Poor customer experience is so effective at driving shoppers away. So don’t settle with having quality products alone because without good customer service, you’ll lose the opportunity to encourage repeat and loyal customers both in-store and online.
In a fast-changing retail world, setting your standards high is a must to adapt quickly and consistently meet the expectation and demands of the consumers. Here is how you can put your retail store customer service in an entirely different level:
Educate Staff About New Health Guidelines
With all the rapid change caused by new health regulations in the industry, communication and information dissemination with your store staff has become vital now more than ever. This is to make sure that they are updated and ready to deal with whatever is about to come.
Providing a detailed guide explaining how to implement new health and sanitation requirements is what every store owner must not forget. This will teach your staff how to deal with customers and how they will properly and quickly orient everyone who enters the store about your rules.
A customer service script would also help a lot as part of staff training to improve customer service. It may contain suggestions on how to use a positive and reaffirming tone to help with customers who are not familiar with or might be reluctant to follow new rules.
Eventually, the desired outcome is to equip your employees with knowledge that will enable them to prevent uncomfortable situations and negative customer experiences.
Communicate with Customers Consistently and Across Multiple Channels
Constant communication with your customers is crucial especially with how fast the industry changes. Letting customers know details regarding changes in your operations in advance is the only way you can ensure that their experience will remain positive.
Sending emails to customers about your new curbside setup and displaying this information prominently on your website is a great way so your customers will also know how to adjust. Emails are also helpful to spread relevant information that concerns them before they visit your store. This and other strategies are what personalized customer service should be composed of.
Combining your physical shop with your online store and your social media channels gives your patrons an omnichannel experience that makes you stand out among your competitors. This is a trend which is seen to last for the next couple of years.
Linking your online store to your social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram helps you connect to current customers and reach new ones. Using this you will also be able to replicate the same bond you share with them in your store.
Creating this unified experience with customer service to match has allowed them to replicate the same connection they offered to customers in-store, online.
Create a Seamless Checkout Process
Do you know that you can eliminate long waiting lines by making your checkout process seamless? Through appointment shopping and scheduling, your customers will be able to shop comfortably and one at a time. This ensures that there will be social distancing and enough staff to assist them.
By clearing the way to your checkout line, things will be a lot easier and quicker too.
Meanwhile, arming your store with cloud-based POS or equipping your staff with gadgets that allow them to help customers check out anywhere in the store are also efficient checkout strategies.
Last but not the least, offering contactless payments will be the last ingredient to complete the perfect shopping experience. This gives relief to customers knowing that they can purchase their needs while staying safe.