Being Friendly to New Segments without Alienating the Old Segments

At an HMV store on the weekend, I observed that the only area where the sound level was tolerable was right beside the cashiers. 

[I've noticed this same phenomenon in Blockbuster.  The cashiers want to hear the music, so they turn it up louder, and anyone without a hearing problem in the rest of the store can't think for the noise. Regardless of what tunes they are playing]

The sound level meant I was kind of disinclined to browse for long, so my spouse and I got what we were looking for and left.  We did not buy several more CDs, as we sometimes do when in the small independent music dealers.  So these lost sales had nothing to do with free downloads or piracy -- they had to do with a hostile customer experience that didn't encourage browsing or impulse buying.

Near Christmas, I had this inspiration that I would buy my beloved some NEW music, and went looking -- in the same HMV --  for bands I know are current, but I'm not too familiar with.  There was simply no way to know which albums were "good" albums.  There's no "star" system to help me.  And of course no staff who could help me. I gave up and got him a Hilary Radley scarf and some cool toys from The Source instead.

Here's the thing:

I appreciate that I'm not part of the youthful heavy purchaser segment that HMV wants to attract and hold.  But if they were less hostile to other segments, they could probably expand their sales, without alienating their core target. 

For example, I noticed a collection near the checkout that my parents would probably enjoy, and it was inexpensive. Dad's fairly hard of hearing, but I'm certain he still would have found the store too loud to be in for long.   

I also don't know all the fine points of how to use HMV.  For example, I'm just supposed to know, [there's no sign telling me] how I can get to hear a CD I want to try.  I guess I could be a doofus and ask... [not!]

Regardless of your age, you are supposed to know a lot about what you are looking for before you get into the store.   The online experience is frankly much better.  I can hear samples of the music, the site will give me "if you liked this, you might also like this" suggestions.  There's no line-up.  Searching is easy.  And yet it's not quite as much fun as coming home with a new cellophane wrapped CD. 

What's the point?

Be careful about appealing ONLY to your core customer and turning off everyone else.  You'll lose sales.  You can find a middle ground if you look for it.