Posted by Kasandra Clarke on Thu, Oct 08, 2009 @ 12:58 PM
Have you ever been to customerservicescoreboard.com?...it can be very enlightening.View your results and have your store managers and associates go there to understand the impact...positive and negative... that their actions have on your reputation.
Most associates do not realize they can have such a dramatic impact.
How can you help your employees recognize and care about Customer Service.
1. Connect it to their pay
2. Connect it to their job satisfaction
3. Connect it to the job itself
1. Connect it to their pay
By helping a customer find what they need and suggesting all the appropriate accessories they will leave happy and you will have a bigger sale, which adds to your commission, bonus or spiff.
i.e. A girl comes in looking for a pair of jeans. By chatting with her you find out she needs the jeans for a big date. By learning that key piece of information you can help her to look really great for her date - by suggesting a top, belt and jewellery to create a whole new outfit. That creates a win-win situation, she leaves happy and it added $ to your pay.
2. Connect it to job satisfaction
Customer satisfaction makes the job more interesting and fun. You need to be creative to find the best solution for a customer. There is much more variety in the job.
Referring back to the example above - the girl who came in for a pair of jeans. It became more interesting to try and find her the perfect outfit vs just grabbing her the right size of jeans.
3. Connect it to the job itself
If customers are not satisfied they will buy elsewhere and you will not have a job! Sometimes it is really that simple and employees need to be reminded of this. Many employees do not understand the basics of business and do not understand the impact that reduced sales have on their job. Give them an opportunity to be involved upfront when they can have an impact vs just letting them go once the sales have declined. Give them a real world example they can relate to.
i.e. If we sell 100 jeans this week we can give all of you 20 hours next week.
Good luck, good service and good sales to you all.
Posted by Kasandra Clarke on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 @ 05:54 PM
How can you manage an ongoing training program that is both affordable and convenient? This question is extremely important in this economy.
Many retailers are adopting e-learning; it is also much more affordable for high turnover retail environments.
5 key reasons why retailers are adapting elearning:
- Convenient - available 24/7 - anywhere, anytime
- Accessible - Web access is the only requirement
- Affordable - eliminates trainer, classroom and travel expenses
- Self-directed - employees progress at a pace they are comfortable with
- Green - eliminates expensive and wasteful printed materials
Gaining a competitive edge in today‘s retail industry requires an ongoing investment in training. Success depends upon your ability to maximize sales and reduce costs.
Employees need to increase skills, knowledge and competencies in many areas including customer service, selling skills and product knowledge. They also need to be trained to keep costs down through loss prevention and safety training. Many retailers do not have a budget for classroom trainers or travel expenses anymore. They also can't afford to have associates off the sales floor for too long.
E-learning is a cost-effective training solution that transcends time and distance, employees can log on from any location, anytime. E-learning couples educational principles with interactive media to offer a perfect solution for the most demanding training requirements. Many courses include interactivity and are actually interesting and engaging for employees, which helps with compliance.
Posted by Kasandra Clarke on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 @ 05:41 PM
The key to increasing store sales... STORE EMPLOYEES!
Many of us struggle with knowing what to do to increase store sales AND decrease expenses. We are being challenged at both ends. The challenge is how to maximize sales effectiveness, just having a "warm body" on the sales floor is not good enough.
1. Keep employees on the floor selling!
To maximize sales, employees need to be trained but no manager wants employees to be off the floor for extended periods to take lengthy training courses.
2. Provide short, ongoing training
Courses should be very short - not longer than 10-45 minutes. The goal is to learn and apply. Employees learn better and are able to execute more effectively when learning in small snippets. Putting employees through 2-4 hour training marathons just wears them out.
3. Include Customer service, selling skills and product knowledge training.
Why all three:
Have you even been in a store where a sales person walks up to you and asks if they can help you. You say sure, then ask them a question they can't answer anything. Need - Product Knowledge
Now think about a time when you went to a store and the guy knew his stuff but was more concerned about showing you how smart he was by rhyming off all kinds of facts and didn't bother asking you about your needs. Need - selling skills training.
Imagine if you bought a printer and got home to find out that the printer would not work without a special extra cable and you realized you forgot paper. The salesperson was doing you a disservice by not up selling the other essential items you needed. Need - selling skills training.
4. Keep employees engaged and motivated
Many of our employees are teens and early twenties, they need to be entertained and engaged, otherwise they tune out. Ensure your courses are interactive and include attendee participation.
5. Recognize and reward employees for meeting goals
Many employees say they work harder to receive recognition vs more money. Simple things, like entering all those employees who reached a target into a draw for an ipod, can have a major impact on motivation.
All of this can be done for under $30 per employee and the payback will be immediate and significant.