Champion Questions\nfor Ownership<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2022 Have you done a visual inspection of your store from the\noutside looking in, from the perspective of your prospective customer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Have you asked yourself how your window\/exterior display\nwill cause a prospective customer to stop in their tracks and decide to come\nin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Is the visual appeal of the store\u2019s interior high? Be\nbrutally honest with yourself. What visual first impression does your store\u2019s\ninterior deliver when someone walks in? How could that be improved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Is there a display near the front of the store that will\npull people in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Does the interior layout and merchandising plan create a natural\ntraffic flow that makes prospective<\/p>\n\n\n\n
customers want to walk through your store?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Does your store\u2019s layout and flow avoid bottlenecks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Is your store clean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Is your store well-organized?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Appeal to the visual buyer: Is the store\u2019s color scheme\nwell planned and attractive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Appeal to the auditory buyer: Is there appropriate music?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Appeal to the kinesthetic buyer: Can prospective customers\ntouch and physically sample merchandise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Have your front-line employees been trained to engage with\npeople and initiate good conversations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do your front-line employees have permission to solve\nproblems that arise, up to a certain dollar amount, by giving the customer a\ngift certificate or other offering?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do your front-line employees have permission to reward\nloyal repeat customers, up to a certain dollar amount, by giving the customer a\ncoupon or gift certificate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you have a clear set of standards for employees to\nfollow when customers have a complaint or want to make a return? For instance,\ndo you make it clear to both employees and customers that your store will\ndiscuss and authorize exchanges, rather than cash refunds, for returns that\nmeet certain criteria? Helpful hint: Avoid using the word \u201cpolicy\u201d when\ndescribing these processes. The word \u201cpolicy\u201d sends one and only one message to\ncustomers: \u201cWe are inflexible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you have a customer council\u2014a network of loyal\ncustomers who can give you regular insights and feedback on what\u2019s working in\nyour store (and what isn\u2019t) on a mutually convenient schedule?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Champion Questions\nfor Front-Line Staff<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2022 Do you avoid at all costs saying the words, \u201cCan I help\nyou?\u201d These words instantly bring up the customer\u2019s defenses\u2014and keep them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you welcome the customer to the store and make the\ncustomer feel like an honored guest? One great way to do this is to say, \u201cHi!\nWelcome! I\u2019m [name]. And you are\u2026?\u201d Another great way to do this is to say,\n\u201cWelcome! I\u2019m [name]. Have you been here before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you follow the customer\u2019s lead in creating and\nsupporting a zero-pressure conversation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Are you striving to make a friend with each customer you\ngreet? When you welcome people to the store, are you making an authentic effort\nto get to know them as people, not just as customers? This effort is a huge\npart of what distinguishes your store from online competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you notice and acknowledge friends and family who\naccompany a customer and introduce yourself to them as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Are you open to conversations about the customer\u2019s friends\nand family? Such exchanges are hallmarks of a long-lasting, mutually beneficial\nrelationship with the customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Do you take the time to learn more about the customer as\nthe conversation proceeds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Without interrogating the customer or engaging in any kind\nof questioning likely to alienate them, do you do your best to connect the\npurchase being considered to this person\u2019s interests, occupation, personal\npriorities, and so on? For instance: If someone is shopping for a set of golf\nclubs, is the set for them? What\u2019s their handicap? If a person is shopping for\na piece of jewelry for a \u201cspecial someone\u201d\u2014is it for a special occasion such as\nan anniversary or a birthday?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 When a customer has a complaint or challenge, do you avoid\nat all costs citing \u201cpolicy\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 When a customer has a complaint or challenge, do you\nimmediately demonstrate empathy? For example: \u201cI\u2019m so sorry to hear that,\u201d or\n\u201cI\u2019m really sorry you had a problem with the product.\u201d Note that empathizing\nwith the customer\u2019s emotional response is not the same thing as sympathizing\nwith the specifics of the customer\u2019s complaint. When you empathize, you are\nacknowledging that a negative personal experience exists and expressing\nemotional solidarity with the customer. You are not accepting the details of\nthe customer\u2019s version of what happened. Empathy is essential, and it must\nhappen right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 When a customer has a complaint or challenge, do you let\nthe person vent without interrupting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excerpted from Retail Success in an Online World: How to\nCompete and Win in the Amazon Era. <\/em>Copyright \u00a9 2019 Sandler Systems, Inc.\nAll rights reserved.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPurchase your copy of the book to learn more.<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retail champions never stop asking themselves questions about how to improve the customer experience. The answers to these questions generate a unique playbook for your store that sets it apart from competitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":12066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1463,1136],"class_list":["post-12065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-customer-experience","tag-sales-success"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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