How Trade-In helps to improve service and attractiveness for clients while reducing costs

Objectives: 

• Increase the Trade-In financial performance
• Ensure the perfect customer experience

Solution: 

• Customer Journey Map (CJM) analysis for Trade-In to identify and mitigate potential obstacles;
• Online channels: online calculator and information about Trade-In on Special offers, Mechta Guide pages, etc.; 
• In-store activities: 
  • Sales staff uniform branding; 
  • Check-point branding; 
  • Staff training on the program benefits.

Result: 

The number of purchases through Trade-In by Breezy multiplied by 1.7 times per month on average (July 2022-February 2023).

Interesting: 

• Checkpoints, uniform, and POS branding managed by Breezy.
• Breezy provided an online calculator

The Trade-In value for customer experience creation

Customer caring is one of Mechta.kz values. Therefore, providing an impeccable customer experience at all stages of client-company communication is central to the chain's business processes.

The company's mission is to make people's lives brighter and more comfortable. The Trade-In program perfectly corresponds to the task, allowing customers to make their lives brighter with branded appliances while enjoying the comfort, perfect service, and benefits for all stakeholders.

Well-known Kazakhstan blogger Shynar Mejanova shares on Instagram how quickly, easily, and beneficially you can upgrade your old phone to a new one with Trade-In by Breezy in Mechta.kz stores:

Buyers can afford a more expensive product due to Trade-In, even with no installment plan or a loan. Moreover, they can quickly and safely get rid of old gadgets without contacting questionable websites and sellers—all in one place and in minutes. Thus, you can hand off unlimited equipment to cover up to 100% of a new device's cost.

The Trade-In enables retailers to amplify direct sales of gadgets due to repeat purchases, cross-sell, and increase the average check. Furthermore, since more customers can afford to buy appliances with Trade-In without resorting to a loan or installment plan, it helps the network to reduce related costs.

In addition, Trade-In contributes to the development of the economy with the market increases: people buy more expensive goods with less loan use.

The environment also wins. More than 136,000 tons of e-waste is accumulated in Kazakhstan annually, which is 7.3 kg per inhabitant of the country. Unfortunately, only about 8% of them will be safely disposed of, and the other over 90% will take their place in landfills while poisoning the soil and water with heavy metals and other hazardous substances. Trade-In prolongs the lifecycle of appliances and slows down the pace of e-waste growth, which has increased by 50% over the previous 10 years.  

Customer Journey Map (CJM) Approach to the service

Even such an easy-to-use and beneficial for all involved service as Trade-In should provide the right client experience to become performed and popular. Therefore, companies that take UX seriously use CJM methodology.

The Customer Journey Map (CJM) is a methodology that helps visualize how a customer moves from first meeting with a brand, product, or service to buying. Realizing where customers come from and the circumstances they make purchase decisions increases conversions. If customers meet obstacles a company needs to learn about on the way to purchase, they will try to address the issue themselves. If they fail, the purchase will not occur, and the company will not benefit.

Arman Yermagambetov, Director IT/TC category, Mechta.kz:

«At the Trade-In launch, our team analyzed the customer journey for the program and found steps to be improved to make the customer experience seamless. For example, we noticed: when clients get information about the program from a consultant in a store already having a conscious need to buy a product, then in most cases, they can't at once benefit from the program, while an original box or accessories that increase the Trade-In offer left at home. The process of data transferring from an old device takes time as well. It can cause a customer returns home without a new appliance. It makes the process more complicated for a client, and as a result, the conversion decreases – after all, he may see a competitor's offer near his house or, for some reason, change his decision to purchase. So, informing customers about the program through marketing tools in advance is important». 

The best result is achieved when customers already know about the Trade-In before their visit to a store with a decision to buy a new gadget. As a result of the analysis, the main scenarios for making a purchase decision were identified.

No specific preferences. A customer doesn't have a specific request about the model but needs to replace an old gadget that no longer satisfies his needs (not enough memory or battery capacity, does not support some applications, poor camera quality, etc.). In this situation, he learns reviews, compares technical specifications online, asks friends for recommendations, or visits a store for a consultation. He readily reacts to special offers with favorable conditions, including Trade-In and seller advice at the point of sale. In most cases, customers first monitor information online and only then visit the store to compare pre-selected alternatives, hold the gadget in their hands, and ask the consultant about details.

