January 18, 2008
Creating a ‘Wow’ Shopping Experience
By Tom Ryan
While rare at retail, a “WOW” shopping experience generates four times the word-of-mouth than a problem experience, according a survey from Verde Group and Wharton.
The survey showed that customers receiving an especially positive experience are likely to tell seven other people on average about the experience while those receiving a negative experience told 1.5 people.
But it also showed that such experiences are fairly rare – only 51 percent of women admitted to having a “WOW” experience in their entire shopping history, and only 39 percent of men did.
The survey was discussed at a session Wednesday morning at the NRF convention entitled, “What Customers Expect Sales Associates To Contribute Toward The In-Store Experience.” Panelists included Paula Courtney, president of Verde Group; James Parker, former CEO at Southwest Airlines, Robert Price, chief marketing officer at CVS, and Stephen Hoch, professor of marketing at Wharton.
The survey offered mostly sober assessments of customer service, including that more than half of shoppers experience a problem in any given shopping visit. But it also found that four distinct sales associate “Archetypes” can mitigate shopper problems and drive shopper loyalty. These included the:
- Educator
who knows products and will help shoppers find them; - Engager who is available,
friendly and willing to help; - Expeditor who ensures customers waste little
time shopping or paying; - Authentic who shows a genuine interest in shoppers’
needs and preferences, even at the expense of making a sale.
The best salespeople blend many archetypes and some characteristics are more important to some channels than others.
Asked in a Q&A session what drives superb customer service, Mr. Parker said Southwest earned its reputation for friendly service through continual special efforts to make its customers’ trips less painful.
“It’s often something quirky,” said Mr. Parker. “Maybe the flight attendant sang a safety announcement. Maybe the pilot greeted the customer when they were getting on the plane or maybe the pilot was out there slinging bags to help to get them there on time. That happens pretty often at Southwest with our employees and people notice that. They really appreciate that and it creates a bond between customers and employees.”
Mr. Price doubts that it’s “practical, affordable or even necessary” for the industry to aim for “extraordinary service,” partly because it greatly depends on the circumstances. But he adds that incidents where CVS shows “meaningful improvement versus the norm” or displays a “great service recovery” when it makes a mistake have the potential to be a “WOW” moment.
CVS is also using a song by Sarah McLachlan, “Ordinary Miracles,” as a mantra for associates to focus on the “the ordinary miracles that our customers perform every day,” whether taking care of themselves or their kids.
“We received a letter a few weeks back from a customer who had the unfortunate circumstance of having undergone a miscarriage and there’s a particular pharmaceutical regimen post-miscarriage that helps the healing process and an astute pharmacist will know when that prescription comes in, and the circumstances. In this particular case, the pharmacist – unsolicited – approached the customer, put his hand on her arm, and said, ‘I know this must be a difficult time. If there’s any way we can help?’ “
“Now that’s not an extraordinary act,” adds Mr. Price. “That’s not getting out of the store and delivering prescriptions to a senior center in a storm. But it’s a random act of kindness. And with thousands of associates and billions of transactions, if we do some of that everyday then I think it would translate into a ‘WOW.’ “
Discussion Questions: Is it practical to train or inspire sales associates to create “WOW” shopping experiences? What are some retailers known for top customer service doing to help create incidents of “extraordinary service”?
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Yes, it’s possible to train your staff to provide the Wow! shopping experience. But it’s probably more productive to hire the right folks in the first place and learn how to keep them. Then the Wow! training impact isn’t ignored by the apathetic or lost by the deserters.
Southwest Airlines former CEO James Parker well knows that getting hired at Southwest is very hard. They are super-selective about choosing extroverted, high energy, vivacious team players. To recruit the best means you need the guts to reject all but the cream of the crop. To attract and keep the cream of the crop isn’t easy. Many retailers just sign up anyone who fits the schedule, looks presentable, and hasn’t got a police record. Then they treat them like they’re nothing special.
Somewhere between lackluster and “Wow” is a level of service that customers still talk about, usually in comparison to a competitor. I’ve worked with retailers known for that “consistently better level of service” (available, friendly, willing to approach, willing to take you to the product, if they do not know something about a product they will find someone else–you know the drill) and found them more likely to produce a “Wow” experience from time to time.
