US consumers twice as likely to share a bad service experience than UK counterparts

March 14, 2014

New research from NewVoiceMedia reveals that U.S. consumers are twice as likely to share a bad customer service experience than those in the U.K., whereas…

Training retail employees: What is your ROI?

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

"What if I train my retail employees, and then they leave?"

Six questions to get actionable feedback from customers

It's important to ask questions, but it's also easy to ask questions that lead the witness.

Your data is only as good as your perspective

by Adam Toporek

Great customer experience strategies must inevitably be formed around good data. Even for smaller organizations that might not have the data quantity or…

Voice for the customer: The impact of internal customer advocates

Customers need someone inside the organization who is constantly fighting on their behalf.

Six ways retailers can increase their conversion rates

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

While many retailers ask how to attract more customers, the better question is how to increase your retail conversion rate.

How to turn customer service best practices into standard practice

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

It was just another day of travel. I was flying to Las Vegas, the night before I was to present another customer service speech. The client had arranged ground…

UK consumers less tolerant to poor service than US counterparts

February 26, 2014

New research from NewVoiceMedia reveals that U.K. consumers are less tolerant to poor customer service than those in the U.S.. Coupled with findings that they…

Five ways to rev up your retail staff

by Barbara Crowhurst — Retail Business Coach, Retail Makeover

Perhaps the biggest challenge retailers face is finding good people to staff their stores. In today's environment, it's hard to find skilled people who are…

The myth of motivation in retail and the customer experience

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Years ago I had an incredibly talented retail associate working for me. He was smart, charming, a fast learner, and one of the best salespeople I ever met.

Lowe's to hire 25K seasonal employees

February 19, 2014

Lowe's announced today it plans to hire approximately 25,000 seasonal employees at its stores in the United States during spring, the busiest time of year in…

Why retailers need to keep a laser focus on the customer

by Jeff Weidauer — Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, Vestcom International, Inc.

I spent the first 15 years of my retail career in operations, i.e. working in and ultimately managing stores. Those years gave me invaluable first-hand…

Your price is too high!

by Dale Furtwengler — President, Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

These words strike fear into the hearts of CEOs and salespeople like no others. The reality is that this is the one statement we should long to hear. Why?

Five tips to make the most of your Valentine's Day retail experience

Only 54 percent of Americans are planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, compared to 60 percent last year.

Customer loyalty test: Will your customer evangelize your business?

by Shep Hyken — CAO, Shepard Presentations

The term "loyalty" usually brings to mind a long period of time … in other words, a lifetime customer. However, when I teach the concept of loyalty, I like to…

Webinar to explore hiring, employee theft

February 11, 2014

On Thursday, Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. ET, Retail Customer Experience will host a live webinar, "Worth the Risk? How Hiring Assessments Can Catch Rising Employee Theft…

Five requirements for improving employee performance for store growth

by Chris Petersen — Owner, IMS

From the headlines coming out of last month's NRF Big Show, it was difficult to tell if retail stores were "running scared" of e-commerce, or very optimistic…

Victoria's Secret, Nike top retail brand engagement index

Brand Keys has published the results of its 2014 study of emotional loyalty and engagement in retail.

Five ways to improve customer service with video

Video can help reduce customer service costs, and is more likely to get your customers engaged.

The future of retail: Death of a salesman

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Like most people, at least a half-dozen times a day I consult Google for answers. Some of what I search for is trivial, "bet-settling" sort of stuff but there…