Overall, 2018 was a difficult year for the retail industry in the UK as growth rates annually continued to slow down. The high street continued to lose its battle for a decent share of the consumer’s wallet as online sales increased again, reaching just over 20 percent of total retail sales in December. How can store retailers fight back?
Exceptional moments of truth
In the customer service sector, a moment of truth is any point when a customer comes into contact with your organization and has the opportunity to form or change their opinion of your business. Management Study Guide explains how these moments can be either magical or miserable.
Sell, sell, sell
Cross-selling and upselling are important ways to maximize a sales opportunity, but don’t just throw everything at the customer and hope something sticks; take the time to get to know your customer during the sales process and offer sensible, well-educated suggestions. In addition to cross-selling based on the purchases they’re making, such as shoe polish with shoes, try to be intuitive with your customer. Listen to what they say and how they look; facial expressions and tone of voice can be great indicators of their mood.
Clever use of digital signage can help to promote cross- and upsell items as well as special offers, but it does need to be up-to-date and placed appropriately for it to stand out. As technology moves on, so does digital signage, and it can be used to both increase sales and drive additional footfall when done well.
Turn negatives into positives
Situations like products being out of stock can lead to poor customer experience and are best avoided where possible. However, when handled well and with appropriate substitutes offered, they can be turned into a positive experience for customers. This is another situation where using digital signage can help. For example, if you’re a food retail outlet and something is off the menu, use signage to let customers know before they stand in a queue to order.
Make a connection
Similar to making your customer interactions magical, it’s also useful to make a connection with customers. Remembering their order if they’re a regular or finding something in common that you can both relate to can help to strengthen customer loyalty.
