Telenor in-store demo

Telenor nails the in-store demo with an Phygrid big screen

How many times have you visited a phone store to make a purchase but have a question about a subscription or smartphone? Mostly, you’re asked to look at a salesperson’s smartphone or a worn out desktop at the checkout to explore the answers.

These sales demo formats worked in a pre-pandemic world but neither was particularly effective back then. In a post-pandemic world, it’s just uncomfortable bumping shoulders in a salesroom, especially when weighing up big ticket items like a $1,000 smartphone.

Mobile network operator Telenor has a smarter demo format for its in-store sales staff thanks to an interactive display system from digital experiences outfit, Phygrid.

The system, dubbed Ombori Sales Remote, lets staff control a large, dedicated sales screen from their smartphone or tablet to explain product prices, specifications and benefits to customers.

The in-store demo is critical to sales performance because customers buying smartphones often do some homework before visiting a store and want to hear an expert’s opinion about what features and specifications mean to them and why they should or shouldn’t buy a certain model.

What is Apple’s A14 chip on the iPhone 12? What’s the difference between LED and OLED displays? Should I buy a Samsung Galaxy S20, a cheaper Galaxy A51, or a Huawei Mate? What’s the monthly cost and how much data is included?

These are all questions that Telenor staff can now casually answer with the aid of a large visual display system, while explaining obvious and subtle differences between products. It’s also a chance to socialize with customers at a safe distance.

Of course, sales staff can give potential buyers a brochure, but the finer details are lost without the assistance of a sales expert. On the other hand, in-store demos can be confusing for customers without the right visual sales tools.

To ensure reliability, the interactive display loads marketing and product content and then sends basic menu options to a staff member’s smartphone that allows them to control the primary sales display.

Staff smartphones don’t even need to be on the same network as the display, which could be on the local Wi-Fi network while the phone is on a cellular network. The connection still “just works” without any performance loss.

Some Phygrid customers have configured the Phygrid Sales Remote solution to let the customers explore products by themselves, however Telenor opted for a secure, staff-controlled PIN-protected experience.