For web and app-centric businesses, Sony is a dinosaur, and brick and mortar may seem irrelevant. But there is a lot to learn, I found out—read on for key takeaways for any marketer.

15 things a store visit taught me about marketing

現場 Genba: Japanese for“the real place”

Where value is created; any site (e.g. a sales floor) where the company interacts directly with customers. Where are the key places—physical or digital—that customers interact with your brand?

A-E-I owe you an explanation

Customers couldn’t easily distinguish Sony’s A-mount and E-mount cameras. Can your customers tell the difference between your products or product lines?

Wild for waterproof

For Sony customers, getting a top-shelf waterproof smartphone was even worth buying off-contract. Is anything about your brand worth a premium? Community, hardware design, user experience, customer service?

Look Ma, no wire!

For Sony customers, wireless subwoofers were memorably different from their expectations for the category. How does your product design or marketing highlight fresh, standout features?

4K TVs blow people away in-store

For Sony’s global web team, the challenge was to match the awe-inspiring experience of real-world 4K. How do you create real-world level immersion online—especially on mobile—for “wow products?

NFC = No Freakin’ Clue

Sony has been promoting NFC capability with recent products, but customers still don’t get it. If a certain feature is a key part of your selling proposition, make sure your marketing pays it off.

A 65-inch 4K TV? I’ll take two!

For Sony retailers, the $2,800 bottom-of-the-4K range was the bread-and-butter sales model. Even for affluent early adopters, value is still an important consideration.

Alpha needs betta support

Even Sony retail staff don’t refer to the cameras correctly—calling them A5000 instead of α5000. If your employees don’t refer to your products or services by their real names, your branding is doomed.

Enough about me—what do you think about me?

For Sony marketing, a common blunder is being product-centered, rather than customer-centered. Don’t talk about features in isolation: talk about customer needs that they solve.

ISO excited!

For Sony customers committed enough to carry a separate camera, low-light capability is a key motivating factor. If a smartphone overlaps your product’s function, how can you make your product worth carrying?

Users are losers!

Sony retail staff avoid the term “user,” calling people “guests” instead. The language employees use to refer to customers can be shorthand for company culture—for good or bad.

Buzzword? More like buzzkill!

For Sony customers, confusing proprietary terms like Triluminos and Bionz X are a turn-off. Beware of forgetting how regular people talk and falling in love with your own jargon.

Luxury product, discount demo

The setup for Sony’s $1,000 personal viewer: just headphones and video clips, not a dedicated viewing area. If you are selling a premium product, you better make every customer experience premium as well.

It’s a great product—but I’m hoarding it

Sony retail saw huge drops in customer interest due to big gaps between product announcements and release. Are your production, supply chain, and marketing teams working together to determine timelines?

Palo Alto Dreamin’

Sony retail staff found that even rich, web-savvy customers don’t get many key Sony technologies. Are technology or R&D your key differentiator? Make it clear.

For more or to work with me, find me online as @iamnatedavis Carbonmade, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter

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