With there being 2,992,527 (and counting) businesses in the retail industry in the US alone, it’s harder than ever to stand out and build a loyal customer base. The rise of online shopping hasn’t helped. Shoppers can access an incomprehensible number of retail stores from the convenience of the couch while scrolling on their phones.
The secret to breaking through the noise and staying top of mind is customer experience (CX). It will differentiate you even from other retailers offering similar products at a similar pricing level with a similar target audience. With an omnichannel retail customer experience strategy, small businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and maximize business success. Read on for everything you need to know about building a retail customer experience strategy.
What is Retail Customer Experience
The definition of customer experience is the impression a customer has of a business informed by their interactions with the business. The interactions experienced could encourage someone to become a repeat customer and advocate for the business or it could leave them with a really negative perception, eliminating any chance of an ongoing customer relationship.
This applies to both brick-and-mortar retail businesses as well as online retail stores. Whether a shopper is browsing your website or speaking to a store associate, that counts as an interaction. In this day and age, consumers flit between ecommerce and brick and mortar shopping so retailers need to maintain consistency between the two to ensure a strong customer experience.
Why is Retail Customer Experience Important
Customer experience is so important because creating a positive impression for customers is so important. In such a highly competitive environment, how you make customers feel during interactions and the perception that gives them of the business has the power to boost both customer engagement and customer loyalty and therefore drive sales.
Benefits of Good Retail Customer Experience
- Positive word of mouth marketing – Nothing compares to the influence of customer recommendations in converting new customers. If they really like what you do and how you do it, word of mouth recommendations (and new customers!) will follow.
- Customer satisfaction – Taking the time to craft a brand experience that satisfies customers drives brand loyalty and motivates them to continue to engage with the business, from making purchases to leaving positive reviews.
- Increased sales – A focus on CX enables retailers to differentiate from competitors and meet and exceed customer needs which will lead to more sales from first-time customers as well as a high rate of customer retention.
- Improved employee morale – By investing in CX, customer-facing employees such as sales associates are given the tools they need to serve customers better, helping them to take pride in their work. Communicating a focus on experience also leads to employee-led innovation.
- Happy shareholders – Improved CX reflects in KPIs such as engagement in marketing campaigns and a company’s Net Promoter Score as well as of course, revenue. That will keep shareholders very happy.
- Low costs of continued experiential improvements – The sooner retailers jump on board with implementing and refining CX, the better. They’ll have the foundations in place so all they have to do is make refinements over time.
Customer Experience vs Customer Service: Is It The Same?
The short answer is no. Customer experience and customer service are distinctly different terms within the retail industry. Customer service refers to the interaction touchpoints throughout the customer journey such as the checkout page on an online shop. Customer experience is the overall impression a customer has about a retail business. That being said, evaluating customer service can lead to improvement in customer experience.
Understanding Customer Expectations
Changing Customer Expectations in the Retail Landscape
Today, customers expect more from retailers because the intensity of competition within commerce puts the power in the hands of consumers. These customer expectations are increasingly demanding such as short wait times, personalization and high-tech digital interactions.
Importance of Meeting and Exceeding Expectations
A retail business’ ability to exceed customer expectations directly impacts its customer experience. If customers are left underwhelmed or disappointed, their perception will be tainted. So understanding your customer’s expectations of your business is crucial to creating a positive perception.
How To Improve Customer Experience in Retail
So how do you put together an omnichannel strategy for a retail experience that improves customer relationships?
1. Focus on your customers
It seems obvious but it’s easy for customer needs to get lost in the chaos of running a business. Establish their wants, needs, preferences, expectations and priorities as they relate to your niche and product. Conduct audience research and survey customers to really understand them.
2. Formulate a plan
Customer experience is too important to introduce new strategies on a whim. Take the time to be intentional with your approach, exploring potential options and getting employees involved to encourage uptake. Don’t be afraid to refine your strategy by making changes along the way in line with feedback and data.
3. Map and evaluate retail experience touchpoints
Customers start to form their perception of a retailer from the very first interaction. So it’s useful to map the whole customer journey and highlight key touchpoints to focus on. Collect data at each to monitor effectiveness so you can identify and resolve any issues holding potential customers back.
4. Improve the employee experience
The happier employees are, the better the experience they can provide customers. Whether it’s additional training or digital tools to streamline their workload, check in with employees so you can give them what they need to perform at their best.
5. Focus on overall satisfaction
With any business growth strategy, it’s important to find a suitable KPI to track progress. While CX can influence multiple KPIs, to directly track CX it’s best to look at overall customer satisfaction scores as it measures perception which is what CX is all about. Track it before, after and during the implementation of new strategies.
6. Invest in customer service and omnichannel touchpoints
Ensure every customer service touchpoint fulfills customer needs so they leave an interaction satisfied. For example, can they easily find the information they were looking for on your website? Was a sales associate able to answer their question? Simply, are you able to solve their problem? All online platforms and in-person service points should be of a consistent standard.
7. Use a single integrated CX management platform
With so many touchpoints to manage, you need a centralized system for functionality and data related to CX to maintain efficiency and quality. From keeping up with customer communication across text, social media and web chat to collecting and responding to customer reviews, you can do it all on one platform with Podium’s unified inbox and marketing tools.
8. Offer personalized appointments
We’ve all heard of personalized marketing campaigns in the digital world. Retailers can also offer a personalized experience in-store. Give customers the ability to book an appointment with a store associate to support their shopping experience. It’s a chance to exceed expectations and drive satisfaction.
9. Ensure an efficient checkout experience
No one wants to fall at the final hurdle. Having made it through the full customer journey from finding a retail business to making a purchase decision, the checkout experience shouldn’t be what ruins the customer experience. Whether in-person or online, it should be quick and easy with various payment options.
10. Reward loyalty
Another way to add to the experience and encourage brand loyalty is by showing appreciation through a loyalty program. It’s a way to thank loyal customers, incentivize repeat purchases and create a sense of community and connection that goes beyond the standard retail experience.
3 Retail Customer Experience Strategies
It takes more than claiming ‘customer centric’ is one of your business values to get results from CX. Follow up a commitment to improving customer experience with proven strategies.
Training and empowering staff for customer-centric service
Your staff is a key touchpoint in your CX whether they are answering customer questions in-store or responding to a web chat message. Give them clear instructions on CX protocols so they have the direction they need to meet customer expectations.
Utilizing technology to enhance the shopping experience
Take advantage of technological enhancements to support efficiency and personalization such as a web chat for easy communication or adding payment links to text marketing for easy payment. The easier you make it, the better the customer experience.
Collecting and utilizing customer feedback for continuous improvement
To profitably improve customer experience, retailers need to be able to take their customers’ perspective of their business. They can do that by asking for customer feedback on a regular basis to drive continuous data-driven improvement.
Provide every customer with an exceptional omnichannel customer experience and see your retail business thrive with Podium marketing, lead generation and customer management tools.
