| |
| |
|
Customer Service Information |
|
|
|
RETAIL GREETERS: Sales Builders or Customer Turnoff?
Do you need greeters or should you avoid them? That is the perplexing question many retail organizations are struggling with today. Often touted in the press as the perennial example of the benefits to employing greeters,Walmart has hung on to its practice faithfully. But does it work and if so, will merely placing any warm body with a forced smile at the door to your store do the trick of converting entering customers into satisfied shoppers? Not necessarily, there is much more to successfully using retail greeters to affect a significant difference in your bottom line. The basic problem lies with retailers who do not adequately define what it is they hope to accomplish. Retailers and greeters need to fully understand their function. Establishing goodwill with customers is the sole reason for using greeters. Four fundamental purposes and their corresponding methods for using greeters must be applied in order to accomplish this goal. These are: 1.Acknowledge the customer. Purpose - Most of us pass much of our time in a very impersonal world. Unless we live in a small, rural community or have celebrity status, we receive little personal acknowledgment. From the gas station, which in most cases is now pay at the pump self serve, to the grocery, department or discount store, we have become nameless. Even when a store clerk or restaurant server holds our identity, in the form of a credit card, firmly in the palm of their hand, it is a rare occasion when they take the initiative to address us by name. All too often, our credit card and receipt are returned with little more than a blank stare and monotone "Thank you." Method - Establishing eye contact on a one to one basis is the key. Far too often greeters do not grab the customer's attention by looking them squarely in the eye. Greeters may be preoccupied or self-conscious and thus fail to establish this critical first contact. Pushing a shopping cart into the customer's path or thrusting a sale circular into their hands does not establish real contact, at least not in the positive sense. 2.Give the store a friendly atmosphere. Purpose - We all want to shop in a friendly place, but what does that mean? When we think friendly we do not picture a store with the staff gushing all over us or where we feel pressured into buying. We usually do not want to be sold on anything. We instead want the opportunity to sell ourselves on whatever needs we came into the store to fill and the benefits we can expect from making a good purchase decision. A friendly atmosphere simply means a place where we feel welcome, comfortable, free to browse around and shop. Method - We create this friendly, but non-threatening environment by greeting the customer warmly and personably, not mechanically. A feigned, half-hearted or forced smile is a dead giveaway to the entering customer that you rather they would go away and not bother you. Customers entering the store may be in a hurry, themselves preoccupied or even in a bad mood. The greeter's job is to change that customer's mindset, if only for a moment, by eliciting from them a responsive smile to that of the greeter. I will venture that you too have experienced this. You fly through the door of a store, stressed and anxious from being behind schedule and having three more stops to make on your way home, when suddenly you are arrested by the warm smile and genuine "hello" of an unknown individual adding to your life a much needed ray of sunshine at that moment. No, your harried schedule and tardiness haven't magically disappeared, but the ice is broken and you smile back with a momentary sigh of relief because of one friendly, personal greeting. Some stores have opted to take this a giant step further. In the U.K., ASDA supermarkets recently began advertising for 100 talented actors and actresses to serve as greeters. According to Sally Hopson, Director of Customer Services at ASDA: "Greeters give the first impression of ASDA when a customer walks through the door. If we can find someone who can make our customers smile and their shopping trip more fun, then that's what we will do." 3.Inform and offer help as needed. Purpose - Frequently we do need help from the store's employees. While no one wants to be hounded by overzealous salespeople, it is even more frustrating to want to buy something and be unable to find anyone willing or competent to help. I have walked out of stores vowing never to return for this reason more than any other. Having sold myself, now all I want is some assistance so that the purchase can be completed. Method - The solution here is simply to first offer information and then if necessary, follow up with direct assistance. A perfect example is my local ACE hardware store. A few years ago Home Depot built a new mega store on the hill directly overshadowing the local ACE store. Now, I also shop the Home Depot store as they have lumber and many construction items the hardware store does not carry, but for items the ACE store sells, I am a loyal customer. Why? Simply because when I walk in the door there is always someone at the cash register and if they are not serving a customer, they will turn and say "Hello." Then as I walk toward the main aisle, invariably someone will greet me and ask if there is anything they can help me find. I am in that store every week and most of time I know exactly what I want and where to find it, but I also know that in the event I need help their employees are always willing and ready to assist me. Greeters should not only welcome and acknowledge entering customers, but they can also help by asking questions, updating customers on the latest offers and sales and telling them what is new and exciting in the store since their last visit. 4.To empower the customer. Purpose - Today people want to control their own destiny, including when they are shopping in our stores. Give them the ability to do this and they will respond positively. Method - As I said before, customers today do not want to be sold; they want to be empowered to decide for themselves. We need to do everything possible to enable them to do this. Victoria's Secret understands this perfectly. Their customers are divided into two very distinct groups, women who generally know what they want in the store and typically only requiring help with colors and sizes and men who, in general, have no clue as to what they are there for and are often embarrassed at even being in the store. Victoria Secret's sales staff is well trained to handle both types of customer and tend to be especially adept at making their male customers feel at ease. A true attitude of being helpful, of having the customer's best interest at heart and of serving their needs ensures this outcome. Nothing encourages me to make a buying decision more than when I sense