Retail Contrarian

Get In the Zone

To most retailers, zoning a store means assigning an associate to a particular area.

To retailers who want to deliver memorable and effective customer experiences it means to focus on certain customer activities in different areas of the store.

Here are the three zones for everyone on the team:

Zone #1: The No-Engage Decompression Zone. The decompression zone is the area a customer enters immediately after walking into your store.  The size of the zone depends on the store's overall size and layout. For some retailers the decompression zone might be only three feet wide while in other stores it could ten or twenty feet wide. Whatever its size, we should avoid engaging customers here. Customers need this time and space to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

A big mistake many retailers make is greeting and engaging customers while they are in the decompression zone. Watch how customers react when they are engaged too soon after they enter a store. They seem almost surprised to be greeted and are much faster to say they are just looking. They are also much more likely to see the staff as pushy and overbearing compared to stores that let the customers get through the decompression zone before engaging them.  I strongly encourage you to identify the decompression zone in your store.

Zone #2: The Welcome/Greet Zone. This is obviously the area right after the decompression zone and this is where customers should be welcomed.  By keeping the welcome to this area you prevent customers from being over-greeted. When customers are over-greeted the store staff appears insincere and pushy.  Customers by and large find being over-greeted to be extremely annoying; I've left stores because of it.  Once customers leave the Welcome/Greet Zone you should only greet or welcome them if you are positive that no other employee has done so.

You might also consider "banning" closed-ended questions and certain phrases in this zone including, "How may I help you?" and "Do you have any questions?"

Zone #3: The No Shadow One-to-One Zone.  After the Welcome/Greet Zone is zone three, which is most of the store.  It's in this area that experiences are delivered and sales are made. Or not.  As we saw last week, being too overbearing in this area can actually upset customers. That's why zone three is a No Shadow Zone.

The goal in this area is to engage the customer in a one-on-one conversation.  Not a sales pitch per se but a conversation to get to know your customer and develop a relationship with him/her.

If your customer clearly wants to be left alone then by all means do so.  And this doesn't mean just stopping talking but also giving him/her the appropriate physical space to enjoy your store.  No shadowing!  I'm sure that if your customer has a question or wants to buy something he'll find you.

The no-shadow rule of course does not apply to people you suspect might have less than honest intentions. If you believe a customer is interested in your products but not so interested in paying for them then of course you want to show them so much attention they get annoyed and move on to another store.

Owners/managers of stores that aren't already sectioned into zones may well want to review this three zone system.  You'll find that such an approach goes a long way to ensuring that every customer has a great experience and has the opportunity to share their money with you.

Helping Customers Trade Up Not Down

According to Retailing Today, a survey by AlixPartners of more than 7,400 consumers, shoppers are keeping low cost in mind when making purchasing decisions. The survey found that pricing is now important to consumers at all income levels, and all were likely to shift "one level down" in terms of the type of stores they shop, with aspirational high-end retail shoppers shifting down to department stores, department store shoppers now buying at mass-market stores and so on.

I have a bit of trouble with the "all were likely to shift" comment since it makes it sound like customers are all engaged in some sort of mass exodus.  But there is no doubt that some customers may have to trade down and others are at least considering trading down.

Does this mean that every retailer needs to drop their prices or risk losing their customers?  Of course not. What it does mean that our employees must be able to articulate the value of our products to our customers so they don't consider trading down. It also means that we do need to price products with a sharp pencil. 

Consider focusing on attributes like durability and versatility.  This is usually a secondary consideration for customers but could now be a key driver in their decision process. When showing a woman a piece of jewelry a retailer might point out that the piece can be worn with both casual and formal attire.  Or if a retailer is showing a jacket or a handbag they might point out that many customers continue to enjoy their jacket or handbag for many years.

Help your customer picture the use and pleasure the product will bring them. I believe many customers trade down because some retailers are treating the products like a commodity. Treat every product and every purchase like something special - because it is.  For example, if a woman is looking at a silk dress you could find out where she's planning to wear it and talk with her about the place or event.  This is the hardest value to articulate to the customer but also the most effective.

