Terminal 5 Business Parking - the future of travel as we know it!

Terminal 5 Business Parking- the "I Pod" Experience

I recently began using the newly installed Pod transport system at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 Business Parking ,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byk8LcPovOQ,  and was mildly surprised at the ability to transport the high flying executive from parking to terminal in a matter of minutes. As somebody who flys a considerable amount between the UK and continental Europe, this is a fantastic upgrade in service and shows to some extent the future of travel in the next 10 years.

Not only was the experience quick, quiet and efficient , but it changed the whole initial stress levels relating to flying in today's political and economic  climate . It also shows that whilst Heathrow Terminal 5 may come have come in for a lot of criticism in the early days of operation, this pod transport system is something that deserves applause. Its not cheap, but then new services and products never are. It does however significantly reduce the time it takes to get from the parking bays to the airport terminal and in doing so, make the whole concept of travel a little more bearable.

The reason I chose to comment on this pod experience, is that it highlights the need to remember that to some extent our enjoyment of a particular service is shaped by the type of "experience" we as customers are faced with in all our daily engagements, whether buying a coffee at Starbucks or getting on a plane at Heathrow. It also means that experience shopping begins and ends with the "pod experience" as the return journey after a tiring business trip is as important as the beginning of that voyage.
Retailers and Service Providers should recognise that both the journey to and from the intended transaction are as important as the purchase of the product or service in question.

Biz Chameleon: The "Nationality" label of food and why its not en...

Biz Chameleon: The "Nationality" label of food and why its not en...: Having lived in a number of countries, both in Europe and further afield, I am always intrigued at how  fresh produce sold in supermarkets...

The "Nationality" label of food and why its not enough

Having lived in a number of countries, both in Europe and further afield, I am always intrigued at how  fresh produce sold in supermarkets emphasise the country of origin and in doing so establish a sense of nationality on an inanimate object.

 

I know that to some extent this is all part of the marketing strategy to sell such products at a premium by establishing a link between the country and the products we buy, and by doing so, creating a logical reason in our minds on why we should pay what we do for certain items.

 

It is also interesting to see that to some extent emphasising the "nationality" of products seems to "make it alright" with what we have just purchased ,without really questioning whether this does indeed deliver a better quality product. In particular fresh meat and produce nationality labels,  play a prime position in the way products are marketed and packaged in  our everyday lives.

 

Whilst there is nothing wrong with promoting products along the  lines of nationality , this does pose the question on whether we are doing enough as consumers to question the quality of the products we buy, and in particular under which conditions these are reared or harvested?

 Hence Danish Bacon, Swiss Chocolate ,French wines ,  Dutch Tomatoes , British Beef .. .all conjure up certain images of what we as consumers "assume"  a particular product should deliver in terms of quality and taste. what it does not do, is provide any clear evidence on how this product has been reared or grown, how it has been transformed and what bi-products were used in rearing or growing the said item.

 

As consumers tastes have changed , so the need to link a countries nationality to a product seems to have been reinforced, but rather than providing more guarantees to consumers, this has actually muddied the debate somewhat on the ability of consumers to track their products from farm to food hall.

 

In the wake  of the now infamous horse meat scandal , and the BSE scare of the early 90's control it is evident that emphasising a products "nationality" is not enough. What is needed is more debate and better investment in our ability to track our food production, from origin to table.

 

Growers and producers have all been quick to jump on the "nutritional" bandwagon in terms of displaying the vitamins, fat, sugar and sodium content of their products sold, but when it comes to how these products are grown, describing the nature of the supply chain, and being able to track the history of how the product ends on the display cabinets of our local supermarkets seems  still a cloak and dagger affair , at the best of time. Yes we have the "organic " and "fair trade" labels, which have added some clarity to some of the products we purchase, but clarity that comes at a price , and really do not address the needs of the majority, who have to live on tight food budgets and cannot always afford those items marked as "organic". If anything, it should be for the sake of the most vulnerable in our society that we establish a clear audit trail on all the food we grow, produced and transform.

 

I think its high time we as consumers began to look behind the "nationality" label and demand from those that contribute to our sustainability a more responsible tracking measurement of where our food comes from.

 



Biz Chameleon: When is a trend a trend and how do retailers spot...

Biz Chameleon: When is a trend a trend and how do retailers spot...: As customers turn ever more to a multi dimensional shopping experience, i.e integrating their online retail purchases with regular bricks an...

When is a trend a trend and how do retailers spot the early warnings signs?

As customers turn ever more to a multi dimensional shopping experience, i.e integrating their online retail purchases with regular bricks and mortar shops, it is evident that retailers are having to invest more and more  on emerging trends , their ability to spread at short notice, and how best to transform these trends into profitable sales.

Whilst not always understood, it is generally safe to say that a trend captures a certain "Zeitgeist" within society at any time and  the interpretation of that immediate society impacted. So as music , clothing and food trends are influenced by a particular phenomenon so retailers must figure a way to look turn such demand into products people want or PPW's.

In this respect online retailers already have an advantage, as their ability to harness the enormous potential of the web and it's major trends, as well as linking this to their online database of existing customers. For traditional bricks and mortar retailers, for those that haven't already developed an integrated retail experience, it is vital they invest in trender or trend analysts that spot the way society trends are developing and in which countries and regions. Without investing in trend analysts the ability to harness and make good on consumer trends remains a hit and miss affair.

