Customer Service is a lot like Dating

….at least the rules are the same!

The most important ingredient in the recipe for success is your customer – without the customer there is no retail business. Consumers are getting savvier and are far more knowledgeable than ever before. They are more demanding and have more choices now than ever before.

Compare retail now and past, as close as 3 years ago, and you would be looking at a different industry. In the past customers accepted bad customer service as the norm. Today’s customer no longer accepts it, is vocal and can influence others, on and off line!

It is not enough to know who your customers are, you need to know what their needs are, what appeals to them, where they are and how to treat them. You also need to recognise that not everybody that walks into your store is a customer and that you cannot be all things to all people. So select and define your customer carefully.

The right customer profile will ensure that you buy the right product, have the right staff and communicate effectively, ensuring you will maximise the profitability of your business.
It is my belief that each business does not really sell the products on the shelf, it sells customer service and this is what sets one store apart from the others. I have always viewed Customer
Service as problem solving, customers come into your store with a need, sometimes they don’t know what this is, and it is your job to solve the problem or find something that meets the need.
Once you have defined your customer and their needs, then you can start to build a relationship with them. By meeting their needs you will build trust and comfort with your customer, they feel good about shopping in your store, they know that you are the authority and they trust they are getting value when they shop in your store.

Defining what is good customer service is harder than it sounds. It is not as simple as saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and smiling at them when they enter the store (although these are important too!).

Customer Service is having what they want, when they want it. Customer Service encompasses every element and aspect of your business that communicates how your store and your products meet the needs and wants of the customer.It is great to build the relationship but you need to have the goods to back it up. Exceptional Customer Service is going that extra step that the customer does not expect or experience with your competitors. It must be constant and consistent. Exceptional Customer Service happens before, during and after the sale.

In the current retail market, the competitive advantage of each business will be their customer service. It is no longer enough to have just good customer service, you need to aspire to EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE in order to stand out. Despite its importance to the business’ success, many retailers still get it wrong and have low standards.

Think of Exceptional Customer Service in the same way as DATING.The attraction, the getting to know each other/ trust building and then the familiarity and comfort and lastly wanting to be around each other all the time! Excite & seduce your current, new and potential customers to ensure the relationship is established and grows.

In the past; people were looking for a mate to start a family with as per society’s norm and customer service was not a high priority of retailers or customers. Now the expectations are vastly different; people are looking for a partner who satisfies a long list of needs and customers are demanding exceptional customer service. Customers and daters are now looking for ‘The Total Package’.

Let’s look at the vital elements of exceptional customer service in comparison with dating:

• You want to attract your customer at first glance, you must put effort into your appearance and not just for the first meeting or date, you must always look your best


• You must be honest, polite and respectful, ALWAYS


• Make sure you have enough in common, otherwise your objectives will not be met and you will be wasting each others’ time


• Deliver what you promise and don’t promise what you can’t deliver!


• Be realistic, don’t try and turn them into something they are not


• Use the approach and ‘language’ that suits the subject, you need to be adaptable


• Ask questions and LISTEN to the answers


• Learn all you can about them and use this in your communication with them, to make your interaction with them relevant


• Once you have identified their current needs, anticipate their future needs


• Use humour and creativity to build and maintain the relationship


• When you spend time together focus on them, don’t look over their shoulder at what else is happening


• Constantly communicate and keep up to date with each other, don’t lose touch


• Accept constructive criticism as a way of making the relationship stronger and maybe changing some of your bad habits!


• Thank them every chance you get – show them they are valued


• Recognise that sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. There will be times when you have to apologise to a valued customer, even when you know you are right, for the long term on-going relationship.


• Encourage them to introduce you to their friends!


• Surprise them with your thoughtfulness


• As we know that if any of these things are not genuine and maintained the relationship will not last and you have to do it over and over again, till you get it right!!

When you achieve this level of Exceptional Customer Service, your customer will shop without resistance. When you suggest an add-on product, they will see this as a valuable suggestion that will help them not a pushy sales person trying to make money. This is where you want to be to achieve profitable sales.

I used to manage the Manchester Department at Grace Bros. We had our regular customers and my staff and I made it our business to remember what they had bought or what they liked. If new stock came in that we thought they would like or a pattern they bought was going to be marked-down, we would call them (no email or sms then!) before it was put on the floor or the sale started. We made them feel important/special and offered them value. Over 50% of these conversations turned into a sale and over 50% of the sales resulted in other items being added to the purchase.

You want customers to become addicted to your great customer service and come back for more. Each time they come back they reaffirm their decision to come into your store and feel better than the last time. This repeat business is more profitable than the first sale.

Acquiring new customers is expensive. The cost of the first sale is more than double the cost of a returning customer. To ensure you have a profitable business you need to maintain a high rate of returning/repeat business.

Only 60% of satisfied customers do business with you again. So you really need to be aiming at 100% satisfaction to ensure profitable repeat business.
Exceptional Customer Service is one aspect that needs to be maintained and innovated continually to ensure customers do not go elsewhere. It is important to ensure that this is ongoing and evolving to encourage interest. Remember, there is a fine line, do not get too familiar so as to make your customer uncomfortable..

Develop a strategy for potential, new and regular customers. You need to do different things to entice and retain each type. If your strategy and systems have been developed properly, this will happen automatically without effort. We work with clients to analyse the business and develop a system and program to ensure the best results.

PHONE: +61 2 9559 8870
EMAIL: info@magnoliasolutions.com.au

Prospecting 101 for SMEs

Although I mainly work with retailers, I sometimes work with SMEs (small to medium enterprise).

