While it’s true that numbers don’t lie, performance goes deeper than the balance sheet.
In today’s competitive market, retailers need to think outside the box and measure performance according to the new challenges being presented by online marketing. That means thinking people. Sales is all about people – their behavior, their demographic preferences and most importantly, their experience.
How your customers experience your stores is a key indicator of how well you’re doing. People talk. One bad experience can lose you more than one customer, for that very reason. In this post, we’ll talk about customer experience as a key measure of outlet performance.
Consistency matters.
Do you know how your stores are really performing, beyond the balance sheet? Not being aware of how your shoppers are experiencing your brand across all your outlets means you can take a hit, eventually.
Being feedback sensitive is necessary for retailers to foresee sales recessions before they happen. Keeping your customers happy is an exercise in public relations management. Poor feedback exposes your outlets to the possibility of reduced sales because disgruntled customers won’t just tell their next neighbors or co-workers that they’ve had a bad experience.
They’ll share that information online.
That means you need to create conditions whereby customers who’ve had a less than stellar experience in one of your stores understand they’re being heard. Those conditions encompass accessibility and responsiveness.
Caring about your customers.
Of course, you care about your customers. You know that, without them, your outlet wouldn’t exist. But how accessible and responsive is your customer feedback channel?
Are customers clearly communicated with about a process to lodge complaints (or positive comments, for that matter)? Making them aware that you care about their experience is a process and one you should pursue through displays and your sales floor staff.
Signage is key. It creates a point of contact for customers, an awareness that feedback is important to you and that you do something about negative feedback. Training your sales staff to reinforce that message is key to the success of such an effort. They should be telling all customers, at every opportunity, that their experience matters. It should be an important part of what they do in your outlets.
Your job as a retailer is to ensure that no customer leaves your store unhappy, disgruntled, or resolving to never return. To achieve that, a focused effort to educate both your shoppers and your staff is required.
Follow up.
Following up on complaints effectively and responding to positive commentary proactively creates an extension of the customer experience. In today’s market, it’s crucial that your customers feel heard and know that you appreciate their feedback.
Providing those who complain with a compensatory gesture (coupons, an assurance that “it won’t happen again”, or disciplinary measures, if required) is an event they’ll share, because they’ll be happy you not only heard them, but that you acted.
Clip Strip Corp. brings your retail stores leading edge POP display supports. Contact us to find out more.