Assorted Retail Musings: Success, Time, and Credibility

I believe that we're always either moving towards or away from success.  There is no such thing as standing still in business or in our lives. The world around us, including our competition, is in constant change and flux, so to do nothing is to move backwards.

There are times where the forces around us are greater than before, and as a result we need to double and triple our efforts to keep driving towards success. If we're not pushing harder than the forces around us then we're moving away from success. The greatest danger is when we're not even aware of it.

Let me ask, are you moving towards or away from success?

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I often hear owners and managers say they don't have time to do something they know they should do.  I suggest that if they really wanted to do it, they would find the time. When we say we don't have time to do something we need to ask ourselves two questions:

1. Is it important that I do it or can someone else take care of it?

2. What do I need to stop doing so I can do this something else?

We all have things we like to do but sometimes those aren't the things we should be doing.  As owners and managers we need to be focused on high-impact, high-payoff activities and delegate the low-impact and low-payoff activities to members of the staff.

Let me ask, are you spending your time wisely?

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What's the fastest way to lose credibility with your customer? Believe it or not, it's speaking poorly of other companies and people.  Most customers are quite forgiving if you don't know something, but they don't like rude or unsportsmanlike behavior.

Here are five ways to lose credibility with your customers:

1. Speak poorly of your competitors.  I was visiting a retailer once and heard everyone on the staff constantly put down one of their competitors. When I brought it up to the owner she said that they were just passing along what their customers told them.  I reminded her that while that might be true, it sounded like sour grapes.  Now if someone asks about their competitors they just smile and say, "We're happy to say that our customers tell us how much more like they shopping here."

2. Speak poorly of a customer. While shopping recently I heard a store employee get off the phone and then go on and on to a colleague about the "stupid" customer.  As a customer, you can't help but wonder what they say about you after you leave the store. The only stupid person here is the employee who lost all credibility.

3. Speak poorly of another employee. This sometimes happens when a customer has a problem and one employee blames another for making a mistake. You'll hear things like, "He's new and doesn't really know much." While I'm sure the employee is saying that without malice, it doesn't sound good. Instead he might have said, "Since he was new I'm sure he was mistaken."

4. Speak poorly of a product in the store. I think this is a cardinal sin that unfortunately is committed more than we'd like to admit. Employees don't think about the message they're sending about their company when they make comments like, "You don't want to buy that" or "I refuse to sell that."  The customer is left to wonder why the company continues to sell the product if it's such a dog.

5. Speak poorly of a manufacturer or distributor you do business with. The customer can't help but wonder why you're carrying their products if they are as bad as the employee is making them out to be.

Remember the old adage, if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all. Just as important, if you have something good to say then be sure and say it!

Comments

[Sharon]

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[Retail Strategy]

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[russ.dotson]

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