BRM and Digital Transformation
Does your company want a 15€ or a 200 € haircut?
If it wants the first choice probably should do the same things it has been doing for years.
However, if it wants and can afford a 200 € haircut probably it should include in their vocabulary the wide expression of BRM.
If you are interested in this topic and you have some minutes, please read this paragraph of the book Green Elephants . Chapleau, Simon. .
The difference between a 15 $ and a 200 $ haircut
Why are some people willing to spend up to 200 $ for a haircut while others will only pay 15 $?
The service experience for a 15 $ haircut is straightforward. You show up and wait for a few minutes since they do not take appointments. Once a hairdresser is free you sit down, explain that you want to refresh your haircut a little bit and the hairdresser gets to work, asking a few questions to clarify what you want. While the overall interaction could be very social and interesting, the level of involvement of the hairdresser in the solution is usually fairly limited: you are the one that specified exactly what you want in very technical terms (shorter sides, side part, etc.).
Oftentimes, the hairdresser has no idea what the client’s objectives really are. Does he want to look younger? Is he getting ready for a big date? The 15 $ haircut is transactional and can be considered a commodity; any hairdresser with the right skills can take the client’s requirements and deliver a successful haircut. That is because the specifications are very clear. But what happens when clients don’t know what they want?
The 200 $ haircut is a world apart from the 15 $ experience. The location tends to be nicer, they might offer wine or champagne to their clients and the ambiance is relaxing, similar to a spa. But the real difference is the hairdresser’s involvement. When someone goes to a 200 $ hairdresser, the specifications tend to be fuzzy, to the point of being almost non-existent. The client will typically say something like “I want to look younger” or “I need a new look.” It is then the responsibility of the hairdresser to question the client to determine the style, the length, how cutting-edge, how much time they have to prepare in the morning, etc.
The hairdresser is responsible for designing a solution to meet the client’s objectives. Based on some vague terms and likes/ dislikes, the hairdresser finds a solution (a haircut) that will meet the client’s demands. This requires a high level of efficient communication, after all, once the hair is cut it is hard to fix. But it also requires a high-level of understanding of current trends and fashion styles, an understanding of physiology and morphology to understand which haircut will be becoming. And it’s for this level of involvement that these upscale hairdressers can demand an order of magnitude more for their services. And clients are happy to pay it.