Get the product in the customer's hands and demonstrate its value. Open up that luggage and have them unzip some special compartment.  Get the phone in their hand and have them call someone.  Have the customer open and close those premium pruning shears, just watch your hair!  I bring this up time and time again because time and time again I see people miss this chance to demonstrate a product's value and transfer ownership.

Though some customers might trade down, continue to show the customer the best product that meets their needs first.  While a retailer might be tempted to show their lowest priced product first, that's really unfair to the customer.  Always lead with the best and, based on the customer's reaction, you can move to a less expensive product if it's appropriate.

Remember that if a few of your customers trade down, so are some other retailer's customers as well. So make sure you continue to deliver the best experience all customers will receive that day.  No matter what, customers will always want to do business with a retailer that respects them, appreciates them, and makes them feel good. Add a great value on top of those things and you, my friend, just made a sale.

Making Sales by Stimulating the Senses

When I was a little kid my dad owned and operated several movie theaters.  He'd been in that business for many years, and his office was full of relics from the golden age of Hollywood - though most of them were from the exhibitor's point-of-view.  One of my favorites was a handbook of sorts for successfully running a concession stand.  It was really nothing more than a collection of best practices from theater owners all over the country, collected, typed up onto fifty or so pages, and bound with three brass clasps along the left margin.  I can remember rifling through the pages and learning all about how the way a snack bar was merchandised, presented, and staffed could have a positive effect on the amount of money people would spend.

One of the things that always stuck with me was the recommendation that popcorn be popped while customers were waiting for the movie to begin.  This flew in the face of conventional wisdom that dictated you pop your corn when there were no customers around so you wouldn't be too busy to tend to customers.  However, the smell of freshly popped popcorn and the visual of it bursting out of the popper would send customers into a buying frenzy, enticing even those who already had their Ju-Ju-Bees and Coke into buying a bucket.  And do you know what?  It worked. 

Today, we know for a fact that we can influence buying by stimulating more senses simultaneously.  Show somebody a product, and they might have an interest in it.  Let them touch, hear, smell, and maybe even taste the same product, and the level of interest rises into a level of desire.  This has worked especially well in the food industry with free samples, and it's a staple of the automotive industry where a test drive lets you feel all the aspects of the vehicle, smell the new-car smell, and hear the solid THUNK of the door as you close it. 

So, here's an opportunity for you.  Look around your store.  What are you doing to stimulate more of your customers' senses?  Is your background music conducive to your brand and products?  What does your store smell like?  Can customers touch the products?  Is the lighting effective in showing off merchandise?

You probably won't be able to stimulate all the senses, and depending on what you're selling, you might not want to.  But if you focus on stimulating more of the senses than you are now, you'll find customers' interest levels rising.

Okay, I've got to go get my popcorn.

Coaching Sales to Success

One thing I've learned is that high-performing store managers and owners are extremely focused on being good sales coaches. I see some managers and owners who are good people coaches and have strong business skills but their stores never reach the desired level of performance because they fall short in coaching sales.

One of the mistakes I made when I first became a district manager was rewarding strong operationally focused managers before those who were more sales focused. While running an operationally sound store is certainly important, I now see that a manager/owner needs to be focused more on coaching sales than running a perfect store.

Here are some of the activities I see those high-performing sales coaches carry out on a regular basis:

1. They coach each individual - as well as the team - to perform at a peak level. Many managers have a tendency to coach the team as a whole but unless they work with each individual the team will never reach that next level.

2. They regularly meet with each individual as well as the team.  High-performing managers and owners know that constantly communicating with their team is key to their success. Taking time to meet one-on-one with their team at least once a month pays huge dividends. They use the time to discuss the employee's strengths as well as those areas that need improvement.  A mentor of mine once told me that if every employee doesn't know what areas they need to work to improve then you're not effectively coaching your team.