Like a few others on this thread, I have yet to encounter anything more than lackluster at the likes of CVS and its competitors as far as the store staff is concerned. The pharmacist is not the average employee. Similarly, the salesperson in the high-end home entertainment department is nothing like the person who roams several other departments avoiding customers (and who knows little about the products).
I hear companies publicly espouse “customer centricity” while at the same time cutting back headcount, training, and salaries at the store level. The occasional “Wow” will not compensate for “generally lackluster.”
Can’t help piling praise upon praise. I recently ducked into an Apple Store at the height of the holiday season for a replacement power cord. The store was mobbed with customers ogling over each others’ shoulders at high-priced miracle machines. I thought, “Man…no one’s going to pay attention to me.” To my delight, an associate approached me within 30 seconds. She grabbed what I needed, asked a couple of key questions to make sure I was getting the right cord, and then rang me up on a handheld POS device. She asked if it would be OK to email me the receipt. I was out in under 3 minutes (…or would have been had I not stopped to play with the iPods ; )
The simple fact is most retailers could care less about creating “Wow” experiences for their customers. Yes, there are a few like Cabella’s, Bass Pro Shops, and some luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus but the vast majority only care about getting the customer in and out as quickly as possible and selling as much merchandise as possible. Retailers like Wal-Mart have taught consumers that low prices are more important than the experience the customer has in their stores. Remember when the Wal-Mart greeter actually greeted customers instead of facing the inside of the store watching for shoplifters?
Unfortunately, far too many other retailers have adopted the Wal-Mart way of thinking. If retailers find themselves actually stuck in a recession maybe we’ll begin to think more about providing consumers with a “Wow” experience in stores!
I know for a fact that all four associate archetypes can exist in a retail environment. I have been lucky enough to not only experience a long-term customer relationship with Nordstrom and The Container Store, but also have spent time as a retail associate with both companies. The companies’ philosophy and culture drives the level of “Wow” that is generated on a sales floor. By recruiting and hand-selecting associates who will demonstrate the passion and commitment of the company’s culture, both Nordstom and The Container Store offer a shopping experience that at the minimum is “Wow,” and if a customer is about to leave without the “Wow,” both companies certainly want to hear about it.
Container Store associate training involves over 240 hours the first year of full-time employment, quite an investment by management. Select associates specialize in the Elfa and Scandia products, and are able offer expert space-planning solutions for the customer, which eliminates the need for the customer trying to figure out all the components needed for their project. Curbside pickup and carryout for customers is the norm at Container Store. All associates are able to not only direct a customer to the exact location of a product, they usually walk the customer to the product to make sure they find just what they are looking for. Fun fact: Pay attention to who is helping you on your visit, it just may be the founder of the company, who is known to put on an apron and jump on the sales floor to help customers during his store visits, the customers are not aware of who he is in the ranks…which makes the action genuine and a great example to the associates in the store, that kind of energy coming from the top is a “Wow” in itself.
At Nordstrom, associates of each ready-to-wear department are educated on new products as they arrive; this includes trying on the clothing to experience the fit. This hands-on knowledge helps them better guide their customer to choices that will work best on their shape. Who wouldn’t rather try on 10 items and have 8 fit, than try on 20 items and leave with 2? Checking out ends with the purchase (of any size) walked around the cash wrap and handed to the customer, versus the retail norm of a cashier sliding the purchase over the counter at the end of the transaction.
Both companies’ investments in their associates pay off dividends with new store openings, all management is recruited from inside the company to relocate to the new store, which provides a consistency in culture and a sense of empowerment from day one with locally recruited associates.
Bottom line, any company that wants to be known for “Wow” has to start at the top, create their “Wow” culture, and cherry pick associates that will share the passion.
Yes, it’s possible to train your staff to provide the “Wow!” shopping experience. It always starts in the selection process; am I hiring an achiever? Then enroll, invite and expect the associates to learn, model and mentor to others. Your company needs to have a “Wow” training program and a leadership team that inspects what it expects.
“Wow” reflects the core values of a company. If the core value translates into retailing just being a way of making money, then you get what we’ve got for the most part across the corporate retailing landscape. If on the other hand the core value is helping and servicing others, then that will translate into a company very much focused on the well being of its employees and its customers.
