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Battling with Customer Service: How to Win the War, Part 2 of 2
If you've already read Part 1 of "Battling with Customer
Service: How to Win the War," congratulations! You're halfway to
becoming a pro. Follow these last five steps and you'll be on
track to bending the minds of customer service...
Blocks to Customer Focus
Despite all the proclamations, catchy advertising slogans, and
customer service publicity, service levels have improved only
marginally in the last few years. As Harvard Business School
professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, puts it "Despite the...
Connecting With Customers
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine. Business is up he said, but he didn't know why. I asked him a few questions, but the more we spoke about it the more concerned I became. "What do you mean, you don't know why they're buying?" "We...
How Small Businesses Build a Customer Base
Building a solid customer base is a necessity of any small business. Often times these smaller businesses cannot compete effectively with larger companies in terms of resources. For example, Tom’s mini-Mart is not going to be a match for Farmer...
How To Leverage Your Current Ideas And Products Into Multiple Revenue Streams
Diversify - to make diverse, give variety, to balance, to divide securities in different industries, to produce variety, to engage in varied operations. Diversification is a wealth building strategy; it is also an excellent method for...
Successfully Adding a Service To Your Business
There will come a time in your business where you feel ready to add another service offering. To make this successful, there are ten tips to consider before moving ahead. 1) Revisit your business plan. If you don't have one, write one for...
Things A Customer/Client Should Never Hear When Shopping At Your Place ...
Do you know what your customers are hearing? Are you using "shoppers?" It might be a good idea, along with some employee training on some specific ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’, though I'm not sure you could even conceive of these things I've been told...
Using Buttons and Badges to Increase Customer Service and Business at a Restaurant
The food service industry is usually a fast paced and often precarious one. Advertising is critical in a restaurant and there are many ways to use a button maker machine in this industry. When the advertising budget is tight, a button-making...
Web Conferencing: A Boon to Businesss
It is Sunday evening and you are preparing again to go on a business trip. Monday morning the alarm goes off at 4:00 am, you drag your body and your briefcase to your car, drive to the airport, wait in a long line, get on a plane, get off a...
Where Are The Delighted Customers?
WHERE ARE THE DELIGHTED CUSTOMERS?
QUESTION
If every company wants to delight its customers, then how come we don't spend most of our ‘customer days’ delighted?
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES?
The so-called new economy and most new business...
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How To Maximise Your Customer Flow
The objective of all retailers is to ensure 100% of customers see 100% of product. Sounds straightforward yet in recent research in the United Kingdom they found that 75% of customers only saw a maximum of 20% of the product. Imagine how sales would improve if the customer flow allowed 100% of customers to see 100% of product.
Your aim as a retailer is to direct your customers around your store, do not allow them to wander without clear direction, if you do, sales will drop off dramatically.
You must create a racetrack and not a runway. A racetrack goes around the store and exposes customers to all product departments.
A runway goes up and down the store and encourages people to speed up and walk faster.
1.Create a Store Layout that Reflects Your Image
Prior to developing your customer flow, you need to establish what image you are aiming to achieve as this will then assist you in deciding what style of layout you should develop.
My aim is not to make you a store designer, this is an area where you should seek expert advice, but you do need to appreciate the various styles of retailing.
There are two extreme styles of layout. The two extremes of style are:-
2.The Grid Layout
Supermarkets are the experts at this type of layout and this is a simple design to ensure 100% of customers see 100% of product.
3.Informal or Boutique Layout
This layout is common in smaller stores and the leading clothing fashion retailers are very skilled at getting consumers to flow around an informal layout
There are obviously stages in design layout between these two extremes, all of which work for different styles of retailing.
4.Position your Checkouts to Direct Customer Flow
The position of checkouts is critical in establishing how customers will flow around your store. When entering a store the general reaction is to walk away from the checkout. If the position of the checkout is wrong you may find you have hidden half your products from your customers.
As a general rule in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, we are accustomed to keeping to the left. It is therefore advisable to try and establish a clockwise customer flow, finishing with a service counter on the right.
The worst scenario in many stores is to place a service counter in the prime sight line, this will create a runway to the counter and reduce browse shopping considerably.
5.Bounce Customers Around Your Store
The aim is to get the customer around the whole store and therefore the placement of products or departments is critical.
You need to consider what are the common products on the majority of your customers shopping list and then place these products at regular intervals around the
store. The aim is to bounce the customer around the store.
For example:-
Shopping List Items:
1.Milk4.Toilet Paper
2.Bread5.Detergent
3.Sugar6.Coffee
These shopping list items are often called “anchor” products.
6.Maximise the Use of Your Sign Lines
Sight lines are important in all styles of layout, but are far more important in a boutique layout than in a grid layout. Positive, appealing sightlines will draw customers around your store. Sightlines should use colour, lighting and product effectively to draw the customer through the store.
7.Develop Destination Department
Develop destination departments in the corners of your store and at the furthest points from the entrance and exit. Promote these departments and become famous for them.
Examples of these are:-
The Power Tool Department(hardware)
The Seedling or Bedding Plant department(gardening)
The Ski Department(sports cloths)
The In-house Deli(supermarket)
Management Memo
Many retailers are opting for high gondolas – well above eye level. There are of course advantages and disadvantages with this concept and these are worth reviewing.
Advantages
Back up stock in ‘on the floor’ and is always in sight allowing for better stock control and perhaps les labour intensive in terms of replenishment (avoids double handling to some extent).
Out of stock at lower selling levels can be replenished quicker by ‘pulling down’ back up stock. Lost sales are often averted when the customer sees the line on the top shelf that has not been replenished below.
Visual impact and merchandise statements can be more effective.
The range appears to be greater even though in fact that may not be the case.
Disadvantages
Lighting of lower shelves is more difficult and thus merchandise visibility may suffer.
Aisles need to be wider than eye level height fixtures to increase merchandise visibility – 7’ wide would be a suitable average width.
There is a tendency to an overwhelming ‘tunnel effect’ and classifications are not as easy to find due to inability to see throughout the store.
Shoplifting is more likely for the same reason.
Back up stock above 6’ can readily become untidy and lack cohesiveness with the lines below.
Ref Peter Lalchford, Merchandising Hardware and Electrical
About the Author
The above is an article from John Stanley’s best selling book Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know. John Stanley Associates produce an e-newsletter specific to retailing, this includes innovative ideas and advice to help you grow your profits. If you would like to receive a regular copy please visit www.johnstanley.cc or email us on newsletter@johnstanley.cc.
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