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The missing link in retail customer experience

August 1, 2012 by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

As I make my rounds teaching Retail University around the world, one of the most asked questions is "how do we transform customer experience in retail stores?" Countless millions have been spent on training retail store sales associates to deliver a better experience. At the end of the day, it's hard to find sustained measurable results. If you want a great experience in store, don't train the associates ... focus on the store managers! Store managers are the primary change agents ... and the most neglected group in retail.

The critical question – If people are not performing, why?

I'm a behavioral psychologist by training. And, what I most often get asked to do is to figure out how to change people's behavior ... especially behaviors related to customer experience in retail stores. The only book I saved from graduate school was an amazing handbook on "Analyzing Performance Problems" by Mager & Pipe. As it turns out, their book is just as relevant today as when I first read it. It is still available on Amazon.com. The original book was based on one simple premise:

People really "oughta to wanna"... if they don't, why? And, what should you do about it?

The authors really cut to the chase of analyzing performance problems by asking the simple question: "Could they do it if their life depended upon it?" The "it" in this case can be any simple or complex set of behaviors. For example, the "it" could be your teenage son or daughter making their bed in the morning and/or hanging up their clothes. If they can do it if their lives depended upon it, then the simple answer is you do NOT have a training problem. They already know how to do what is expected. More training will not get more beds made. You have a motivational, management problem if their rooms are a mess every day.

Applying Really Oughta Wanna to Retail Customer Experience

With all of the competitive threats from the internet retailers, and the showrooming practices of consumers shopping for better prices on their phones in the aisles, retailers ought to be obsessed with providing great customer service and experiences. Quality consumer experience not only helps to differentiate the store, but greats an atmosphere of trust, in which consumers tend to purchase more items in the shopping cart at checkout.

So, the really ought to want to in this case is the RSPs (Retail Sales People) consistently exhibiting the behaviors constituting personal, helpful service. Including but not limited to:

• Friendly greeting ... welcome to the store
• Using consumer's name
• Finding out what the consumer is looking for vs. pushing products and specs
• Demonstrating, and enabling the consumer to explore how they will use a product
• Showing how other items will create value for the consumer

So, a real retail question is: Can RSPs do these things if their lives depended upon it? If the employee is brand new and has never worked in retail, then the answer might be no ... they need some training. But for the most part, the young people working in stores today are bright and can perform the consumer experience behaviors "they have to". If the RSPs can perform when absolutely required, then the problem is not a training issue. It won't be fixed by yet more training ... especially if training is provided by multiple outside vendors. I have absolutely nothing against training, it can't "hurt". But, transforming the consumer experience in store requires engaging the "missing link" that motivates, changes and sustains behavior.

Lasting behavior change requires at least 90 days ... and practice!

Cognitively knowing how to do something and being able to execute it consistently are two entirely different things. I cognitively know how to hold a golf club and can describe the perfect swing for a driver. That doesn't mean I can play a round of golf in less than 130 strokes. Part of that is talent! You can never train someone to execute at a high level if don't have the right talent. Assessing talent is indeed another issue in executing great consumer experiences in store. Guess what, store managers do most of the assessing and hiring.

The major reason I couldn't play a decent game of golf was that I never had a coach who could provide feedback on how to consistently keep improving my swing over time. Likewise, most retail store training is a classic recipe for disaster in terms of lasting behavior change. The retailer trainer, or outside vendor trainer comes in for a 30 minute session before the store opens. They "explain" the approach and behaviors, and the best "show" how it's to be done. If there is enough time, one or two RSPs might role play a scenario. Is it any wonder this stuff doesn't translate into daily practice when there is no practice and feedback on the retail floor?

Don't waste training on RSPs, focus your resources on store managers

If you ever get to watch a retail store training session, stick around and watch carefully what happens afterward. After the trainers leave and the doughnuts are gone, the store manager and department directors take over ... and start with something like:

"Ok, now here's what's really important this week, here's what we want you to work on ... and what we expect! This translates to; I, the store manager, have to hit these targets."

In short, the store managers are the managers and coaches of all things behavioral:

• They set the targets
• They define what "good is"
• They "catch people doing the right things"
• They provide corrective feedback and coaching
• They inspect RSP performance on behaviors, and results
• They are the primary vehicle for delivering intrinsic and external motivators
• Store managers are accountable for store culture, climate, experience and results

If you truly want to change consumer experience in retail stores, the key to sustainable change is working through the store managers. Yet, many of the store and department managers were promoted from within based on longevity and other "Peter Principle" criteria. The sad irony is that the ultimate caretaker of consumer experience for the store often has not had any training or experience, as in effectively coaching and managing RSP behaviors that create a consumer centric, experiential based store.

Results count ... when in doubt, test

The great news about all of this "conversation" is that is very testable and measureable! IMS has had the opportunity to work with retailers where we just focused on working only with store managers, with NO training for RSPs. The test stores focused on store managers had significantly higher consumer satisfaction ratings, sales, market basket attach than the comp stores where the training was focused on the RSPs.

If you want to change consumer experience behavior, start by testing how to the behaviors of the store managers and leaders!

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