I have just written a sales program for a client and thought I would post parts of it over the next few weeks.

I have generalised it here for the sake of the blog and anonymity, but this should get you started:

1. The most important thing is to clearly define your customer; if you don’t know who they are you won’t know where to find them.
   


2. Define your competitive advantage and your features and benefits – this will help you communicate the benefit of customers buying from you.
   Always remember that you are solving a customer’s problem; the solution is to work with you as you are the best solution for them - problem solved.
   


3. Know where your competitors are and identify the gaps, in terms of location or product offer.
   If you think the same customer will benefit from your stock then approach them.
   If you think that there is a better customer near the one your competitor works with target them.
   


4. Know where your final customer shops (your customer’s customer) and target customers there.
   Read magazines, blogs and other media and make a prospect list from this.
   Always keep an eye out for prospects, be ever alert!
   


5. Do your homework online, on the phone and on foot! Ask questions, that will lead you to the prospects. When someone says no, try to find out why (without being rude or pushy) and try and avoid this in the next conversation!
   


6. Prepare a phone script – this will help you be comfortable and concise.
   


7. Don’t forget referrals. If you have a satisfied customer, ask them for a referral or suggestion of another customer. A happy customer will always want to help.
   


8. Keep up to date records of your prospects and where you are at with them. Don’t ring the same person with the same shpiel – the door will forever be shut to you.
   


9. Follow up when you say you will – if you can’t be relied on before they buy from you, they will not be encouraged in terms of the long term relationship.
   


10. When you approach them it must be in a way and language they are comfortable with. Always try and speak to someone before sending anything as this will ensure your letter/info gets opened (at least).
    Don’t bombard them with information if they are not familiar with you. Be patient and take it one step at a time.
    Email is cheap but it is not as effective as it once was. Have a hard copy to send as well as some people don’t have or like email.
    


11. The customer is always right – without them there is no business.
    Be polite, genuine and professional, don’t be familiar, flirty or sleazy.
    Listen to what they are saying and respond accordingly. If you don’t know the answer to something be honest and let them know you will find out and be back to them.
    


12. Do not take any comments, criticism or rejection personally.
    These are professional interactions.
    You don’t know how a prospect’s day is going, what their past experience has been, what their preferences are. You may remind them of someone horrible, they may have had a bad experience with a similar product or they could just be an apathetic business person without any foresight.
    Whatever it is, be professional and move on.
    Remember; No means NO!
    But maybe touch base again in 3- 6 months!

Happy Sales!

Stationery is the New Candle

If someone told me that candles would be sold for $80.00 when I started my retail career as a Grace Bros cadet 22 years go, I would have thought they were dreaming!

The dream is a reality, with candles in all sizes, colours, fragrances, packaging and prices, becoming a key gift item over the last 10 years. In fact, there are dedicated stores that sell candles and all that goes with them.

Whilst I am a big fan of the candle and have them all over my house with backup in the linen cupboard, I think that I am a little candled-out and I am not alone.

When looking at the ‘next big thing’ we need to look at why the ‘current big thing’ was so popular. They appeal to a wide range of tastes, have multiple applications, appeal to both men and women, are ageless, have a fashion component and are functional.
Consumer value-perception is changing. They value a well designed piece, quality material and functionality. They will pay a little more for something that is different and not widely available.
Candles are; attractive, scented, evoke emotion, gorgeously packed, part of home-décor and don’t need to be hidden, suitable for a wide variety of tastes and ages and most importantly are functional as they are used and not just decoration! They are not a risky item for you to stock in your stores.

The retail landscape is also changing, we now have emerging specialists who are carving a place for themselves amongst the mass merchandisers and department stores. They offer a greater assortment of product, move with the trends faster and have a higher level of customer service.

When shopping at these stores consumers seek a ‘special’ total shopping experience which encompasses product, ambience, service and location. Price, while still an influencer, is not a deciding factor.

When looking at their product mix, Gift and Homeware Stores need to include products that these emerging specialists are selling. This will ensure they are capitalising on the growing awareness and consumer demand built by the specialist. To ignore this would be to drive your customers towards the specialty stores.

One example is the trend back to writing stationery.
The evolution of writing and boxed stationery, which includes fashion prints, notepads, journals, boxed cards, tags, photo albums etc, in the mainstream market is easy to follow over the past few years in Australia.

Specialty paper/stationery stores did not exist in Australia eight years ago. More and more specialists are opening their doors and creating a destination for arbiters of functional, attractive stationery and writing materials and all that goes with them.
Consumers are exposed to these stores and seeking a wider variety of these products in their normal shopping destinations.
Once upon a time, a card was $1.00 and the thought that we would be buying $10.00 cards was unbelievable. Now, it is a reality with a range of cards and wrap that rival London’s Paperchase stores.
Emails and social websites, such as Facebook, have only enhanced the need for personal communication and contact. Increasingly, I hear that people do not have time to read personal emails and are sick of only receiving bills in the mail. With such a wide variety of papers and cards available, finding your signature piece is easier than ever before.

Once a status symbol of the upper classes, fine-writing stationery, and gorgeous notecards are now sought after by the gift buying consumer. For years we dreamed of visiting the stores of the masters; Smythson of Bond Street in London, Crane & Co from the USA, Kate’s Paperie in New York and Cassegrain in Paris. In fact, it was on these trips that we stocked up as we could not buy such things in Australia.

Today’s consumer is now aware of these products in Australia and has added them to their shopping list when shopping at home. They desire something that is not just attractive and usable but also a reflection of their style.

So this leads me to make this bold statement – Stationery is the new Candle.