In retail, there are certain ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors, but the one defined route creating the largest divide is optimal customer experience. Stores offering an experience to remember, are winning over their customers, and competitor’s customers too.
Customers are searching for more than purchase of goods when visiting a store. Why? Because they can buy these goods online without leaving the comfort of their homes, and having them conveniently delivered to their door. Their retail experience needs to be exactly that – a memorable experience! Making the excursion worth while.
How Can You Define Your Retail Experience?
Multiple land-based stores have already found the pressure of e-commerce to be incredibly taxing. But by reinventing the shopping experience, stores are turning obstacles into opportunity. It’s all about delivering on the authentic customer experience and going beyond what is expected.
Take, for example, those retailers that think outside the box of traditional customer experience:
· Outdoor stores that offer a climbing wall inside for patrons to test their footing
· Grocery stores offering free, on-the-spot cooking classes
· Accounts departments in-store offering free cappuccino while waiting in the queue
· Toy stores that offer amusement rides or free puppet shows
You get the idea. These experiences are matched to the retail niche but come as a welcome surprise to shoppers walking into the store. They also offer real human interaction, which can go a long way to helping connect customers to experiences.
Get Personal With Each Customer
Personalisation is easy to accomplish, and leverages a retail brand forward in leaps and bounds. Retailers are wise to spend time helping their employees become experienced spokes persons for the brand. That way whenever someone needs assistance, there are multiple people on hand catering to every whim.
Having a personal profile for a shopper not only gives them a sense of belonging, but allows stores to actively serve the best interests of each individual shopper, not grouping everyone together as a whole. It also provides retailers with the opportunity to create a personalised loyalty programme, giving shoppers even more benefits.
Train Staff To Deal With All Eventualities
Staff members that are well-supported are more able and willing to help customers enjoy their experiences. They don’t come across as overwhelmed in their roles and with simple attention to detail they make customers feel as though they are significant. If there are problems needing to be dealt with, well-trained employees will be able to handle it swiftly and without breaking a sweat. It’s this level of competence that gives customers absolute faith in a retailer and their staff.
Offer A Seamless Omnichannel Experience
Offering an omnichannel experience allows retailers to cater to different target groups, while still offering the same level of service throughout. The brick and mortar store might be the biggest focus but being able to serve online shoppers adds an additional element of convenience. If customers know they can experience the same great service and support regardless of how they do their shopping, they will, in all likelihood, come back time and again.
How can you offer an authentic customer experience? If you’re drawing a blank, get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help.