When it comes to retail services, customers expect to be entertained and also educated during their encounter with you. They also expect personalized and customized experiences and products and services. Technology such are RFID and wireless apps all can lend themselves to making their encounter more efficient and enhanced. The consumer demographic is changing so again a greater assortment of personalized and customized products and services is being sought. Maintaining global brands and brand identity is challenging across very diverse global market. Where you may provide products in centimeters or liters in some countries, you may need to switch to inches and gallons in others.
The next layer has to do with Entertainment, Education and Multi Channel Experience. With Entertainment and Education Experience, guests want to have fun and learn at the same time. This combines the needs for emotional satisfaction along with the need of cognition. Are there elements in your store which are enjoyable for the customer? Are there elements that allow the guest to feel like they are part of creating something?
This covers The brick and mortar store, customer support, the web store, the online presence which can include advertising and marketing, catalogs, most call-center encounters, and many types of kiosk activities. Customer experience is more than customer service and support. Retailers should understand the full spectrum of a customer life-cycle and encounters with the entire operation. They then can manage the customer encounters through their life cycle.
Can they purchase a product online and pick it up at the store? Are the prices consistent across the channels? Is the online encounter integrated with the rest of the process or is it seen as an extra or an add-on? Does the guest have the same selection online as well as offline in the store and in the catalog?
Studies show that 70 percent of purchasers make their decision inside the store. This means companies could market to the prospect at that moment. This is called shopper marketing versus customer marketing. The physical store is factored in during the purchase. By providing a physical outstanding encounter to purchasers, the purchasers will spend more money.
With Relationship Experience, the prospect and later purchaser over their life-cycle with you and your brand develop opinions and ideas about them. It is shaped and influenced by many things such as value offered and received and the perception of trust and fairness in all their touch points with you and your product. This relationship over time is critical as with it you can anticipate trends and relevancy. Just as Brand Experience is a trended and summed item over time, Relationship Experience is as well. You have tools and items to help shape it such as loyalty programs and fair and ethical practices.
Retail giants are beginning to embrace and understand that they will reap benefits by offering unique and specialized encounters to their customers and prospects. What are some challenges that retailers will encounter along the path to greater customer encounters and engagement?
Consumers are more informed and empowered with the ability to look up information on products within seconds and at their fingertips with their smartphones and tablets. Their expectations have also risen and now customers typical have a higher benchmark or norm that they are holding retail companies to. There is a growing segment of people who want retailers to do it all for them rather than them doing it themselves partially due to people leading more and more busier lifestyles. Again holding retailers and a Merchandiser to a new higher norm, customers expect extremely fast service.
Want your products to stand out from your competitors? Consider hiring a merchandising service and investing in a Planogram. retail merchandising can offer a unique competitive advantage. Consult a retail services specialist today.
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