One Size Does Not Fit All

Opinions are being weighed from all over the globe as brand marketers and retailers look forward to the economic upturn in 2010 and beyond. The big question seems to revolve around the customer experience. Is price the driving factor or is there value in truly great service? The answer is that “it depends.”

In his opinion column in the Times of London, Accenture executive Neil Miller say there is no one model that will fit all and that approaches must be targeted to fit individual channels and markets. His company reports that nearly all UK businesses have invested in improving the customer relationship, but either they are missing the mark or the target is moving faster than the aim. Miller says, “Almost two thirds of British respondents in the study reported switching between businesses in the past year as a result of experiencing poor service. Only about a third believed that customer service experiences had improved.”

Less loyal and more demanding customers are setting the pace. It becomes more important to understand differences in customer service needs and channel preferences as they align with your brand proposition and the balance between price and value. Miller explains, “Different sectors have different agendas and demand different services and models, which must be tailored using appropriate digital platforms, processes, data, analytics and skills.”

In the end it comes down to differentiate and deliver. The upturn offers an opportunity to reach out and engage your customers. But one blanket approach will not work for all markets as it has in the past.

The Sin of Omission

The customer experience is a multi-faceted and sometimes complicated opportunity for brand marketers and retailers. But in many respects, it is remarkably simple. A survey was introduced today that reports more than 25 percent of the time, customers feel ignored. If true, this is a call to action for all involved. We must train store and service personnel to proactively see service opportunities.

The survey, reported on by the Chicago Sun-Times, by the SALT & Pepper Group measured 1,027 interactions between customers and salespeople in 73 retail stores over a four month time frame. The study said that electronic and hardware/home improvement stores were slightly better than other channels. Luxury retailers, who you would assume would be at the top of the ranking, fell somewhere in the middle.

The SALT & Pepper Group identified, “the sin of omission,” as a big problem that they encountered when entering a store. In a nutshell, the associates working the registers or aisles simply would not recognize or acknowledge the customer. It seems like a simple thing, but when it comes to training and educating store personnel on customer service, we must not commit, “the sin of omission,” in including this basic concept.

Bridging the Customer Web Experience Gap

Internet sales are being credited with providing some measure of relief for lagging sales at the country’s top retailers. Cyber Monday should be proof that your web presence and its usability are critical to the overall cross-channel customer experience. The challenge for brand marketers and retailers becomes how to turn the focus and attention of the company web site back to marketing, since the evolution of many e-tailing sites began with IT departments and not brand marketers.

According to CMS Wire, the pattern that many have followed has resulted in a web presence that does not measure up with today’s consumers, “They not usable enough. They are not accessible enough. And they are not persuasive enough. There are also too many bits and pieces stapled together to create the feedback loops.”

The article quotes consultants who say the problem lies in a growing gap between those who see the need for a heightened customer experience and the technical realities that such an approach requires. Improving the customer experience on the web is said to be at that top of many organizations’ Christmas lists. Because of the size of this gap, there is really no one solution that can provide all the elements of rich media, social media and analytics. The solution may be your ability to convince your organization to take steps and then to organize the movement yourself.

Consumers Craving Gift Cards

The National Retail Federation tells us that gift cards are again finding favor with consumers who enjoy the flexibility of selecting their own merchandise at participating stores. The NRF says that gift cards are preferred by 55.2% of adults as a holiday gift. They choose this gift ahead of clothing, books, DVDs and electronics.

Christina Veiders, Managing Editor of Supermarket News, writes how retailers, realizing that the old idea still has some life, are using gift cards as not only a sensible gift idea, but also as a means of sales promotion. The technology behind gift cards takes an old idea, the gift certificate, and gives it new life because they are cheaper to produce, easier to track and provide a long lasting branding opportunity. Consumers love the convenience.

After taking a dip last year because of retail bankruptcies, gift cards are again experiencing growth. After market stabilization and some needed legislation, retailers are taking advantage of the trend for promotional purposes. Some grocery chains are offering savings on the grocery bill for the purchase of a certain value card. This makes a good tie-in to their loyalty card programs. Others are offering fuel discounts or tying using the cards as an incentive to buy certain items.

There are very few ideas in the business world that are truly win-win. For enhancing the customer experience and proving effective and efficient for retailers, the gift card seems to hit this lofty goal.

ICC/Decision Services Launches Second of its iPhone Applications – ConversionCalc

The latest in iPhone applications shows retailers the dollar value resulting from increasing their conversion rates.

New York, NY — ICC/Decison Services’ latest in iPhone applications shows retailers the dollar value resulting from increasing their conversion rates. ConversionCalc™ is the second of its iPhone applications available for free download on iTunes. ICC’s existing application, the UpSellCall™, was the first of its kind in the industry when it was launched this past summer. ICC/Decison Services is an international customer experience management company based in New York City.

Field management loves our calculators because they are portable and easily show store management the power of associate behavior. “We received great feedback on the UpSell Calc, our first application,” says David Rich, President/CEO of ICC/Decision Services. “Field management loves our calculators because they are portable and easily show store management the power of associate behavior. Corporate loves them because they point to increased revenue. It takes so much to get customers in the door in today’s marketplace,” continues Rich, “but many retailers don’t realize that increasing your conversion rates by only 2% can increase revenue by 10%. The ConversionCalc™ will quantify that lost opportunity for retailers and can produce calculations for a single store, district or the entire retail chain.”

Other features of the ConversionCalc™ include: easy one-screen operation; allows calculations over multiple time periods (days, months, quarters, etc); reveals the true dollar amount for increased associate performance.

Click here for more “ConversionCalc” conversion rates information, iPhone applications and download links.