Solution: post information about Trade-In along with promotional offers. Thus, a customer will be aware of the program in advance and can immediately find out the approximate price of an old gadget due to the online calculator. The calculator developed by Breezy is easy to integrate with the site and helps a customer find out the real benefit in the first five seconds that are core to the purchase decision. Then, when the decision is made, a customer has time to decide how many and what gadgets he can hand over, find their packaging and accessories (if any) and come to the store with all needed.

I know what I want. A customer knows exactly which model he wants and is looking for the best price offer. Therefore, he follows a similar route to purchase as in the previous solution. After all, Trade-In is the best opportunity to save money.

Just passing by. Customers didn't plan to buy anything, but special offers made them think. For example, while they have been choosing other equipment (fridge, vacuum cleaner, etc.) on the internet or in-store, they noticed information about Trade-In, which removed the existing objection that a new phone is not affordable now.

Solution: In-store information about the program. To avoid "advertising blindness," when a client ceases to notice it due to the abundance of banners, posters, leaflets, and other advertising, non-standard carriers – consultants were used. Smartphone sellers in all Mechta.kz stores wear branded T-shirts with an offer under the Trade-In program. They are constantly present on the trading floor, and thanks to the eye-catching design, the message is very noticeable. The Breezy provider trained all consultants to work with Trade-In according to a unique program of master classes and seminars. Therefore, each seller knows how to address objections and actively recommends Trade-In to customers.

Alexander Pogrebniak, General Manager of Breezy KZ: 

«Although the Trade-In is yet to be as widespread in Kazakhstan as it is, for example, in USA, customers like the service.

Now the primary source of information about it is the sale staff of chains. It's excellent as every month, more people learn about Trade-In. But customers can be not ready for the Trade-In right now when they get information about the program at the moment of purchase. Someone, for example, has a few more old devices at home that could be exchanged, but it demands to leave a store to pick them up. This reduces the chain's conversion, as you can't be sure a customer will return to the store instead of exchanging in another place.

Our partners from Mechta.kz are well aware of the behavioral factors of their customers, so they enthusiastically accepted our proposal for joint marketing activities. Our goal is to inform customers about Trade-In availability in advance via YouTube, outdoor and in-store placements such as T-shirt branding, TV content, or entrance zone branding. This approach helps inform visitors who came for another product or just walked by about the program. But from that moment, they will already be aware of the program, and when they decide to buy, they will come to the Mechta.kz store fully armed with all the arsenal of their old devices to get the maximum discount in Trade-In».

Well-known Kazakhstan blogger Shynar Mejanova shares on Instagram how quickly, easily, and beneficially you can upgrade your old phone to a new one with Trade-In by Breezy in Mechta.kz stores:

Contextual purchase. The gadget is purchased on a special occasion, for example, as a gift (for the New Year, Birthday, February 14, etc.) or encouragement (for a successfully passed exam, a completed project, etc.). In this scenario, the gadget is not an aim, so the alternatives are not other models but fundamentally different products from the “Gift” category. In the offline channel, such customers go to the mall and spend hours wandering from store to store, hoping to find a gift idea.

Solution: Place the program information on checkpoints in the entrance area, where it is visible to mall visitors, even if they do not enter the store. The opportunity for profitable purchase of branded gadgets by Trade-In can motivate to choose such a gift option.

Instead of conclusion

The potential obstacles on the customers' journey to purchase fixed this way made their Trade-In experience comfortable, profitable, and pleasant. The growing interest in the program amongst Mechta.kz customers confirms the point. 

Arman Yermagambetov, Director IT/TC category, Mechta.kz: 

«Mechta.kz is extremely serious about customer experience and strives to make all CJM stages comfortable for our customers. We set similar requirements and expectations for the Trade-In program – so that all stages of the client journey give only pleasant emotions. Fortunately, we did not have to work additionally with evaluating gadgets, paperwork, and other issues since they were initially successfully implemented by the Breezy provider. The process of in-store gadget evaluation occurs in front of the client and takes up to 5 minutes. A unique provider App tests each gadget for 55 indicators, which customers perceive as an objective and fair assessment. The processes allow a customer to immediately use the cost of an old device to purchase a new model and pay up to 100% of the price. At the same time, the program also works when buying on credit, which is essential for our customers. Reducing the loan body due to the Trade-In discount increases the chances of getting a favorable decision from the bank and saving on interest. All this makes the program user-friendly.

It is also important to us that Breezy behaves not only as a responsible provider but as a partner. They are ready to invest in promoting what they believe in – a program that prolongs the lifecycle of devices and makes top-notch technologies more accessible to users».