They also have a monthly staff meeting that no one would dream of missing.  Those meetings are used to improve the team's teamwork and performance by focusing on training and business development. These managers/owners never use this meeting to communicate information that transmitted in a memo or one-on-one.  Having the team all together is so valuable that the time should never be used for anything except improving the team and business results.

3. High-performing sales coaches have their team focused on the behaviors that improve sales performance. The key word is behaviors.  High-performing sales coaches know that right behavior drives the desired results.   Just talking about the desired results isn't enough; you have to teach people what those behaviors are.  I have sat through countless rah-rah meetings where a manger/owner went on and on about making goal but never once said what the team needed to do to achieve it.

In sports, before every game a coach will meet with his/her team and tell them what they need to do to win.  They don't just say "Go win the game," the players already know that; they tell them how to win.

4. They spend a lot of time on practice and feedback, feedback and practice. High-performing sales coaches never miss a chance to praise an employee and tell them what they could do better.  They find the time to roleplay every day until it becomes second nature to the team.

So let me ask, are you a strong sales coach?

Ten Ways to Know if You're Working or Clerking

I recently talked with an executive from a specialty store chain who is worried about the economy's impact on his stores.  Sales were off so he contacted us to see what we might be able to do to help.  I said I would shop a few of his stores and follow-up with him.

After visiting four stores in three different markets it was clear that indeed he has a problem - but not the one he thinks he has.  The problem I saw didn't have anything to do with an economic slowdown but it had a lot to do with a customer focus slowdown. In every store I visited the staff was not very attentive to the customers and didn't seem that concerned if the customer made a purchase or not.

While in the fourth store I heard my friend Donny's booming voice in my head call out, "THE PROBLEM, PEOPLE, IS THAT YOU'RE CLERKING IT AND NOT WORKING IT!"  (I'm often grateful that people can't hear what sometimes goes on inside my head.)

As I looked around I saw all the signs of a staff that was clerking the customer, not working with customers.  Since you're a regular reader of The Weekly Retail Experience I'm sure you don't lack the customer and selling focus that this retailer did.

Just to be sure, here are the top ten signs you know you're working with customers and not just clerking them. (I'm not going to bold each one so please read them all!)

1. A customer rarely gets to the counter to make a purchase without having already been engaged by you or one of your teammates. Actually, very few customers even get to the counter who aren't brought there by a staff member.

2. You enjoy greeting and engaging customers when they come into your store.

3. You're not behind the counter unless you're ringing a sale.

4. You naturally ask your customers questions to see how they can best be served.

5. Unless the store is extremely busy you know exactly which customers have been assisted by which one of your colleagues.

6. Asking the customer if they'd like to purchase what you're showing them has become second nature - and if it hasn't yet it's your goal.

7. You already know what product you're going to show the customer after you've finished showing the current one.

8. You're disappointed when your customer doesn't make a purchase but you never let them see it.

9. Customers seek you out when they come into your store.

10. You're extremely focused on providing a great experience to every customer who comes into your store. 

11. You try to go above and beyond for every single customer.

So let me ask, are you working or clerking?

Adapting for Sales and Engagement Success

One of the ways GREAT retail salespeople differentiate themselves from good retail salespeople is in their ability to adapt their sales and engagement approach to the customer. Most retail salespeople will engage the customer based on their own style and approach. Some are high energy, some are low key, and most are somewhere in-between. Good retail salespeople will deliver the same quality experience throughout the day with little difference between the first and last customers of the day.

GREAT retail salespeople deliver a quality experience but they adapt each experience to the customer themselves. They are able to quickly size up a customer and completely adjust their sales and engagement approach based on the customer's style and mannerisms. It's a real art, but it's one that can be learned.

Years ago I worked with a guy like this at The Sharper Image in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The man was a master retail salesperson. Or at least he was when he hadn't stayed out all night before coming to work. But when he was on, he was on! His ability to adapt to each customer was unbelievable.

The result was that customers just loved him and were practically begging him to sell them things. For the life of me I can't remember his name so I'm going to call him Bob. These are four ways Bob personalized his approach to each customer that made him a GREAT salesperson.