About ICC/Decision Services
ICC/Decision Services was founded in 1979 to design and execute Customer Experience Management programs. ICC/Decision Services offers a wide range of qualitative and quantitative business tools, including mystery shopping, shopper intercepts, iPhone applications, conversion rates tools, customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Clients include Coach, L.L. Bean, Rite Aid, 7-11, Foot Locker, CVS, Walmart and others. The company is headquartered at 122 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001, U.S.A. Phone: (800) 444-1717. More information is available at www.iccds.com.

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Black Friday VIPs

The general consensus is that Black Friday resulted in an increase in store traffic, but a decrease in spending per shopper for some overall mild sales gains. But the big question remains, what needs to happen to turn retail browsers into retail buyers? Some brand marketers played the shopper experience card by offering VIP treatment on the busiest shopping day of the year.

A story in the Boston Globe documented some unique approaches. Best Buy offered a limousine ride, special seating outside the store prior to opening, a private shopping tour before opening and a $1,000 gift card. All of this was for winning an essay contest.

The early results of Black Friday show that deep discounting isn’t enough to coax consumers. It also takes an equal amount of clever promotions and some good old-fashioned customer service to close the deal. According to one retail analyst, “The combination of value and service will be the great differentiator,’’ According to the National Retail Federation, sales for November and December are expected to decline 1 percent.

Some other examples of VIP treatment are free cookies, holiday tote bags, gift cards, subscriptions, limousine rides, wardrobe consultations, shopping butlers, gift-wrapping assistants, video cameras and celebrity wake-up calls. Most of these special offers and VIP contest were advertised via social networking outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

Thanksgiving Weekend Shopping as a Social Event

Crowded stores and lines don’t seem to dissuade tens of millions of shoppers from hitting the market over the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. Many are looking to cash in on the great deals and others are just taking advantage of some additional time off from work. The National Retail Federation is reporting that 134 million consumers will hit the stores this weekend. That’s a six million person increase over last year. However, there is a developing set of consumers who have a different mindset about Black Friday. They enjoy the event.

In this Retail Customer Experience article, the author discusses how consumers are starting to take power over the event by attacking it like a military exercise. Teams of consumers enjoy plotting a strategy and executing their game plan as not only a bargain hunting trip, but also as a fun social event.

The trend is not going unnoticed by retailers who are ramping up their efforts to cater to this type of social consumer. In many cases they are reshaping the, “Waiting in line experience,” by offering coffee and treats to those in line, making every effort to make the lines faster, and in general just trying to keep the tone friendly. This concierge level of customer care plays in perfectly with the mindset of the “Black Friday as a Social Event” shopper.

Black Friday Launch Pad for Brand Social Media

There is mounting evidence in the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, as an advertising medium. A prime example is the way that brand marketers are targeting Black Friday by sending out messages featuring special deals for their followers. Why? A recent blog post on Simple Thoughts quotes Deloitte Research as saying that, “One in five shoppers plans to use the sites in their holiday shopping this season.”
 
It has been widely reported that retailers and manufacturers have been effectively using sweet deals to attract consumers to follow their company presence on various social media outlets. The hope is that shoppers will continue to follow and build brand loyalty. Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, presents itself as a great jumping off point to disseminate information and gain followers. Hundreds of special offers are being leaked to vigilant consumers.
 
Brand marketers get additional penetration from special deal sites such as dealnews.com who also track and list Black Friday offers. Many e-commerce deals extend to the Monday after Thanksgiving, now known as Cyber Monday, because of consumers’ propensity to shop from their computers that day.

On Target for the Holiday Shopping Experience

The news is awash with stories on how the country’s retailers are gearing up for the mad holiday rush that begins with Black Friday. Most of the news has to do with price promotions, store hours and staffing to handle the increase in store traffic. As an example, a story on DSN Retailing Today outlines how mass market giant Target is preparing for the holiday’s with the customer experience in mind.

Not unlike others, Target will expand its store hours and feature price promotions. For example, the stores will open at 5 a.m. and the first 500 guests will receive a gift. Those who spend $100 or more (not hard to do at Target) between 5:00 and Noon will get a $10 gift card.

As far as price, the retailer will offer its Low Price Promise. In other words, if a guest finds a lower price at a competitor, Target will match the price during the competitor’s valid ad date.

Perhaps more eye opening is the improvement being made to the return policy. As a standard, Target has a 90 day policy for returns or exchanges accompanied by a receipt. However, a recent expansion allows you to return or exchange up to $70 in merchandise without a receipt on a rolling 12-month cycle and new and unused items over the $70 can be exchanged for items in the same department.

The on-line function is also getting into the act with free shipping on most items when you spend $50 or more.

Other retailers are also offering similar programs. This is just one example of how a company is using their customer satisfaction data to directly enhance the customer experience for the holidays and beyond.

Don’t Discount the Discount

Much is being made out of the necessity to build brands using social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook. A recent study tells us that they key tactic to building such networks may be the same as building the brands in traditional marketing. In other words, if you want to build your on-line network, offer the consumer a deal.

An article in Progressive Grocer reported on a consumer study of digitally connected consumers and found that, “43 percent of those following brands on Twitter do so because of exclusive deals or offers.” By comparison, that soundly beats interesting content, current customers or service support as a reason to follow the brand. The same can be said of Facebook where 37 percent said they follow because of the deals.

The article is not suggesting that building strong relationships with consumers via social networking is not important. Quite the contrary, the message is that building brands will include using the medium to create a great customer experience rather than a one-way ad message communication. The survey concludes that, “Social media tools are pushing greater customer information access, putting more pressure on brands to live up their words with actions.”

Using a good deal or promotion just seems to be the most effective current way to hook the consumer into the complete product experience. Once hooked, consumers can be exposed to content, information and conversations about products that can build and sustain your brand in the “new mainstream.”