However, they might have no intention of building a relationship. In a clienteling culture, all customer data is put to long-term use to create future personalized experiences. A great customer service experience is sometimes enough to make a customer fall in love with a brand, but clienteling builds more brand loyalty in a couple critical ways:. For one, clienteling takes in-store customer service to the next level by personalizing the shopping experience.
New technologies make it possible for even the largest retailers to recreate the experience of the small shop owner who always knows just what you need. Additionally, clienteling is more directly focused on creating long-term relationships. Whereas good customer service may impress a customer for the time they are in the store, clienteling seeks to expand that relationship beyond the walls of the retail space by maintaining relationships with clients long after they leave.
Some brands have their associates reach out at a later time over text or email to personally recommend new products, or to offer help selecting products for an upcoming special occasion. These interactions can happen weeks or months in the future. The associate then becomes a trusted friend who understands the customers' tastes, needs, and how to solve their problems. This now brings us to the final difference between offline and online customer service: The fact that online customer service should have a proactive element.
Studies have shown that most customers choose to search online first when they have an issue with a brand or product. This means that online retailers should research potential issues, and then provide helpful and easy solutions on their websites that are easy to find. If a customer has an issue, the retailer can only wait until they come to the store in person or call to try to fix things. At this point, you hopefully see a clear divide between offline and online customer service.
Not everything is different between traditional and online customer service. In fact, there are some fairly surprising ways in which the two are equals. One of the biggest similarities between the two is that customers will react the same way to good or bad customer service. But an unhappy customer is likely to tell at least 16 people about their experience. Unhappy customers do more harm to your business than the happy ones do good. So you need to create happy customers, no matter which sales channel you use.
A bad experience either online or offline will get you:. These potential losses show just how important it is to constantly create better customer service experiences. Keep in mind that how you deliver service is also important. Your tone, or how you sound when delivering service, is just as important online as it is in person.
Just imagine a scenario where a customer comes to a customer support desk, and the associate greets them with snarky, impatient answers. Or, what if they get their answers, but the associate gives it to them in a cold, robotic, almost lifeless way? The same principles apply to online service. Snarky blog posts that answer detailed questions may be more insulting than helpful. She then hand-picked pairs of sunglasses that best fit the shape of my head, and even brought out an eyewear tray so we could easily compare different products.
This could mean different things, depending on your store. But be sure to read your customers appropriately — To be clear, not every customer needs an associate to show them around the store. But for those customers who do need assistance, do your very best to help them find what they need.
Product knowledge is an essential component of customer service, so you and your staff must be on top of your merchandise and catalog details at all times. I decided to visit the Birchbox store in SoHo to see what they had to offer. The associate I worked with was knowledgeable and helpful; she told me which brands she liked best, what their top-sellers were, and she explained the distinctions between different products.
She even showed me how to apply the product to my hair. I walked out of that Birchbox store with a product that I was excited to try, and I was reminded of just how powerful in-store customer service can be. Basically, features are the components or characteristics of a product while its advantages pertain to what the features can do.
The benefit , which is the most important part, is what the customer can get out of the product and its features. For best results, see to it that the benefit you pitch to the shopper is unique to them. The advantages could be the durability of the pair as well as its ability to reduce the glare from certain surfaces. Finally, the benefit could the fact that it helps the customer see better. Know your top-sellers — Get familiar with your product trends and bestsellers so you always have handy items to recommend.
To make things easier, choose a retail management system that has robust product reporting capabilities. The best retail systems provide you with insights that you can incorporate into your sales, marketing, and customer service efforts. Already using Vend? DSW offers a great example of the right way to deal with mishaps.
The next day I received an apology in my inbox with a note letting me know their flash sale was extended because of the mishap. And guess what? I bought the shoes… and a few more pairs since then! Make it up to the customer — If there was an error on your end, do your best to own the mistake and make it up to the customer. Is there a way to reverse the error? Can you offer a discount instead? Think upselling is sleazy or bad for customer service? Not if you do it right. If you take the time to educate customers before they purchase and tailor your recommendations to their needs, I guarantee that the shopper will leave happy.
Case in point: a while back, I took my toddler shopping at our local shoe store for kids. We encountered a great associate who helped him select and try on different pairs of shoes. What types of socks is he using? And more importantly are the key to keeping loyal customers and minimizing angry customers in your stores. The question is how to scale that training across all locations, shifts, and abilities? Online retail sales training can be implemented for a fraction of the cost of a dedicated in-store trainer with greater ease and realtime reporting.
That helps your bottom line but, just as importantly, it keeps your own community alive and vital. With pundits writing story after story about the retail apocalypse, shoppers are naturally worried if their favorite retailer will be able to survive.
Every savvy retailer is, too. The only way to do that is to control the retail customer experience within your four walls. To improve your retail customer service, you need to:. Use your KPIs to evaluate how well you are delivering on your new retail customer service strategy.
But most of all, get going! You don't have the luxury of a negative thought. And remember, I can help improve your associates customer interactions with training that is rooted in customer retention through my speeches , in-person training , online training and books. Related Blog Posts:. Learn the 7 tactics the following brands use to stop hemorrhaging retail sales to online store owners Live Webinar. In Person Sales Training. Retail Retail Sales Training.
Retail Sales Training Online. Retail Sales Strategy. Retail Merchandising. Retail Customer Service. The Retail Doctor Video Library. About Clients. Retail Customer Service What is excellent service in retail? Brick and mortar stores have let their customer service skills slide. As a result, retailers are exploring a new way of delivering an exceptional customer experience. Laura Morgan. What Is Retail Customer Service? You want to think about: What influences them first?
Movies, blogs, videos, articles, brands, etc. Where do they get recommendations? Social media, review sites, online retailers, etc. Where do they first engage with your brand? Your website, your social media, your store? How do you engage them, and what do you want them to do next? Buy from the site, go to your store, sign up for your newsletter? Next, note what the middle and end of the buyer journey looks like: What do they experience as they arrive at your store?
These are the physical details of the condition of your store including lighting, music, overall cleanliness. How long does it take to have someone speak to them? Seconds, minutes, hit-or-miss? What is the first thing shoppers hear from your sales staff? Does your staff engage buyers before pitching the merchandise? Are your staff little more than warehouse workers fulfilling orders?
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