1. Bob mirrored the customer's energy level. Bob's own energy level was extremely high. Sometimes he'd get talking so fast you weren't sure if he was speaking English or not. You knew when he arrived at work because it was if a whirlwind had hit the store. But when he was with customers you would only see that energy level with customers who also had high energy. He always welcomed a customer in his natural style but would ramp it down if needed based on the customer himself. Within minutes he would be at the almost same energy level as the customer, always remaining just a bit more energetic. He didn't just adapt how he spoke to the customer but he even adjusted the speed he walked with them.

2. Bob always got - and used - the customer's name. This is one of those things we know will make us better salespeople but we simply don't feel comfortable doing it. Or maybe we've convinced ourselves that people don't like it so we don't do it. The reason most people don't like salespeople using their name is because it seems forced. This happens because salespeople are using a customer's name just for the sake of using her name. Bob set out to create a relationship with each customer and if you're going to have a relationship you should at least know the other person's name.

3. He personalized the pace of the experience he delivered to the customer's own pace of shopping. It's always easy to see when a customer is in hurry but each and every customer wants to shop at his/her own pace. Some customers are slow and deliberate while others want to move the process along quickly. Don't confuse a customer's energy level with pace. To judge a customer's pace you should observe how he is moving between products and how focused he is. Customers who like a quick pace are often misjudged as in a hurry or "cranky," while customers who are slower and more deliberate are mistakenly labeled as browsers and non-buyers. The more you are aligned with your customer's desired pace the more likely you are to complete a sale.

4. Last but not least, Bob always assumed and asked for the sale. Bob was our top salesperson practically every month because he spent his time working with buyers while the rest of us waited on customers. The difference lies within our own thoughts and attitudes.

So try this out on your customers this week. Adapting to your customers might just get you adapting to higher sales.

Retail Academics

Some of the fine folks at the National Association of College Stores recently had the opportunity to hear Doug speak at their Creating Xtreme Customer Experiences Workshop, and they've posted a few of his recently-published comments on their blog (with permission, of course) to share with their members who were not in attendance.  This also serves as a reminder for those who were there and might have missed or forgotten something Doug said.  Ultimately, though, their inclusion of these bits of wisdom reflects what the NACS wants their stores to strive for.  Check out their blog and some of the other valuable insights they're sharing.

How to Get Customers to Spend More: Make 'Em Cry

The Associated Press recently wrote about a multi-university study on how emotions affect the spending habits of consumers. The study essentially confirmed what many human behavior and retail experts had known for a long time: sad customers spend more.

Study participants who watched a sadness-inducing video clip offered to pay nearly four times as much money to buy a water bottle than a group that watched an emotionally neutral clip.

Most folks will agree that a bit of shopping can lift them out of the doldrums, but what this study illustrates is the commonly unknown impact of mood on spending. Interestingly enough, subjects in the study who were exposed to the sad video and offered to pay more for the water bottle were adamant that the video had no bearing on the price they were willing to pay.

“This is a phenomenon that occurs without awareness,” Jennifer Lerner, a Harvard professor who studies emotion and decision making, said in a phone interview. “This is really different from the idea of retail therapy, where people are feeling negative and want to cheer themselves up by shopping. People have no idea this is going on.”

This phenomenon can be looked at two ways. First, retailers can do what advertisers have been doing for years: take advantage of customers' low levels of contentment and appeal to their need to be happy. The other way is to understand how a customer is feeling when they buy, and work to make sure the sale is permanent. One major side effect of misery spending is the realization that purchases don't have a long-term curative effect. This often leads to buyer's remorse and returned products, and if you don't have an effective way to handle those returns, you'll soon find yourself feeling down. And you know what happens then.

Our Opinion Sort of Counts

While visiting a wireless store I overheard the following conversation. A customer was looking at an entry-level phone and when the salesperson walked up to him they had the following encounter.

Salesperson: "Can I help you?" (Gee, that's original!)

Customer: "I was interested in this phone."

Salesperson: "The (brand removed)?"

