Retail best practices: What does customer-centricity mean to you?
Paying more than lip service to the concept of putting the customer at the center of everything you do.
In recent years “customer-centric” has become a buzzword in several industries, particularly in retailing. The concept of customer-centricity might seem redundant or unnecessary; after all, isn’t it supposed to be all about the customer anyway? In theory this is true, of course, but customer-centricity takes “being all about the customer” to new levels. It’s about being focused much more on customers’ wants and needs - and, of course, their resulting buying behaviors - than on internal incentives, such as the quest for short-term profits. It means paying more than lip service to the concept of putting the customer at the center of everything you do.
Two factors have made customer-centricity more important than ever for brick-and-mortar retailers: the increase in online shopping, and the struggling economy. Both of these factors have resulted in fewer buyers in stores, with intensified competition for remaining customers. For most retailing operations, particularly small or specialty retailers, it’s not enough anymore to have the products people want. It’s not even enough to have a knowledgeable and friendly staff. Those are crucial, of course, but they’re only two songs in an entire medley that comprises “customer experience” (another trendy and overused, but nonetheless useful, concept). Buyers are more fragmented these days, and there’s much more competition than there ever has been, so it’s no surprise that smart retailers are going out of their way to provide a unique and satisfying customer experience.
And a rewarding customer experience is key to your success whether you have a brick-and-mortar store, an online store, or both.
The customer experience - which some people refer to as the customer lifecycle - involves much more than the brief period a customer spends in your store or on your Web site. It begins with making prospective customers aware of you in the first place, and helping them decide that you have what they’re looking for. Effective advertising and promotion not only make them aware of you, but make it easy for them to see exactly what you have to offer. Therefore, customer-centric marketing and advertising is a must. You have to make your information appealing and accessible. You have to know your potential market and cater to them before they even step through your door or visit your Web site - otherwise, they probably won’t do either one.
The next stage of the customer experience is the actual selection and purchasing. Again, it’s all about knowing what your customers want, making sure you have it, making it easy for them to find, and making it painless for them to purchase. Attractive, eye-catching displays in your store will almost always result in more sales than cluttered, disorganized shelves. And, of course, friendly but non-intrusive customer service will help ensure a positive customer experience. Online buying should be almost effortless; a long or tedious purchasing and payment process will most likely encourage your would-be customer to shop elsewhere. Not only should the purchasing process be easy, but fulfillment should be fast and efficient, and comprehensive post-purchase support, if needed, should always be accessible.
In fact, if you want repeat customers and good referrals, the post-purchase stages are just as important as the pre-purchase and purchasing stages. A customer-centric approach - truly putting the customer first - can further reinforce the positive experience, not only preventing buyers’ remorse but also leaving the customer with such a good impression that he or she won’t hesitate to recommend you to others.
Your degree of customer-centricity is reflected in just about every aspect of your business - marketing, merchandising, sales... the whole nine yards. What it really boils down to, however, is improvement of customer interactions, whether in the store, in the community at large, or online.
Let’s focus on the latter for a moment. Online interactions are increasingly becoming a part of a customer-centric strategy for many businesses. It wasn’t all that long ago that few retailers - particularly one-store operations - bothered with the Internet. These days most retailers, even if they don’t actually have an online store, at least have a rudimentary Web site with the basic information about their business. But such a site is static, and a contact page is no substitute for an ongoing public conversation. An intermediate, though only marginally effective, forum is a blog. But the recent rise of social media such as Twitter and Facebook have given retailers creative new ways to interact with customers and prospective customers - and to really engage them in the business in ways that weren’t possible just a few years ago.
If executed cleverly, a social media strategy can be wonderful for your retail operation. It can show your customers that not only is your business a valuable resource to its them, but that you really care about their wants and needs, and not just the sales dollars they represent. It can give you a much better real-time picture of consumer tastes than expert consultants or even focus groups can provide. It can help you continue to improve your overall marketing as well as many other aspects of your operation. And it can deliver the dual benefit of enriching not only the customer experience, but your own “merchant experience” as well.
Of course there’s a right way and a wrong way to play the social media game with your business. Again, you have to make it more about the customers than about you. This means you shouldn’t inject too much of your personality or opinions into the conversation, and it’s almost always best to stay away from controversial matters (e.g., political opinions) altogether - unless said opinions are directly related to your business and they reinforce your mission and purpose. For example, if you sell organic or sustainable products, it’s okay to occasionally have a link to an article on the misdeeds of giant agribusiness companies.
That said, you (or someone in your organization whom you really trust) should make an effort to be part of the ongoing conversation, and to really engage your customers. Whether you’re on Facebook or Twitter or both, you should respond to users’ comments as much as possible. Don’t just spam about “specials” and then retreat; that won’t win you very many new customers. This isn’t to suggest that you attempt to build up a faux intimacy or that you pretend you’re everyone’s best friend, but you should acknowledge the folks who take the time to comment on your Wall or respond to one of your tweets. People don’t like to feel that they are being ignored.
“Customer-centric” may be an overused buzzword, and like many popular concepts it’s much easier to talk about than to put into action. But it’s worth the effort. Long after the term has been replaced by another one, true customer-centricity will still be the key to any retailer’s lasting success. If you make your customers feel special, if you show them that you truly appreciate them, then they will show their appreciation not only by opening their pocketbooks, but by recommending you to their network of friends, both online and off.
THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE. Consult with a financial advisor, accountant or attorney before making important decisions in these areas.
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