STORES Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 58)

WORTH WATCHING / HUMAN RESOURCES CLOSING THE SALE A Training: Retailers Need to Get Onboard Improving – and marketing – customer service can differentiate your business BY FAYE BROOKMAN ast December, Brian Douglas entered a big-box electronics store giddy at the prospect of buying an HD-TV as a gift for himself. Although he had done some research online, he really wanted expert advice to help him decide which size, type and brand would work best in his Branchburg, N.J., home. A poorly trained salesperson couldn’t help him, so he left for another chain store. L In late February, StarW H Y T H Don’t N ’ T Why TheyE Y D OShop S H O P bucks closed all of its U.S. Unable to find a salesperson 33% units for several hours to reIgnored completely by associates 25% train baristas in the art of Left because of lack of trained help 6% coffee making. The company realized it had taken its Source: The Retail Consumer Dissatisfaction Survey eye off of the ball. Unfortunately, poor service — even a wants a message conveyed. Unlike manperceived lack of service — is all too ufacturer-specific training, Associates prevalent in retailing today. Thirty-three can train employees to offer unbiased percent of consumers polled for The Readvice. tail Consumer Dissatisfaction Survey, “When you look at what comes from conducted by the Wharton School’s Jay manufacturers, it is very self-serving,” H. Baker Retail Initiative, said they have Richardson says. “Through our experibeen unable to find a salesperson and 25 ence working with large retail outlets percent said they were ignored completeand CE manufacturers, we found that ly by associates. These findings reveal that there was a need for high-quality, inderetailers lose at least 6 percent of shoppers pendently produced training material in because of a lack of trained help. the market.” Most material currently Those statistics don’t surprise Bob available “is solely focused on how a Richardson, president and CEO of Assocertain product is better than the comciates Interactive, a new company that petition,” he says. helps retailers and manufacturers enhance training. (Richardson had been Continue to update president of R2 Marketing Group, a Training can occur on or off premises, technology marketing and training firm and Associates Interactive works with that developed programs which helped both suppliers and retailers. “We find boost sales at companies like Wal-Mart.) training needs to be ongoing so you can Associates Interactive focuses on a continue to update,” Richardson says. blend of conversational skills and indi“We also find [that] we see sales results with even just a few hours of training.” vidualized techniques. The electronics segment represents “a One of the methods, RetailAI, is parbig opportunity because people expect ticularly beneficial in helping store assoconsultation,” Richardson says. “They ciates determine how a customer wants say, ‘Help me achieve what I envision.’” to be sold, rather than how the vendor 58 STORES / APRIL 2008 ssociates Interactive offers the following tips for training and selling in an uncertain economy: Differentiate based on associate expertise. As consumer spending tightens, price competition will increase, yet consumers will still pay a premium for a consultative purchasing experience. Teach associates to converse with customers. Product knowledge isn’t enough. Associates need to engage customers in conversations about their needs and provide that consultative experience. Good conversational skills may not be intuitive, but they can be taught. Focus associate training. Teach associates one category at a time to make sure they are able to communicate effectively with customers, sell and cross-sell the right products and answer customer questions. It’s better to have an associate with expertise in one category than limited knowledge in many. Bundle and advertise complete solutions. Consumers want to buy a complete experience and don’t know all of the components needed to create it. This uncertainty leads to a reluctance to purchase. Create the bundles and teach associates to sell the solution. Promote associate expertise. Customers value good advice and knowledgeable sales associates. Let customers know that consultation is part of the shopping experience. Sales associates who appear fidgety and nervous are quickly transformed into confident professionals, he says. “We teach them how to sell face to face. We also teach how to sell a project and consumers really appreciate getting all of the information they need.” In addition to pure retail strategies, employees are well-versed in simple ways to improve their conversational skills. “A trained employee is happier in his position and less likely to leave,” Richardson says. Training also “reduces product returns and increases consumer loyalty since shoppers get the right products.” StORES Faye Brookman is a Skillman, N.J.based writer who reports extensively on the drug store industry. WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - April 2008

STORES Magazine - April 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page More Retailers Bagging Monthly Comp-Store Reports Time-Warner Center's Economy-Defying Results What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Eating Locally Grocery Concept2Watch Restaurants Online Services Marketing Human Resources Product Lifecycle Management E-Commerce: Peer Reviews Drive Online Buyers Kiosks Recycling Operations Payment Systems POS Logistics E-Commerce: Getting Personal Website Management LOEB Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - April 2008

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