In an environment where most corporate retailers are focused on driving prices to the bottom to drive volume, there’s seemingly little ability to create a compelling shopping experience for their customers, much less “Wow” them. Those companies that are focused on associates and customers first understand that customers will respond to their experience with a loyalty that transcends price.
Most retailers that have taken this approach have carved out a distinctive niche for themselves that frees them from the price wars, and the incessant pressures on margins. Established corporate retailers find themselves racing to the bottom because their business model is so established. It’s among these smaller, specialty retailers that create a compelling customer experience that the next breakthroughs in retailing will come.
It’s a DNA thing, really…Southwest Airlines has the best policy: “Hire for attitude, train for skill,” which is lost on most retailers. Staff has to actually CARE about their customers (authentic).
Emulator: two words: Genius Bar….
Hire the type and train. That is the rule most folks live by, and it is a superior rule of thumb for anyone in the retail end of the industry. Moving from good to great is a difficult enough goal for any retailer, but going to the extreme and achieving excellence for this “Wow” factor described in the article is not reasonable or realistic.
Mass retailers like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc. have a difficult enough task just managing their essential human resource needs, let alone developing these into good (let alone excellent) store employees. Add to this the delicate balance in maintaining the proper balance of employees to staff each store, and you have a recipe that is one of the most difficult things in retail to consistently maintain.
At Mary Sherwood Lake Living (interior design and retail home furnishings) all sales associates are trained and challenged to create “Wow” experiences. Our customers come to us because they have decided they want to buy something. We welcome them, engage them in conversation, become their friend (after a few visits) learn about their families all in an effort to create a shopping “event” for them. Their visit to our store should be a fun experience.
Our repeat customer rate is very high and customer loyalty is there.
It is essential to train and inspire sales associates to enable “Wow” shopping experiences, as well as practical. Note that I said “enable” vs. “create.” It is folly to assume we can create these experiences. The creation process is mutual, between the associate and the customer and is defined by both individuals and the situation.
Keys to enabling WOW experiences:
1. Have a “Wow” culture. A company culture that is all about a vision of wowed customers and wowed associates. Yes, the associates need to be wowed too. Wowed to be a part of a company so in tune with why they would choose to work there, and wowed to be a part of a company so determined to provide wonderful product to their beloved customers in positively memorable ways.
2. Make it easy. Examine every customer touch point and every associate touch point. Seek out, identify, and remove without ceremony anything standing between your associates’ and your customers’ WOW experiences. Things like unnecessary reports, policies & procedures, unclear marketing or merchandising, etc, all create barriers. Knock them down!
3. Recognize, reward, recognize, reward. Look for ways to recognize and reward associates and customers for exhibiting desired behaviors. And not just the big ones–the best recognition comes daily for the small “ordinary miracles” referenced in the article. When you find them, reward them–usually a sincere and specific “thank you” does the trick–for both associates and customers.
Why isn’t this already happening for most retailers? The choice has not been made to focus on #1. The choice has been to focus on short term financial results, to the detriment of not only customer experiences, but talent development, product development, marketing, store design and more. My hope is that retailers are using the current business climate to reassess what they have been focusing on and realize that they must focus first on their people and their customer and then the long term, sustainable growth and profits will follow.
Of course, the Verde/Wharton survey contradicts our long-held conviction that shoppers who have negative retail experiences tell far MORE people than those who have positive experiences. Oh, and how many of the “Wow” experiences reported by both men and women had to do with personal services such as shiatsu? Or how about an excellent restaurant experience? Do those count? Everyone knows that customer restaurant reviews are more common than any other. How do they factor in? In fact, how do other businesses that depend on positive word-of-mouth for success fare in this survey; like dentists, nail salons, spa treatments, travel agents, and car repair shops? Even airlines–technically a service vendor rather than a store–were represented on the panel by former airline executive. Isn’t that shopping, too?
Here’s a radical thought: Rather than training sales associates to become actors using special techniques to sell the most stuff, perhaps it’s time to teach them how to find the best sales qualities within themselves. That is, teach them how to use what comes naturally to them in order to be successful. Sound a little airy-fairy to you? Me too. And, it might require some actual engagement between management and staff rather than trying to fit everyone into a mold. Novel thought, treating sales associates like individuals so they, in turn, can treat customers like individuals.