Turning back to the question raised at the beginning of this blog of when is a trend a trend and how do retailers spot the early signs?

The answer isn't clear, but there is some validity in the theory that tastes and trends are influenced heavily by the society we inhabit, the communication channels we watch, the common social networks we frequent and the general growth in  peoples ability to travel across the globe. Major social and economic disruptions also influence what we are drawn to and what we associate with in times of change. Understanding these trends is part of the challenges retailers must face if they are to survive in an increasingly competitive retail landscape.

Children Animal farms- extortion or what?

As the parent to a very active 19 month old , I have quickly been introduced into that costly  routine of  over priced nurseries, exorbitantt soft play centres and extortionate children's animal farms.The last one being my favourite. For the joys of seeing Nellie the donkey ( no elephants here I'm afraid) or Larry the 3 Legged Llizard from somewhere warmer than the Scily isles, you too can fork out a quick £35-£40 pounds for a family of 4 ( that's 2 adults and 2 children under 2( yes he may be big but he's still under two!"

Now here's the best bit.. most of these so called animal farms look like something out of Stalag 19 with multiple fences and barriers erected wherever you go. Mind you.. with all the 'elf and safety regulations floating about, getting anywhere near the animals is almost impossible. In fact you re better off booking a trip to one of the Greek Isles, if you want to let your children near a real "wild" goat or sheep.

And yet the children love it, the adults even more, as for a brief 3-4 hours, the joys of channelling ones child's energy is "outsourced" to a third party. A third party that has recognised very quickly that when it comes to the well being and intellectual stimulation of our little ones .. money is no object. Or is it?

At the heart of this childrens entertainment , is the question of whether the government , more importantly local councils , are doing enough to provide, if not free then more subsidised children's entertainment venues.
 In some countries, e.g the Netherlands, local communities subsidise such entertainment, to allow children from all economic walks of life to enjoy themselves, hence avoiding such activities from becoming the exclusive domain of the rich. For a 2-3 euro donation, children are able to enjoy feeding farm animals, playing in barnyards and doing whatever children love to do in such settings. In a well supervised, orderly environment , children, at very little cost to their parents, are able to expend some of that energy in a positive and fulfilling manner.

In the UK  giving youngsters access to such rewarding experiences, seems to be out of the reach of the average working class family.

My suggestion is as follows: Local councils must do more to subsidise children's entertainment., whether this is in the form of cheaper entrance fees to soft ball parks or children zoos, or community linked projects.Giving children access to safe environments where they are able to channel some of that limitless energy they have should be a right, not a luxury. In this respect we all have a duty of care to the next generation , even if this means giving children from poor backgrounds the opportunity of visiting an animal farm at no cost.

Retail collapse or changing consumer habits?

Another major retail chain collapsed in the UK last week with very little hope of revival. Jessops, a specialist camera and photo retailer was forced to call in the administrators , bringing down the curtain on  a business that had traded since 1935. With it went the loss of  hundreds of jobs and 187 stores. A week later the struggling music retailer HMW finally through in the towel with substantial debts.  
A week later  Blockbuster announced it was closing 100 plus stores citing changing consumer habits and falling dvd rentals as reasons for closure.

The usual press releases talk of a difficult economic situation, a weak December trading, falling spend in the UK to name but a few reasons. Yet spending on such consumer goods such as cameras, music and DVDs has altered so dramatically over the past 10 years , that it is inevitable that these business models were bound to be destined for the scrap heap. So what do traditional bricks and mortar retailers do , other than throwing in the towel?

Interestingly the general public hasn't quite given up on the traditional high street just yet. Whilst habits are changing fast, with more and more consumers choosing to click their way through a retailers online offering, rather than traipsing down to the local stores, there is still a large majority of us who enjoy the concept of a "day out" shopping with Friends and families. It is this experience shopping that most traditional retailers haven't quite cottoned onto, but that could mean the difference between survival and financial collapse.

"Experience Shopping" is a term I loosely define as the ability to generate a number of "feel good factors " from a combination of entertainment and shopping experiences , that connects the consumer with a particular store or brand.. The experience must deliver a set of  products as well as unique experience if its own, in order to deemed a success.

 It is up to retailers to recognise that to draw consumers into a retail establishment when the option of buying such goods online is a mere click away, requires the need for an additional value add that makes the trip "worthwhile" in the eye of the consumer. So for example, a large bookstore chain such as Waterstones (www.waterstones.com) , that seems to have struggled to compete against the likes of Amazon(www.amazon.co.uk)  in the past few years, has readjusted its store experience to incorporate book clubs, story telling and author book signing events into its portfolio , in order to entice shoppers into its stores. It also offers online book downloads to compete with the likes of amazons kindle experience.

So whilst some traditional retailers are firmly making changes where required, others still have to grasp the reality of competing with online retail or close shop forever. This includes defining the entire customer experience from start to finish , with particular emphasis on understanding the entertainment and feel good value of a day out shoppping. Without recognising these physiological and pscychological factors, traditional retailers will struggle to survive the next decade.