Article
Customers are buying down, and opportunities are rising, part 2
Empowering front-line employees is looked at in part two of a three-part series called "Where's the Opportunity?"
October 20, 2009 by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers
In my last article I talked about the opportunity for middle-market retailers to compete for the temporarily-buying-down-until-the-economy-improves customer by designing a better experience. Like the challenge an architect faces, designing an experience is a complex process. You have to meet the needs of your customer and your employees within the boundary of what the market allows. Making the challenge even more interesting is the fact that customer behavior is changing, and we—as the Retail industry—don't have the metrics in place to collect data about why customers really buy. The stalwart retail metrics—sales per store year-over-year, same day sales year-over-year, customer counts, average ticket size—don't tell us what we really need to know.
What if a clothing retailer could measure "closet share"—the percentage of a customer's wardrobe purchased in its store? If you knew you had 58 percent of a customer's closet, you'd know you were creating a really good customer experience. What kind of metric would show you closet share?
As I hinted in my last article store employees can play an important role in collecting the data you need about customer's changing values and shopping habits.
"I see you're buying 10 shirts. Are they all for business?"
An employee who has mastered the art of chatting informally—and respectfully—with customers may learn that three identical shirts are for the office, two are for vacation, one is for a funeral, and the rest for casual wear. This customer is different from one who buys 10 shirts for business when they're on sale. Or one who buys dress shirts for himself and his sons for one Bar Mitzvah weekend. The more uses a customer buys for, the more closet share you have.
If you're wary of unleashing "digital native" store employees (who know everything about Halo 3 but nothing about clothing) on your customers, think of the gap between how employees behave now and how customers prefer to be treated as territory for you to cultivate. Begin by listening to front-line employees They want to tell you what they know about customers. Encourage them. As you hear the stories of employees' encounters with customers, you will begin to see patterns in customer buying behavior. Share your insights with employees. You may be able to draw a picture or a graph that shows store employees what their data means.
Now you are beginning to manage the employee experience. Employees who are listened to will listen more closely to customers. Your employees also learn what to listen for and how you think. They start to see themselves as an important part of the team. You can also coach them on relationship skills.
"How can I help you?" is so routine that it barely merits a response.
"Jackets. Where are jackets?" is the likely response.
An engaged employee can learn how to start a conversation.
"We're glad to have you here. What brings you in today?"
"I'm looking for a new jacket."
(Walking the employee toward the men's department) "Will you be wearing it for business or leisure? Or both?
"My stepson is getting remarried, and it's kind of casual, so I'm not going to wear a suit."
"Would you like to look at blazers?"
"Yup. Blazers . . . I used to have a black wool gabardine blazer that I bought when my daughter graduated high school. I hung on to that thing until the elbows wore out, and I've never been able to find one to replace it. I've shopped everywhere . . ."
Now we're getting somewhere. While serving the customer, the employee is also learning what's really important. Not only does the customer have in mind a very specific idea of "my next jacket"(and will be thrilled if someone finds it for him), the customer has also given enough information for the employee to infer that this customer shops for quality and classic styles. Without any pressure to "up-sell," (and without knowing exactly what gabardine is) the fully-engaged employee leads the customer to the higher quality racks and pulls out black jackets. As s/he observes the customer deliberate between two jackets, a brilliant idea flashes through the employee's mind.
(Whipping out a camera-equipped smart phone) "How about if I take a picture of you in each of them, and we can get your wife's opinion?"
Cool. Now you have a picture of a customer who will surely make a return visit. The enterprising employee writes "Mr. Greenberg - blazer" on the picture and puts it on the wall in the back room. The employee who greets Mr. Greenberg on his next visit has a ready conversation opener.
"Hello, Mr. Greenberg. It's good to see you again. How's that blazer working out for you?"
Everybody wins. The customer gets a happy experience of buying down and a new jacket. The employee feels like a contributor and begins to wonder if s/he has management potential. The store gains a fan who is likely to tell his story refer his friends. And it all happened within one store. Imagine what a chain of stores could achieve.
In my next article, I'll be talking about how to design a customer experience that works for your business. In the meantime, practice listening to employees—and let me know if what you learn surprises you.
About Mike Wittenstein
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