an interview with Grant Harlow, VP of Marketing & Business Development
Who is Cadex and what product/service do you offer to the wireless retailer channel?
Cadex Electronics Inc. is an established global leader in battery management products. With over 30 years of experience developing and commercializing technologies for testing and servicing batteries, Cadex has delivered solutions to many of the world’s largest companies in diverse industries that include radio and cellular communications, medical devices, portable computing, and aviation.
In the wireless retail market, Cadex offers a simple, 30-second POS battery testing solution that allows its customers to increase customer satisfaction, generate new revenue, and save money.
With the landscape of the wireless retail channel constricting on many levels, how can Cadex help to off-set diminishing carrier commissions, increased expenses and the challenge of securing and growing customer loyalty? Battery testing in the retail store provides the opportunity to both increase customer loyalty and generate additional revenue.
When a customer shows up complaining that their battery is dead or their handset does not work properly, the dealer can provide them with an immediate diagnosis. If the battery is a problem they can sell a new one on the spot. If the battery is not the problem then the customer will feel more confident about the need to send the phone in for repair. The alternatives are not good for business: i) sell (or worse give) the customer a new battery only to have them return the next day unhappy with a phone that’s still not working (50%-90% of perceived battery problems are actually caused by something else) or, ii) send them out of the store to seek help elsewhere and miss the opportunity to sell them additional products and build loyalty.
In addition to having customers spend more time in the dealer’s store, increasing the chance of additional accessories sales, many dealers have accumulated batteries returned by customers that can be tested and sold for pure profit. One dealer paid back the cost of the tester in 2 months by selling refurbished batteries at essentially 100% profit and retained an additional stock of batteries worth over $1000 that could be used for revenue or to support an extended warranty plan they offered that included replacement batteries.
There is even an opportunity to charge customers a small fee for testing their battery as might be done to reflash their phone or install a new mobile application. For those dealers that do help customers with getting their phones repaired there may be hidden costs involved that can be prevented by identifying the battery as the problem. For the carriers, this is the biggest source of cost savings associated with doing the testing at the retail store instead of at repair center.
What trends in the wireless market are driving the need for battery testing in dealer stores?
While Cadex has been providing battery testing equipment to the companies that provide handset repairs for carriers for many years, it has been the recent combination of two significant market trends in the industry that convinced us that the timing was right for a solution designed specifically for wireless retailers.
The first trend is the distinct change in how consumers are using the retail store. Where once it was primarily a place to purchase a plan and maybe buy some accessories, customers are increasingly expecting the retail store to deal with their service issues, including perceived handset and battery problems. Recent studies have indicated that there have been substantial increases in the proportion of wireless customers who use the retail store location to seek customer care and those customers are notably more satisfied when they resolve their issue by visiting a retail store than they are when they utilize other methods of contact.
The second trend driving the need for battery testing in the store is the increasing frequency of battery complaints resulting from the heavy demands today’s phones are making on the batteries. The vast array of functions available on new phones means that batteries are being stressed to a much higher degree, require more frequent charging which in turn wears them out faster, and also means that batteries may be blamed for handset problems.
The result of the convergence of these two trends is that more consumers are showing up in retail stores looking for help with technical issues that increasingly will relate to perceived battery problems. Having a fast and simple method to test batteries is an effective way of addressing those customers’ needs.
Investing in new equipment is always a challenge for dealers, especially in today’s competitive market. How does a dealer justify investing in battery testing instead of the other options available to increase profitability?
Cadex understands the challenge dealers face in deciding how to spend their limited resources, and to be perfectly honest, testing batteries doesn’t sound as exciting as selling the latest 4G technology; however, depending on individual circumstances the payback on purchasing a battery tester ranges from days to a few weeks. There are very few choices a dealer can make that show that type of return while at the same time providing a solution that increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Cadex has developed a quick model that a dealer can use to estimate the value that will be generated by finding new sources of revenue and potentially saving money.
Dealers and their employees have so many things they need to be experts on to keep up with the proliferation of consumer choices available today. Do they have to become battery experts as well to receive the benefits of Cadex products?
In developing solutions for the retail environment, Cadex’s focus has been on simplicity and ease of use. For the vast majority of users, both the basics of the tester itself and the optional software that can be purchased as part of the system can be learned in a few minutes. There is no need for extensive training and Cadex offers a number of ways for users to obtain the information they need to be up and running right out of the box.
Further information on Cadex and its products is available at www.cadex.com or by contacting Grant Harlow, VP Marketing & Business Development 1-800-565-5228 (ext 363) or email
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