While individual service is surely a vital component of “Wow,” the razor thin margins of many retail operators preclude the sort of Nordstrom’s service levels that have become the stuff of legend. (The CVS P&L won’t work if its employees are running out to pick up their shoppers’ dry cleaning for them on a regular basis).
In these “everyday” retail environments, we need a more holistic view that recognizes that the shopper’s experience will be determined by both the store environment and the human interactions therein. The operational question becomes–“what in-store assets have we given these sales associates to work with?” Are sections intuitively located and easy to navigate? Is there vital product information available at the shelf? Are in-store executions based on shopper insights? And is the item sought in stock?
If these elements of the store environment are right, fewer trips will require any sort of human intervention from sales associates. Get in, find what you need, maybe a couple of things you didn’t know you needed, and get out. Perhaps the ultimate “Wow” shopping experience is one that doesn’t involve any visible “customer service” at all.
My experience as a customer is that “Wow” is few and far between…it takes effort and multiple other factors for a “Wow” experience…including but limited to pricing, store ambiance, associate friendliness and customer mental state.
That being said, the one store that has given me the closest to a big “Wow”–the maximum number of WOW moments is Costco. They simply win hands down in that, no two ways about it. Yes, their legendary return policies help too. In fact, my biggest “Wow” was when I had to return something and the ease of the transaction was simply amazing!
A “Wow” shopping experience is something as simple as remembering the customer’s name, giving a special discount, or opening the door for them. It is treating customers with respect that they will remember. And sometimes, treating them with respect could negate a problem, mistake or faulty merchandise. It further demonstrates how far the store is willing to go to keep the customer. Why wouldn’t you want to train your employees to do that?
“Wow” shopping experiences only occur when you engage an associate with true passion for the products they are selling. Regardless of whether you are shopping in a Radio Shack or The Gap, you immediately get the sense if the person helping you is knowledgeable about the product and also really interested in how it is going to be used.
Retailers are going to have to work harder to find associates that truly fit their messaging and demographic target. In many ways, the associate should appear to be a like-minded person you feel like you can rely on for insights and opinions. Some of the retailers listed above, namely Chico’s, are great examples of that.
Bottom line: Hire for personality and values, train for skills.
What’s really amazing is that this study is news at all, and that the wow experience isn’t commonplace.
In an industry that has been saying that the customer is king (or queen) for a hundred years and spending millions of dollars researching customer service and satisfaction for decades, we still largely have no idea how to produce it consistently.
My guess is the reasons for that have a lot to do with the forces that produce the erroneous demand forecasts in another of today’s discussions–too many stakeholders seeing things from only their own points of view.
But when a company embodies the customer-centric value from the top down–like the Apple of today, Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom et al–then it can hire for the personality and values it wants its people modeling on the selling floor and train for the particulars. And I think that’s the way it needs to go.
I’ll submit it’s possible to go the other way, to hire for technical expertise and train for people skills, but I think it’s a lot harder and involves almost a remake of a person’s personality. It’s likely to be very good for that person–a life-changer, no less. But instituting that level of training on a mass scale could mean going into the human-development business as well as whatever other business a company is already in.
It’s a lot easier for high-end retailers that pay their associates more and offer somewhat better benefits to provide customers with an occasional “wow” experience. Having had numerous underwhelming experiences at CVS and other drug chains, I’m not sure it’s realistic for mid to low end chains to expect their employees to perform even “ordinary miracles” with any sort of frequency. Slightly better than average service is a more realistic goal and in fact, Mr. Price said in this session that “customers aren’t always right but they think they are.” An astonishing admission and dose of reality from the top.
Yet, all businesses do have those rare moments of great customer service. Years ago I found this to be true when stuck in St. Louis and actually helped out by one of those airline service desks. When I asked if it would be possible to make some major change in my itinerary the employee replied “Anything is possible.” Wow! Unfortunately, that remark was from a TWA employee and we know what happened to them.
