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Retailing
is dynamic, demanding and is a constant challenge. To thrive in this
industry, your business needs to be tuned in to your customer needs
and expectations. Nobody can have too much knowledge on the subject,
says Dick Bates, retailer relations manager at Westfield.
"Everybody
talks about customer service. Training shouldn't be just for training's
sake but to help the retailer's bottom line". We provide our retailers
with a program that provides them with the actual skills they need
to put into practice.
The
Australian Retailers Association (ARA), in partnership with Westfield,
has designed a series of workshops to help retailers maximise sales,
improve their profit margins and create the right buying environment
to keep customers coming back. According to Bates, Westfield doesn't
conduct the training itself because "you don't ask your landlord to
babysit your kids". An extract from the ARA's program:
Opening Techniques - You only have one chance to
make a positive first impression with the customers in your store.
Your
customer should see you as: "helpful", "warm and friendly", sincere,
interested, attentive, responsive to their needs, confident and positive.
But the impression your customers have of your business can be formed
even before you have a chance to impress them with your product knowledge
and service skills. Some research shows that customers will form their
first impression of your business within the first 3 to 4 seconds
of coming into contact with your store....this can occur even while
the customer is outside your business.
Your
opening technique will also impact your customer's impression of the
business, and their willingness to buy. The Opening should include
two distinct steps:
*Acknowledge; and
*Approach.
Acknowledgment
The
acknowledgement of the customer serves no other purpose than to let
the customer know that you have seen them and know that they are in
the store.
methods
include:
*Eye
contact;
*A wave; and/or
*Some type of welcoming comment.
The
acknowledgement is like an invisible string connecting you to the
customer, and the customer - through their actions - will indicate
how you should approach them and the service they are seeking. The
acknowledgement makes the approach a much more comfortable experience
for you and the customer.
Approach
Your
approach can take on one of three forms, depending on the actions
of your customer:
1.
Service;
2. Merchandise;
or
3. Greeting.
1. Service
The
service approach is ideal for the customer who walks straight up to
the counter and/or you. They know what they want, may need to ask
a question or may pick up an item and move straight to the counter
area. This customer should be welcomed and served as quickly as possible.
2. Merchandise
A customer
is looking at a particular item of stock. They may be reading the
label, looking at the box or touching the product. Select a product
feature (characteristic) and start a conversation with the customer,
about that feature.
3. Greeting
Your
customer may be walking through the store, puzzled or looking a little
hassled. Approach and start a conversation. Don't use the old retailer's
favourite "Can I help YOU?" Like most of us, you will get the "No
thanks! I'm just looking." response. Start the conversation about
something the customer is wearing, a community or social event that
may be occurring in your local area, the number of people about or,
if appropriate, even the weather.
Whether
you use the Service, Merchandise or Greeting approach technique the
key is to get your customer talking, find out what they need and want
and provide them with a solution to those needs.
The
Westfield Retail Sales Skills Workshops will include seven steps in
the sales process including:
1.
Opening Techniques and;
2. Gathering information from your customer;
3. Selling Merchandise Benefits to your customers;
4. Handling Customers Concerns, in making a commitment to the selling
process;
5. Finalising the sales and getting the commitment to buy from the
customer;
6. Wrapping up the process and inviting the customer back into the
store; and
7. Dealing with the Difficult Customer situation.
Service Down The Line
Westfield
has moved to internet retailing with the announcement that it has
formed a team to develop an Internet Shoppingtown.Research undertaken
over the past two years has highlighted the potential for Westfield
to extend the range of services it offers to both retailers and customers.
"We are continually broadening the range of services we can offer
retailers and their customers and the internet is one of them, as
are the Westfield Visa credit card and the many in-centre customer
services," says Westfield managing director, David Lowy. "We see the
internet as an opportunity to enhance business in the Shoppingtowns.
This
will be an important element in our strategy as consumers increasingly
look for the 'out of home' experience as well as the convenience internet
retailing might offer. "We also believe Westfield is well placed to
help retailers develop a meaningful on-line presence. This includes
small businesses which might not have the resources as well as medium
and larger businesses that don't wish to 'go it alone' on the internet."Westfield
Shoppingtowns already maintain an internet presence through the company's
corporate websites in Australia and the USA. These are information
only sites.
The
new internet Shoppingtown will be completely different in design and
operation. The strategy is based on three key factors: *Westfield's
unique brand which is synonymous with shopping* the potential to integrate
the extensive Westfield Shoppingtown portfolio with online services
- more than 270 million visits are made to Westfield Shoppingtowns
in Australia each year, with 5,500 retail outlets generating $7 billion
in sales.* its experience in aggregating retail services and marketing
them to the consumer.Building the site will be similar to building
a new centre.
"Leasing
agents" will convince retailers to take space on the Westfield
site, using the well known brand to attract customers.With online
shopping taking off worldwide, and US based retailers taking a large
share of the pie, Australian retail web sites need to develop a strong
presence to capitalise on the trend. "For retailers, online shopping
is a powerful direct marketing and selling tool, which holds enormous
potential for growth over the next few years," says Christa Davies,
ninemsn's director of shopping.
Wine
retailer, Wineplanet, Greengrocer.com.au and computer retailer, Harris
Technology, have partnered with ninemsn to provide internet shopping
services."Online shopping is just another option for people right
now, but in the next couple of years it will become the way of doing
things," says Douglas Carlson, managing director of Greengrocer.com.au.
It is simply a better business model for the perishable food industry.
We reduce inventory because we buy only what we need when we need
it. The customer tells us what they want and we buy the produce on
a daily basis."
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