Showing posts with label Customer Service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Customer Service. Show all posts

Creating a Pure Customer Environment

Retail Customer Service


Retailers want to deliver a shopping experience consistent with customers' expectations of the
service environment, products and employees found in their stores. But too often associates concentrate on non-selling tasks when customers are in your stores. Associates need to be refocused on the customer. Sounds simple enough, but many of today's foremost retailers are not effectively and
consistently achieving this focus in all of their stores.

Turn your managers into leaders
Managers are in a unique position to set the tone on customer satisfaction in each and everyone of your stores. You can help your managers by streamlining administrative and non-selling tasks so that they can help associates set selling priorities. The emphasis should be on an active approach to selling.

Develop a customer service vision for the entire organization
A clear vision is the driving force of an effective customer service strategy. The vision should be more than a slogan --it should be a vital, living, changing culture. Everything at your company should be aligned with this vision. And keeping the vision simple will allow consistent execution by all employees, creating satisfied, repeat customers.

Involve the whole organization
Your service vision should be a company-­wide effort that sends the message that, "This is a great place to shop and a great place to work." You must first and foremost convey the company standards to your staff because these are the people who will convey the message to your customers. The company standards must be carefully defined and thoroughly understood by your staff -- so that the desired attitudes and behaviors can be reflected in their actions and interactions with customers. In the end, actions alone will make a lasting impression on your customers.

Vision and Training are not enough
A well-defined vision and thorough training won't guarantee success. Employees must embrace the ideas before they can practice the techniques and communicate the vision to customers. Many programs fail because they're viewed by employees as another "flavor-of-the-month" program, a cardboard priority that will bend or crumble during the next expense crunch. The program needs commitment -- not lip-service -- from top management.

Consistency is the key to commitment
Everything from labor scheduling, training, store policies and performance reviews must be aligned with the vision and applied consistently. Only the program's consistent application can develop the managers' and associates' complete commitment to your customers.

Remember the program is conveyed first from associate to associate and then from associate to customers. Many departments never deal directly with customers, but they do deal with other associates. By ensuring that internal customers are treated with the same vision as external customers, the needs of your external customers will be met.

For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc

The Retail GateKeeper Position

Importance of the Retail Gatekeeper Position



Now more than ever, retailers are moving toward that philosophy as they appoint gatekeepers to filter and funnel communications and workload from regional and corporate offices to the stores. If executed properly, the gatekeeping function can save time and money while improving execution at the store level. The concept is rudimentary, yet many retailers are overlooking the possibility. Others may not be using the function to its fullest potential. That's why retailers are encouraged to return to the basics. By revisiting elementary retailing elements, retailers are discovering missed opportunities.

Expected Role
Gatekeepers are responsible for filtering and funneling information to the stores in a timely, efficient manner. Specifically, the gatekeeper: 
  • Receives and reviews all information and workload that needs to be communicated, including price changes, plan-o-grams and much more
  • Determines what should be communicated, how it should be distributed, and when the organization should be informed
  • Stays focused while working with merchants and headquarter's departments to make "smart" decisions concerning seasonal layouts, price changes, etc.
  • Creates a budget for communications and activities, and ensures the organization remains within it

Ideal Candidate
Retailers should appoint a director-level person to handle the gatekeeping function. To be effective, gatekeepers should possess several characteristics and traits, including:
  • Knowledge of the organization's strategies and priorities
  • An understanding of store operations
  • Leadership and teamwork qualities to overcome adversity
  • Strong written and verbal skills

Benefits
There are numerous advantages to implementing a gatekeeper and utilizing the function effectively. For instance:
  • Communication is clearer
  • Standard of execution is heightened
  • Costs decline
  • Labor hours are used more efficiently
  • Customer satisfaction improves

Case in Point
At a large mass merchant, the gatekeeper function was instituted in conjunction with a store effectiveness program. The result was a markedly higher level of execution across the chain with a net reduction of 7 percent in store labor costs.

For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc

  

Minimize Payroll Costs, Maximize Productivity Levels

Improve Your Operating Efficiency
Understanding Your Challenge
Payroll-- the single largest operating expense in retailing -- must be controlled, and it must be controlled without negatively impacting customer service.

Helping You Meet The Challenge
We combine retail business knowledge and re-engineering experience with technological ingenuity so you realize significant, measurable savings, while achieving enhanced customer service, associate productivity, and morale. Our practice develops and implements retailer-specific strategies utilizing the most contemporary automated labor scheduling solutions and time and attendance software packages. Our team of retail professionals does more than just automate your current practices. We recommend industry best practices, and we work with managers and associates at every level to
determine the best solutions for your stores and your customers.

