of the fascinating nuggets of information I learned after spending one year researching the Apple Store experience (read about the Apple “5 steps of service” in this previous column).

The Apple Store pays attention to every detail. You might think that Apple positions all its notebook computers for aesthetic reasons. That’s partly true. The tables are uncluttered and the products are clean. But the main reason notebook computers screens are slightly angled is to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their ideal viewing angle—in other words, to touch the computer! It’s also why all computers and iPads in the Apple Store are loaded with apps and software and connected to the Internet. Apple wants you to see the display for yourself and to experiment with apps and web sites to experience the power and performance of the devices. Customers in an Apple Retail Store can spend all the time they want playing with the devices and using the Internet—nobody will pressure them to leave.

Multisensory experiences build a sense of ownership. Interactivity—what I call the ‘multisensory experience’—is built in to every aspect of the Apple Store experience. For example, trainers who teach customers how to use Apple products in “One to One” workshops do not touch the computer without permission. Instead they guide customers to find the solutions themselves. You see, the Apple Store was never created on the premise that people want to buy stuff. Instead Apple discovered that by creating an ownership experience, customers would be more loyal to the brand.

The Apple Store was designed to create an ownership experience from the moment a customer walks through the door. When Steve Jobs gave a tour of the first Apple Store in 2001, he said that all computers were connected to the Internet. “You can go up to any computer and start surfing, go to your personal web site, or do whatever you want to do on the Internet.” The devices have changed but you can still walk up to any product in the store and start using it—read books on the iPad, discover apps on an iPod Touch, listen to music on an iPod, or play games on the new MacBook Pro. The ownership experience is more important than a sale.

The difference between Apple and Best Buy. The first time I brought my two young daughters into an Apple Store, a sales associate (Apple calls them ‘specialists’), encouraged my girls to touch and play with an iPad. Once he showed them how to use a Disney Princess coloring app, it was over. My girls didn’t want to leave and to this day they want to go to the Apple Store every time we visit the mall. The Apple Store made a connection with my daughters because they made it easy for them to touch the products, encouraged them to do so, and let them play with the products for as long as they wanted.

Walk into a ‘big box’ retailer and you often find the opposite scenario. The devices are turned off and the screens are black. It should be no surprise that some of these retailers like Best Buy are in financial trouble and looking for ways to improve the customer experience. They might start by visiting an Apple Store. As I was writing this column, I realized that my daughters have never asked me to take them to Best Buy even though I’ve purchased items for them at the store several times. But they want to return to the Apple Store just to play with the devices. You see, Apple has learned what many other businesses are just beginning to figure out—make it fun for people to connect with your product using all their senses.

Build-A-Bear turns a commodity into childhood memories. Multisensory experiences can work for any product, not just computers. Build-A-Bear Workshop is a global company with 400 locations that offers an interactive, multisensory experience. Children participate in the actual creation of their stuffed animals. Think about it. Stuffed animals are sold everywhere (I know because I often return from my trips with stuffed animals for my daughters). Yet Build-A-Bear has won the hearts of millions of children by turning a commodity into a treasured childhood memory. That’s why Build-A-Bear is not called a store, but a ‘workshop.’
Our brains love multisensory experiences. The more you engage your customers’ senses, the more likely it is that they will engage with your product on an emotional level and reward you with their loyalty. So the next time you walk into an Apple Store, pay attention to the smallest details. You might learn something valuable about building loyal customers.

Source : forbes.com