The “Wow” retail experience will definitely help keep customers for life, and create great brand evangelists for the retailer. There is no question that the Apple store experience is an example that tends to be overused. But that might be because they do things so well. They are always changing their stores, changing the way they interact with customers, changing the way customers interact with the products.
Compare Apple to a store that has all of their electronic products tethered to a security wire, that usually inadvertently sounds an alarm when you attempt to trial the product. Apple invites you to play, other stores make it difficult. Apple employees are knowledgeable compared to other retailer employees (see yesterday’s discussion on Circuit City) who are poorly trained.
Further, it is not just about the employees, it is also about the store. Walk into an Apple store once every 3 months, and you will see four unique store layout changes. The products move around the store, the photos on the wall change, and the employees’ t-shirts (uniforms) change. Compare that to your local drugstore where they look to alter the store’s floor plan once every 10 years.
Apple provides a great “Wow” experience, which results in fantastic viral marketing. It also results in a stock price that has doubled in the last year, while other retailers (CompUSA) have disappeared from the landscape.
The first step in aspiring to extraordinary service is a company culture that values good service in the first place. Instead of devoting resources to a “once in a lifetime” customer experience, first make sure the fundamentals are in place in your store or service company:
1. What’s the appropriate level of face-to-face contact for your type of retailer? If the consumer requires a high degree of personal assistance, ensure that your new hires come to the job with the desired background and mindset, and get the kind of training they need to succeed.
2. If the customer defines “service” as ease of navigation or good in-stocks (in a self-selection environment), make sure you and your team are focused on great execution.
Acts of extraordinary service are likely to result from this kind of solid foundation, not just from serendipity.
WOW! This is an intriguing study. One would think that the excellent message in this study would already be understood by those who make their living servicing consumers of various types. The statistics are clear as reported. They point to an incredibly simple conclusion that many should immediately migrate to. That conclusion is that there are often more important attributes to consumer loyalty than price.
Consumers who feel “taken care of” are worth their weight in gold! No…Platinum! I hope that this report will be widely distributed. There are some excellent findings therein. I personally feel very passionate about this subject and desire others to get the message. Given wide understanding across the various sectors of retail and sales could give our economy a much needed boost and the consumer much more rewarding experiences. I would love to participate in such a message delivery.
Is it really possible that 50 percent of women and 60 percent of men have never had a “Wow”? Really? No. It can’t be. Impossible. Really?
Strange as it would seem, based on the claimed statistical averages, I have them all the time. Yes, all the time. That’s not to say that I don’t have some really bad ones as well. But, come on–never? I think that begs the question, what constitutes a “Wow”? Or, how was the question asked? And, who did they ask? Further, could it be the customer?
If acts like being greeted by a pilot are considered a “Wow,” then it could be some really faulty data there.
“Wow” experiences happen to you daily if you want them to happen. I’ve created them by just engaging myself with the person providing service. I am beginning to think that today, part of the problem with customer service could be the customers themselves. If the numbers really are as bad as they seem, maybe a complete reassessment of what customer expectations really are today is in order.
I am consistently befuddled by the irony of the entire customer service discussion that has been going on for some time now. What I mean by that is that the expectations, as they might be defined, don’t follow the dollar traffic. The dollars tend to flow towards retailing where customer service wouldn’t fall high on the list of the value assessment of where the dollar is spent.
With customer dissatisfaction seemingly at an all time high, is there a way to meet expectations with a traditional understanding of service methods and consumer perception of what that really is today?
Yet, I still go back to the role of the customer. If we don’t understand their definition of “Wow,” how can we create it? If they aren’t a willing participant; is it possible at all?
I do think that, as retailers, we may have a complete misunderstanding of the ‘experience’ expectation and what the customer might really consider a “Wow.” And, for some, based on these types of numbers, maybe a “Wow” isn’t possible at all. What really are the factors? I have my set, but I am wondering if there is a common set of factors. Are they the same as they used to be? How have they changed? How do you manage for the broadest set of factors in a changing mindset of expectations?
I am thinking that there need be a whole different approach to customer service than the traditional. It could be a tremendously exciting endeavor to figure out how to provide 50 percent of women and 60 percent of men their first “Wow.” It would be even more exciting to see it happen. They might be amazed at what they have been missing out on.
