New concept, better service
The Maxis Concept Store aims to provide new and improved services to its customers.
THE next time you’re at the Maxis Concept Store in The Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, say hello to Mira, the telco’s latest “girl” who can be found right smack in the middle of the store.
While Mira cannot verbally reply yet, soon she may just be able to. For now, she will give you a QR code, which you can scan to get assigned to a customer service representative.
You see, Mira stands for Maxis Interactive Retail Assistant and is one of the latest technologies employed by the telco to better cater to the visitors at the store.
“We want a store that is inviting, exciting and immersive for the customers. Our aspiration is to be the number one converged business company in Malaysia, and we are moving away from just selling postpaid or prepaid services. We are heading towards providing solutions,” says Maxis chief sales and service officer Tan Lay Han.
“We have a lot of data accumulated over the years, and we have big data analytics capability. If we put these together, we can produce unmatched personalised experiences for our customers. So when you come into the store, we can give you an offer that fits you, rather than ask you so many questions.”
Opened in May, the Concept Store is divided into several key areas – a Meeting Area where customers can chat with service representatives; a Forest Area where the latest smartphones and other devices are on display; an Accessory Wall that features accessories such as earphones, chargers and phone casings; and a Partnership Area that displays products on sale from Maxis’ partners.
The demo units will feature a Discovery App that shows the specs and pricing of the device under various Maxis plans.
“I think that Malaysians are educated buyers. In fact more and more people roughly know what they are looking for, and when they come to a store like this, they have the freedom to take what they have read about, hold it in their hands and see it in action,” he says.
“We also allow them to compare one model against another. People do know what they want, and when they come here, they get the assurance and confirmation.”
Another important aspect of the store is the team that runs it, says Tan, adding that a lot of the in-house training was about the on-the-spot type of problem solving skills, so that when a customer comes in with a query or situation, the team members can think on their feet and offer suggestions immediately.
“When we were conceptualising this store, we wanted to give a totally new customer experience, and a change in the sales culture. We want to create a culture that is engaging, one that inspires and encourages the customers to play with and use the products, and where we can capture our customers’ interest, so that they next time they come, we would know them better,” shares Tan.
Interestingly, none of the products are physically attached to the display cases, and instead are tagged with RFID chips which will set off the alarm only if removed from the store.
“We have made the accessories easily available. Most places you go, the accessories are wrapped up and in boxes,” says Tan.
“But in our store, they are exposed and users are invited to try them. This has increased the foot traffic and repeat visitations, and has increased our accessories sales. It has been positive all around.”
The flagship store in Kuala Lumpur is the first to undergo the
transformation, and soon the process will be replicated in major cities across the country, namely in Penang and Johor.
“We are taking selective, key strategic locations to be upgraded. We are progressively looking and evaluating which are the ones, and it won’t be all the stores. Just key locations. However, some of the concepts like Mira, Discovery App and others that allow customers the freedom to learn about our devices and services, will be mainstream,” he says.
“This store is the result of quite a lot of learning from experimentation, of playing with concepts after concepts. It doesn’t stop here. This is a journey and the unveiling of stage one. We continue to learn, and are getting feedback from our frontliners and customers on what they would like to see. We would incorporate some of the learning into future stores.”