Customer: "Yes. What can you tell me about it?"

Salesperson: "You don't want that phone."

Customer: "Why's that?"

Salesperson: "It doesn't have Bluetooth capabilities or a very big display for reading emails and surfing the net. The camera is also only 1.2 pixel."

Customer: "Hmm. I'm just going to look around then. Thanks."

Salesperson: "No problem. If you have any more questions or need any more help just let me know."

Two minutes later the customer was out the door. A lost sale and a lost customer because the salesperson "helped" them out and pushed his opinion on the customer.

Wouldn't it have been great if this had happened?

Salesperson: "It doesn't have Bluetooth capabilities or a very big display for reading emails and surfing the net. The camera is also only 1.2 pixel."

Customer: "Well I don't need Bluetooth capabilities or a big display for reading emails or surfing the net. I may or may not use the camera.  All I want is to make calls.  I really don't want to spend any more money than I have to for any more phone than I need but since you didn't bother to learn anything about my needs and only shared your opinion I'm going to look around for just a few more minutes and then hightail out of here and go buy a phone somewhere else." (Customer then catches breath!)

Salesperson: "No problem. If you have any more questions or need any more help just let me know."

A retail salesperson's professional opinion is extremely important to your customer.

The problem is that many salespeople, like this one, share their personal opinion.

While I'm sure the guy's heart was in the right place, his personal opinion doesn't add value to the customer's experience.  What does add value is his professional opinion, and the only way to form a professional opinion is to learn something about the customer to whom you are speaking.

In the instance above, if the salesperson had asked questions like "how do you think you'll use the phone?" and "Do you like to read email or use the internet?" and "Do you like to use a headset?" and "Does your current phone have a camera?"

After the customer provides enough information the salesperson can make a professional recommendation, but until you hear the answer to those questions you're just giving the customer your personal opinion.

Just because we like a certain look or want certain features doesn't mean the customer does.  We're not buying it!  We're helping the customer buy it, and our role is to help him/her buy the right thing.

So the next time you're giving a customer your opinion stop ask yourself, is it personal or professional?

How to Ruin Brand Loyalty

Recently, Doug and I had the opportunity to visit some stores throughout the area. Some were clients, some weren't. I was especially excited to visit one store in particular because I have been a loyal fan of their product and brand for many years, and had yet to visit their store.

Upon entering, I was struck by the awesome assortment of product, most at very reasonable prices relative to other brands in the industry. I felt like a kid in a candy store. My immediate thought upon entering was that if I had a larger house (and a more understanding wife) I could easily spend a few hundred dollars in the short time we would be there. I found things I didn't even know this company sold. I found great impulse items. I even found stuff I didn't know I wanted or needed until I saw it!

But what kept me from going on a crazy spending spree was the staff. The behaviors and attitudes of the three or four employees who stationed themselves behind the cash wrap completely turned me off. Here I was, picking up products, commenting on things, remarking on the great prices, and the staff remained completely aloof and uninterested in my desire to spend money. There was no attempt to build rapport, apart from a cursory and well-worn "How can we help you?" Instead they discussed lunch, talked among themselves, and sat on the back counter. If somebody were to erase the retail environment from around this group, it would be difficult to distinguish them from any other group of twenty-somethings hanging out at the mall, much less determine what brand they were representing. Remember, this was a manufacturer-owned and operated store. The employees work directly for the brand they're selling... or not selling, in this case. One would think that the talent on the sales floor would provide an experience that's representative of the quality and uniqueness of the brand's product. Instead of adding value and raising customers' perception of their product (and, not coincidentally, justifying the premium prices), the staff's lack of interest in their customers and product nearly ruined my appreciation and loyalty for their brand. Imagine what it would do for a customer who had yet to be enticed by the magic of these products.

Whether you're a manufacturer or retailer, brand loyalty is one of the most valuable assets you can build in your customers. The trust and advocacy that comes from a loyal customer is priceless. It's critical to empower employees with the skills and tools necessary to build brand loyalty in customers. Otherwise your brand simply becomes a name.