“Wow” is rare, and unless the retail environment dramatically changes in the US, it will probably stay rare. Most retailers will not put anywhere near the effort (cost) necessary to raise the shopping experience from something to suffer to something to rave about. Is it possible? Yes.
The other challenge, however, is educating management. For example, the CVS comments demonstrate that CVS is not shooting for “Wow,” it is willing to settle for ordinary yet claim that somehow will get them to “Wow.” The random act of kindness only becomes unusual in an environment dominated by not-so-random acts of ignoring or mistreating customers.
It would be an interesting experiment to take a regular store, be willing to pay much higher salaries and be much more selective in hiring. Shoot for the “Wow” employees in the store. Using that approach, the question is, what happens to sales levels? Will the sales levels rise high enough to cover the higher salaries? Without that type of return, retailers will be reluctant to invest in the “Wow” strategy.
Retail has arrived at a point where almost all chain stores within any given category all appear and “feel” pretty much the same. Since most stores today offer the same product mixes, the same assortments, and even the same colors for the interior, the “Wow” factor is what still makes the difference.
At NRF this past week we heard all the talk of “service” all while the EXPO was full of ways to avoid people–scanners, cell phone shopping, kiosks, multi-channel, etc. The bigger players are finding ways to dumb down their stores, yet blame the economy for their woes.
I shopped at 10 stores before leaving the city, some of the best brands around and many whose executives were on panels. Not one associate could uncross their arms and talk to me even though I kept picking up merchandise for about 10 minutes. It was as if they had been instructed to talk only when talked to.
As Tim Gunn said on his panel, “If it’s not irresistible, they won’t buy it.” I would say that is at least as true with the people on the floor. Sure, there will always be a CVS story, a Jarrod story, one in a million to hold up as the example of the culture. I would submit unless there is a passionate owner or manager actively managing the people on the floor of the store, the “Wow” experience for 99% of the public, just isn’t possible.
Sometimes I wish that I could get to RetailWire earlier. Just look at all of the comments before mine and all of them great and all of them basically saying the same thing.
Great front line employees equal greater customer satisfaction, greater customer satisfaction equals greater sales. Greater sales equal greater profits.
No one seems to doubt the above assumption; there are thousands of books and tens of thousands of articles written on customer service and it’s not difficult to do. YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT.
If retail teams should have just one trait for their customers it should be to care that the experience was satisfactory.
Retailers are caught in a culture of American employees that only care about the bling. I once was in a college management class where it was all about behavior, not attitude or caring. I disagree. People know it if you truly care about helping them.
If employees care, they will want to learn more about how to succeed at helping their customers.
I believe in keeping it simple.
The “Wow” experience is definitely possible but it takes employee buy-in and management support. I agree; a great experience includes several things, starting with the feeling you get when you walk in the door. Smell, ambiance, music (too loud or too radical for the generation you are trying to attract); it’s a total feeling. Victoria’s Secret is a good example of this. You can go into one and have a “Wow” experience but go into another in a different city and be disappointed.
A good example of “Wow” is Chico’s. These guys do it right! A woman going in just window shopping can go out with over $1,000 worth of purchases. Happens all the time. How do they do it? They have trained their sales staff to be fashion experts. They size you up (literally) when you walk into the door and suggest colors, styles and accessories that would look good on you. While trying on a pair of pants, the associate brings you three great tops that look good with the pants, jackets, jewelry, etc…creating a “Wow” factor that equates to a win/win.
The equation is very simple. A better customer experience equals a larger basket which equals increased return visits which equals stronger growth which equals more profit which equals…I think we see where this is going.
It is never a bad business decision to invest in customer service training nor is it unwise to empower your staff to deliver “Wow” to your customers. It all translates into dollars for the retailer. I really like to see that type of enthusiasm from associates on the floor. It creates an environment of outstanding customer service that is contagious (it’s OK, it is a good thing!)
A good example of “Wow” comes from Trader Joe’s. When in SoCal, I shop them exclusively and I find a consistent experience every time and the associates show this verve for selling and serving that I do not see on a regular basis from other chains. Enthusiasm is really the building block to creating “Wow.”
