I grew up, as I'm sure most of us did, with the doorbell ringing and a little girl in uniform on the other side trying to sell me delicious overpriced cookies using her award winning smile. Buying Girl Scout cookies is so ubiquitous that it almost equates to a rite of passage for new home owners - one of those inevitable events you know anticipate is going to happen that, unlike some first time experiences (like a pipe breaking), you can actually look forward to. However, I haven't had a Girl Scout come to my door in years. It certainly can't be because I'm not friendly :-D. Is door-to-door selling just not bringing in the returns these future entrepreneurs are looking for?
According to an article from Mashable, more and more Girl Scouts are turning to social media in order to reach larger audiences and sell cookies faster - and with less work. This may sound like a good idea at first, a smart way to use modern technology to increase sales, but the article warns that this may actually be tarnishing the Girl Scout brand. For two years shy of a century, the Girl Scout brand has been aligned with cute girls coming directly to your door hawking baked goods. That personal connection of knowing your neighborhood children and shelling out $5 a box to support her is what made the interaction so powerful. You were more likely to buy from her in person because how could you say no to that innocent face price gouging you? If this scenario took place entirely online, not in real time, through plain text, would you be as convinced to buy as you would be in person? If done correctly, yes!
I'll admit that a status update from my neighbor saying "please buy girl scout cookies from my daughter," or, heaven forbid, actually setting up a Facebook store, would not entice me to purchase...unless she had some thin mints...mmm....err but um, no, that situation would not be so persuasive. Imagine this instead, a personalized wall post with a picture of the daughter in uniform standing in an open front doorway, holding up an order form, with a caption attached saying "Ding Dong. Hi Mr. Cox, would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?" Um yeah, that's going to work. Why? Because this scenario has modernized the classic Girl Scout interaction to play out in a digital realm. On Facebook, my wall is the equivalent of my front door and a photo takes the place of looking through my peep hole. In all effects, I feel as though I am still receiving the same level of personal service, but on a forum that I am more likely to respond to (I'm always available on Facebook, whereas it would be much harder to isolate a time when I'm regularly home).
This form of modernized service is the key to keeping historic brand interactions relevant today. Feel out of touch with your local grocer or bakery? What if they posted their fresh produce or what's being pulled hot out of the oven? Not at home to receive that package? UPS could post a delivery notice to your Facebook wall, so that you could stop and retrieve the package on your way home rather than having to go back out. Social media has upped the standards for customer service and it's no longer becoming a convenience, it's an expectation. How is your brand adapting to better serve the customer?
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