Microsoft’s Surface technology made its consumer debut this week at five of AT&T’s retail locations in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Francisco. Given the intense focus on customer churn in the wireless industry, AT&T is making sizable investments in customer experience and is using the innovative touch technology as a key differentiator for its stores.
Depending on the foot traffic and size of the store, AT&T has placed between 3 and 6 Surface units in these locations and is making technology an integral part of the sales process going forward. Surface is a 30-inch table-like display that gives individuals or multiple people the opportunity to interact with content by using touch and placement of devices on the display.
“We firmly believe that providing an excellent customer experience in our retail locations can help stem churn at AT&T, while encouraging it at other carriers,” said Andrew Austin, Director of Customer Experience at AT&T Mobility. “By helping consumers to make informed choices about the products and plans that are right for their needs, there will be less chance of having future objections. We believe technology is the answer to giving them that information, rather than having 600 different brochures on the wall.”
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With coverage serving as a key buying consideration for mobile customers, the AT&T stores are using Surface’s mapping technology to allow shoppers to check the strength of the coverage either in their local area or anywhere in the country.
After the customer is comfortable with quality of coverage in their particular area, the next phase of the Surface sales process showcases the features and specs of various mobile devices. Utilizing optical tags, the shopper simply places a mobile device on the display and Surface recognizes the device and automatically provides an overview of its capabilities. Shoppers can also place two different mobile devices side by side on the display and to compare features and benefits.
In addition to providing easy access to product information, AT&T is using Surface to allow customers to view a device in different color configurations. In the future, the company plans to add other customization applications such as drag and drop ring tones, graphics and more by grabbing content from an on-screen menu and dropping it on a mobile device.
AT&T’s Austin added that the company’s sales people will be trained to encourage customers to begin their purchase by exploring options through the Surface technology. While Surface’s intuitive interface is easy enough to use in a self-service mode, Austin said in-store personnel will be encouraged to guide consumers through the experience. “We expect it to be a collaborative sales experience, with the shopper driving about 70% of the interaction and the salesperson handling about 30%,” Austin said.
In addition to positioning their stores as cutting edge places to shop, Austin said another goal of Surface is to help mobile consumers get the device that is right for them. “We don’t customers walking out the door with a $300 phone that isn’t going to work the way they want or need it to,” he said. The technology is also expected to serve as a support system for the company’s sales representatives as well. “Because the customer is committing to a contract and investing a fair amount of money, mobile devices are not always an easy sale. By providing the customer the customer with an informative, interactive experience, we hope to continue to increase customer satisfaction.”
Although there is no specific time line on rolling out Surface to AT&T’s 2,200 other stores, Austin indicated the company is already looking at expanding Surface to the chain’s 15 “experience store,” locations, which offer extensive use of technology to improve the shopping experience.
Mark Bolger, Senior Director of Marketing for Microsoft Surface, said the retail vertical has great potential for the Surface application. He pointed out that Harrah’s Entertainment, Starwood Hotels and T-Mobile stores are currently working on deployments of the technology.