Reader Forum: Are high training costs holding service providers back in retail?

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but maintain some editorial control so as to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com or tford@rcrwireless.com.
With approximately one trillion connected devices being used by consumers by 2015, there is a huge opportunity for wireless providers to sell a brand new set of devices that weren’t available just a few years back.
Clearly, shopping online is becoming more and more a preferred channel for many consumers. However, buying a connected device involves selecting from wide variety of options and plethora of configurable features, which can confuse consumers and make it difficult for them to complete their purchase without assistance.
In this “always on” environment, is there still a place for physical store locations? One of the key aspects of retail stores compared to online shops is that you have a salesperson educating you about the product before you buy it – but how educated are retailers on the latest offerings from service providers? Can they truly turn every shopper that comes into the store into a buyer?
To find out, Amdocs commissioned a survey, conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media, that explores how wireless service providers’ retail strategies are being impacted by the connected world. This survey also took a look at key trends, opportunities and challenges service providers are facing in the retail channel. It included interviews with 41 executives at service providers across North America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
One of the most interesting finds of the research was that traditional “brick-and-mortar” retail stores aren’t going away anytime soon – regardless of how the world is evolving. Seventy-six percent of service providers surveyed reported that the main reason people visit retail stores is to compare and try connected devices before they buy. On top of that, two-thirds of service providers surveyed believe that consumers go to a store to look for the best deal.
Another important fact uncovered was that the chances of making a sale are much higher with a knowledgeable staff. Fifty-seven percent of wireless service providers reported that advice given to them by a store representatives are key to closing a sale. In fact, quality of advice and service were rated as more important than the wireless brands offered, range of merchandise and speed of service.
With a knowledgeable staff comes the need from training, but it’s important to note that 50% of wireless service providers see training as the biggest challenge they face in retail stores today.
So which devices and services are the most important ones for retail staff to be “expert” at? When asked which products and services will be most important to wireless retailers in the next three years, service providers pointed to mobile broadband services (69%), tablets/netbooks (48%) and connected devices such as in-car systems and healthcare products (45%).
In order to reduce the cost of training and ensure staff members are well educated, retailers need a solution that streamlines sales and ordering processes across all channels. By doing this, they can reduce training costs not only for sales reps, but for third party reps as well.
It’s equally important to ensure that every customer order is validated during the order capture process and is executed across channels. For example, if someone were to order an iPad online for in-store pick-up, the experience needs to be consistent across each channel.
With the average number of connected devices per adult being estimated at 4.3, it is vital that retailers have the tools they need to sell those devices with confidence. As the survey shows, store sales reps are an extremely important part of the purchasing process and need to be properly educated. By streamlining sales and ordering systems, and maintaining a consistent experience across channels, service providers can avoid the high costs associated with proper training.