Mediacom
A telecom provider launches a barrier-breaking retail experience.
Looking forward to a better experience
Mediacom saw the opportunity to increase sales in its stores by enhancing customer experiences and encouraging employee-customer interaction. The cable television and communications provider needed a partner to collaborate with internal stakeholders and its agency of record to define the opportunity, develop a strategy and implement the subsequent tactics.
Designed for transaction, not interaction
A big part of the challenge was the layout and appearance of the stores themselves. There was a lack of information educating customers about Mediacom products and services, and collateral displays were largely ineffective due to space and placement constraints. Lighting was dim, giving stores a cold, tired appearance.
Customers stood in line behind long counters, with Mediacom employees set up like tellers on the other side. Waiting in long lines had customers ready to take care of business and leave. There was very little personal interaction and, as a result, no chance to upsell. The store had become merely a place to return broken equipment, make a monthly payment or file a complaint.
Seeing past the obstacles
The team viewed every issue as an opportunity and set the following goals for the new retail experience:
- Break down barriers
- Provide a more informative, engaging experience
- Encourage exploration
- Create a consistent look and feel
- Simplify and declutter
The proof is in the prototype
To realize these goals, the team designed and built a prototype store. Removing the teller counter and adopting accessible podium-style workstations creates a more open feel. The new floor plan encourages employees to have a more personal engagement with every customer entering the store. Digital displays make information and product offerings easy to see and understand. Scalable color palette, design aesthetic, lighting, flooring and signage choices create unity for any and all Mediacom locations, regardless of size. And a streamlined plan for equipment and merchandizing elements keeps everything tidy, inviting and professional.
Now, Mediacom has an easily replicable blueprint for building stores to redefine the role of the employee and transform the experience of the customer.
600,000 strand miles of fiber
Mediacom has deployed fiber in 1,500 communities across 22 states.
3 million households and businesses
The “Project Gigabit” initiative is a wide-scale deployment of one-gigabit-per-second broadband services to virtually every household and business where Mediacom operates.
$1 billion capital investments
Over the course of three years, Mediacom is investing $1 billion to upgrade and expand its national broadband network, among other projects.
#1 Iowa cable provider
Mediacom is the largest cable provider in Iowa and the eighth-largest in the U.S.