What is “Untact Marketing”?
What in the world is “untact marketing”? I know, it doesn’t even sound like proper English!
Well, I just heard about this new marketing method, if it can even be called that, on Arirang news.
“Untact” marketing is the union of the prefix “un-,” meaning “not,” and the shortened form of “contact.” Together it means “no contact.” As in, don’t contact me while I’m shopping.
It’s for the person who doesn’t like to talk with sales people while they’re out shopping.
“Untact Marketing” in Practice
For ages, it’s always been about better customer service by providing…well, service! But this new trend is about giving customers what they really want, which may be some peace. And some stores are really pioneering this idea of leaving customers alone.
At the popular South Korean cosmetics store Innisfree, there are two baskets. One is for people who don’t mind being approached by sales staff and the other basket signals that they do not want to be approached by sales staff – that they’ll do it by themselves.
I guess it’s a win-win in the sense that people who don’t want to be hassled by sales staff won’t be and sales staff don’t need to bother with those people in the first place.
Gone are the days of sales people waiting to spritz you with the latest perfume or cologne!…Well, if you have the right basket in hand!
It’s Not Just Cosmetic Stores Though
There are some electronics stores in Seoul where people can go to a stand, swipe the bar code of an item, and get all the info they desire. You can even look up customer reviews! Let’s see a sales person do that!
These stands or kiosks where you can simply swipe the barcode of an item to see reviews and other information about the product is efficiency at its finest. It cuts out the need to wait for a sales person to answer questions, and they definitely won’t have customer reviews anyway.
“Untact Marketing” is not for everyone
In the grander scheme though, doesn’t it seem rather isolating? It just seems like another way for us to further separate ourselves from society. I mean, does it really take so much effort to kindly decline service when a sales person asks if you need help? If that level of assertiveness is an issue, well then maybe more interaction with humans would be better not worse.
Although I’ve never found any sales person overly pushy, with the exception of car sales people (but that’s to be expected!), perhaps others have.
Also, if I’m about to drop $40 on a face cream, you better believe I want a sales person to be there convincing me I’m making a good choice, or to point out a better one. I would also appreciate a water and free samples, thank you. And actually, that’s exactly the level of service I got from the fantastic sales staff at Innisfree a couple of years ago.
I don’t know if customers complained or if this is a way for the company to save money by having less sales people on the floor, but I didn’t think anything needed changing!
Everything from the beginning to end of shopping there was amazing! I was greeted at the door where a pretty sales girl asked if I needed anything. She pointed me to moisturizers when I said that was what I was shopping for and we discussed my skin type. Of course she tried to upsell some other products which I declined. But I actually liked that she offered because I may not have known about those other products. And sure enough, I bought one of those products later. Furthermore, she threw in a bunch of samples, which were practically normal product size, in with my purchase!
Service Please!
If I could, I would have a basket that says more contact please, not less! Please shower me with attention so that I feel like spending money here and feel like it was worth it.
So even though some people may prefer to be left alone, I’m glad that there’s still the option, at least for now, of getting sales service. Maybe there should be a third basket available – “untact,” “contact,” and “more contact”! 😉
Have you experienced “untact marketing” yet? Do you wish more stores had it? Share in the comments!