that the salesperson is looking out for my best interests, rather than just trying to make a sale. This is because good, old fashioned TRUST is the foundation that builds customer relationships over the long term. We have all had negative experiences with greeters including car dealerships where salespeople eyed us up and down like vultures to determine whether we were a bona fide buyer or just a tire kicker before we even walked in the door and computer stores, where for instance, sales personnel seldom take the time or interest to listen to our questions, preferring to simply push the newest hardware and software gadgetry at us. Whether or not you have appointed greeters at the door of your establishment, it is essential that every employee understand and actively practice these four principles of establishing goodwill with every customer they encounter. In so doing, they will give your store a small town, friendly personality that delivers a caring, positive experience shoppers will want to return for again and again. Copyright 2005 by John Di Frances John Di Frances is an internationally recognized organizational legacy expert and keynote speaker. www.difrances.com
MORE RESOURCES:
customer service - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Customer Service - Winning Customer Experiences Winning Customer ExperiencesMuch research has been done on what the makes a winning customer experience. What is it that makes customers come back to your business instead of going to someone else's? If your repeat business is low, what is it that you are doing to drive your customers away? There is a consistent theme that emerges across the research - winning customer experiences are built on consistency. Client Appreciation - It Means Everything! Want to know the secret for keeping your clients forever? And what if you could keep your revenue growing by 25 percent every year, because your clients loved the way you appreciated them? In this article, you will learn how easy it is to develop a powerful client appreciation program. Once in place, an appreciation program will forever change the way you operate and manage your business. The History of CRM -- Moving Beyond the Customer Database Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts that swept the business world in the 1990's with the promise of forever changing the way businesses small and large interacted with their customer bases. In the short term, however, it proved to be an unwieldy process that was better in theory than in practice for a variety of reasons. Customer Service Tips - Is Your Business A Leaky Bucket? Customer service and customer service training are vital for any business.But, is your business a leaky bucket?This is a question I always ask small business owners who attend my marketing seminars. Customer Service and The Human Experience Historically, customer service was delivered over the phone or in person. Customers didn't have many choices, and switching to competitors was cumbersome. Adjustment DENIED It's just a simple thing - I bought a new set of shelves for my office. It wasn't a real problem, but when I got the shelves home, I found dents on the front of the shelves where the package had been leaned up on some other object, the shelves had been removed from the original box and put into another box. Customer Satisfaction and the Service Business The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service business is a direct one. Customer satisfaction measurement, however, is a much more complex matter. Identify Your Silent Customer Service Message With the growing number of people in every business sector, doing business requires creativity and ingenuity. The entrepreneur that understands the importance of thinking differently is the entrepreneur that sees their businesses growing. Renewing Customer Loyalty Every business loses customers, but not many do much about getting them back. And that is a big mistake. CRM For Beginners - Customer Relationship Management Basics In order to maintain a successful business, the business must understand and maintain a positive relationship with its customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process of bringing the customer and the company closer together. How To Build Stellar Client Relationships Your opportunity to build a stellar client relationship starts with managing the gap between your perception of how things are going and your client's.Begin the process here . Boomerang Customers- What You Might NOT Think Brings Them Back! With all of the calendars and PDA's and lists I make I recently did a really dumb thing. I forgot my best friend's birthday and her anniversary. CRM - Its Relevance In today's demanding economy, the first line of any business during economic uncertainty is to get closer to the customer. Customers often want information along with a quote or invoice on the spot. Listening to Customers - 5 Tips In a strange juxtapositioning of articles, this month's UK 'Management Today' has three pieces, relating to the importance of listening to customers.Susan Rice, CEO of Lloyds TSB makes it clear how vital it is for great leaders to listen and hear. Dissatisfied or Rude Customers Can Be Satisfied Customers On a recent airline flight I was an upset customer. I was arriving on a late inbound flight and connecting with the last flight out on the same airline, but the connecting flight left without me! At first, I was furious when told to wait in a line of 300 people to resolve my problem. How To Build a Profitable Business It's never too soon to start saying thanks to your clients, vendors and referral sources for what they contribute to your business. Everyone loves to be appreciated and acknowledged, so start now and do something every month. Call Center Services - An Ever Increasing Demand Are your company's call center services all that they could be? Even centers that were state of the art a decade or so ago might be out of date and inadequate today. As technology expands, so do clients' expectations regarding communication. Customer Conversion Mistakes That Will Cost You The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners make in the sales process which could be costing you thousands or even hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.- No system to capture and log prospect information/contact data on incoming ad calls. Everyone talks in code! How often have you left a meeting with a customer or your boss telling yourself he likes my ideas. Only to find later that you didn't get the sale or your boss has told everyone that you are crazy. Losing Angry Customers This article offers five ways to help you deal with angry customers. While the goal of all businesses is to have only happy customers, we also have to be realistic and realize sometimes we are going to anger a customer.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