In an age where many retailers (with support from consumers) are rushing to offer the cheapest price, and therefore are doing everything possible to keep salaries low, it’s important that they look for and then reinforce the 4 archetypes. As the survey showed, any one of those traits can produce a positive customer experience. And that positive experience leads to loyalty, good word of mouth and increased sales.
I don’t know if a “Wow” moment can be taught. Frankly, with the sad state of customer service today at most retailers, I’d settle for any of the 4 archetypes.
Not only is it practical to train store associates in how to deliver “Wow” experiences, it is both necessary in today’s over-saturated marketplace, and relatively easy to achieve.
What seems so obvious, and such a baseline prerequisite in staff training–mentoring employees to be engaging, knowledgeable and attentive, is unfortunately grossly overlooked by so many retailers who mistakenly view these efforts as an unnecessary cost. As a result, businesses continue lowering the bar rather than raising it, and as consumers, we continue to have reduced expectations as to the service we will receive.
The flip side, of course, is that with the majority of retailers offering just a mediocre experience; it truly doesn’t take much effort to surprise and delight customers with something memorable. Of the four archetypes, connecting with the customer in an authentic manner is the most powerful, and can be as simple as the example given of the CVS pharmacist reaching out to his customer with a few words of kindness and understanding.
Almost without exception, those retailers achieving this level of customer connection first understand the importance of aligning their employees around shared values, creating an authentic corporate culture, then supporting their associates in making it a reality on the front lines.
‘WOW’ is so lacking in retail today that it doesn’t take much to stop you dead in your tracks, and is unfortunately generally driven by the individual rather than the organisation.
The most common example is food service staff who have a can do rather than can’t do attitude – how many times do you go out even for breakfast and getting extra sausage instead of bacon becomes an earth shattering drama because ‘we don’t change our menu’? The waitress who has the nous to try it on the kitchen rather than just flat refuses will get the tip every time, even here in Australia where tipping isn’t the norm.
The simplest one I still get a kick out of is when you use your credit card in somewhere as mundane as a service station and the attendant reads the card and finishes the transaction with ‘Thank you, Mr….’ Costs nothing, but invaluable for the goodwill that being treated as an individual provides.
I think a great example of the “Wow” experience is the most recent “fresh” format prototype introduced by the Great A&P in their Park Ridge, NJ location.
Here, in a 25,000 sq ft. footprint, the shopper is wowed, pampered and exposed to a compact and pleasant shopping experience, where visuals and smells entice the shopper, and the great red tag savings bring them back for more.
When customers find a store offering great value, selection, customer service, easy checkout, and fine quality food, they have experienced the “Wow” factor.
Too many retailers interpret “WOW” as “war on waste” and do so many things to economize on customer service and the whole shopping experience. They leave customers dissatisfied and willing to shop elsewhere. Those retailers that do it well are not forgotten by customers and receive the benefit of positive word of mouth.
This is the classic case of “Everything Old is New Again.” One of the finest examples of a company that has taken the four characteristics listed above and turned them into a true part of their culture is Men’s Wearhouse. They understand that men in particular hate to shop, generally cannot visualize their outfits and have become accustomed to walking into most Department and Specialty stores and wandering through the maze of merchandise classifications trying to fulfill their needs before frustration sets in.
Men’s Wearhouse greets their customers, actually measures them, assists them in their selections, coordinates their slacks, shirts, ties, shoes, belts, socks and casualwear, not only with what they are buying but with their existing wardrobes. All along, their consultants educate their “clients” about fabrics, colors, wearability, caring for their fabrics, etc. They epitomize the one stop shop, and as their CEO George Zimmer says “You’re going to love the way you look…I guarantee it. And they do.
If more retailers invested more of their expense dollars on the selling floor and in training, and less on bloated corporate salaries and field management, they might begin to see a dramatic turnaround in their 4-wall profitability.
An interesting aside I learned from my association with Men’s Wearhouse and spending many hours on their sales floors watching this phenomenon and listening and interviewing their “clients” is that the “significant others” of the “clients” said they would kill for a store where they could shop and receive the same type of attention to service and coordination of their wardrobes. Remember when?
Just because you have the aesthetic appeal to light a store up, doesn’t mean you get the customers attention. Customer service is essential in every store. From the greeting to working the cash register; every facet is important.