15 September 2014 396 words, 2 min. read

RFID technology used by Nespresso to enhance customer experience

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab PhD in marketing, director of IntoTheMinds
RFID technology has been around for some years now but its applications in B2C remained pretty scarce. In the B2B context it’s a little bit more popular although in most business contexts it’s still in its infancy or at the […]

RFID technology has been around for some years now but its applications in B2C remained pretty scarce. In the B2B context it’s a little bit more popular although in most business contexts it’s still in its infancy or at the exploration stage.

We were therefore extremely pleased to see one real B2C application rolled out at Nespresso that contributes significantly to satisfying customers.

Waiting time conducts to unsatisfaction

One of the huge issues Nespresso was facing was … its own success. You could measure it at the waiting times on Saturday’s in more or less all stores. This led them to include equipment to manage the flows of waiting customers (ticketing + screens + multiple desks). Yet you could feel the impatience and insatisfaction of customers who had been waiting for 20 minutes.

New projects were kicked off to mitigate the problem and increase the satisfaction. One the one hand Nespresso developed its picking services (basically you order on line and 1 hour after your order can be quickly picked up at the store). On the other hand, for customers not living near a store, the shipping possibilities (coupled with free delivery) proved to be very efficient.

Smaller in-store projects also popped-up like a vending machine with capsules inside. The solution looked pretty cheap and not in line with Nespresso’s premium positioning.

RFID : a premium solution for a premium brand

Nespresso worked with CPIGlobal to design a solution that was both elegant (to cope with the positioning of the brand) and efficient to allow customers to be more satisfied through a self-service solution (have a look at the video above from 1:24)

Unlike other self-service solution that have been implemented in supermarkets, the solution proposed by Nespresso is undoubtedly attractive for high-end customers. It’s innovative, elegant, and during our visit we could see that visitors were intrigued by it and willing to test it. The technological content actually adds something valuable to the customer experience.

Conclusion

With this RFID solution Nespresso kills two birds with one stone. First of all it gives control back to the customers who can reduce their waiting times and increase their satisfaction. Second, the solution proposed is attractive from a technological and design viewpoints and further increases the satisfaction of customers using it.

The RFID self-service solution proposed contributes therefore to a significant enhancement of the customer satisfaction.



Posted in Innovation, Marketing.

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