Service Approach
Components of a labor management process include:
  • Conduct a focused needs analysis
  • Re-engineer necessary processes to Best Practice levels
  • Establish performance standards by key task
  • Install and configure your chosen labor scheduling and time and attendance software
  • Model the installation in various formats and volumes until desired results are achieved
  • Roll out the new procedures and labor management techniques to the chain
  • Train field management to support and maintain the new tools
  • Follow up and refine

Typical Results
An approach that includes a blend of technology and re-engineering yields substantial results.
  • Labor costs decline 8 percent to 15 percent
  • Store payroll improves 0.5 to 1.5 payroll percentage points
  • Sales trend increases 1 percent to 3 percent
  • Staff hours match customer traffic patterns
  • The rate of completion for non-selling tasks increases

For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc

Revisiting Non-Selling Tasks

Improve Your Store Profitability


Back to basics. It's the philosophy of any successful retailer. Sure, they look at cutting edge technology and innovative practices, but smart retailers also return to the basics. Smart retailers understand the need for a solid foundation before tackling complex issues. They've witnessed substantial improvements by ensuring fundamental principles were in place. And they know it's difficult to reinvent the wheel.

Returning to the basics makes sense particularly in the case of non-selling tasks. I'm sure you're aware of what needs to be done, but can you say for certain they are getting done? Even the most astute retailers need reminders that it's time to revisit the basics. Because we've all overlooked the simple solutions at some point, sometimes at the loss of significant results.

Check List
When was the last time you examined the fundamentals of your non-selling tasks? Take a look at the tasks and processes currently utilized for the following activities:
  • Stocking
  • Price changes
  • Merchandise maintenance, including
  • cleaning and straightening
  • Re-merchandising and layout changes
  • Scheduling
  • Cash reconciliation
  • Payroll
  • Inventory management within the store, including generating orders and updating unit inventory
  • Communication

Benchmarks
As you revisit the fundamental elements of non­selling tasks, keep in mind industry performance indicators:
  • Apparel price changes (units per hour): 350+
  • Accessories and domestics price changes (units per hour): 150+
  • Re-merchandising / floor moves (units per hour): 250+
  • Office support as a percentage of total store labor hours: 4%

Benefits
You'll see a marked improvement in operations and the bottom line upon re-examining and enhancing non-selling tasks. Benefits include:
  • Reduced labor expenses
  • Additional selling time
  • Increase revenues

Case in Point
A $15 billion department store chain client improved its non-selling tasks by returning to the basics. The retailer streamlined existing activities, eliminated duplicate tasks, and implemented best practices in several non-selling areas, including receiving, replenishment, recovery, loss prevention, service desk and more. The retailer achieved approximately $20 million in recurring annual operating savings. In addition, substantial improvements were seen in sales, customer satisfaction and productivity.


For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc

Pharmacy: A Prescription That Works!

Strategic Retail Consulting


The Pharmacy, like most other areas of the store, can be re-engineered to reduce operating costs, increase revenue, improve inventory management and improve customer service. By focusing on five critical focal points, retailers can achieve great results in their pharmacy.

1 - Operational Excellence
To optimize operational efficiency, improve customer service, and minimize operating costs, utilize best practices such as:
  • Ergonomic workspace layout
  • "Speed Shelves" and "Fast Mover Endcaps"
  • On-line inter-pharmacy communications system
  • Prescription sequencing
  
2 - Staffing and Labor Management
Match staffing level and staffing mix with appropriate customer flow by day of week and hour of day to provide consistent and cost effective service by:
  • Defining and establishing performance standards for each task
  • Ensuring appropriate pharmacist to clerk ratio
  • Implementing automated scheduling

Provide appropriate levels of education, information, and coaching in order to develop the skills of technicians and the effectiveness and service skills of pharmacists. Successful programs include:
  • Contemporary procedures training manual
  • Coaching and leadership training
  • Reward and compensation programs
  • Spirit of continuous improvement

Improve turns of on-­hand inventory, reduce investment in non­productive inventory and improve effectiveness of order process. This can be achieved through:
  • Improving and automating the order process through accurate demand forecasting
  • Proactively utilizing item movement reports
  • Evaluating distribution system needs

5 - Revenue Enhancement
Increase same store weekly script volume and ticket amounts, and improve cross-selling of HBC/GM products with prescription sales. Some approaches include:
  • Synchronizing in-store frequent customer program and pharmacy database
  • Automating the marketing of pharmacy service to targeted health care providers
  • Providing customer reminders for refill or lapsed prescriptions

Typical program results include:
  • Increase in script volume and overall revenue by 8% -12%
  • Improved productivity I scripts per hour
  • Decreased labor costs of 3% - 6%
  • Quantifiable and improved customer satisfaction
  • Improved employee satisfaction and reduced turnover

For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc



  

Customers For Life

The Value of Customer Retention


Customer retention is one of the few ways to ensure long-term financial success. Consider this: A 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits 30% - 50%. Not to mention that recommendations from existing customers can account for up to 60 percent of sales. Satisfying customers is not a new concept, but it's one that isn't easily mastered. Many retailers spend time and money attracting new customers or creating new customer satisfaction slogans when, in fact, retailers should spend time considering the lifetime value of each customer.

Stew Leonard, one of the most iconic and successful independent grocers of all time, recognized the lifetime value of his customers. Years ago he figured that the average customer would shop with him for about seven years before moving to another neighborhood. Since the average shopper's monthly food bill was $250, he figured each customer was worth $3,000 a year in sales, or $21,000 over the course of seven years.

Current day market basket values are much higher now making customer retention even that much more valuable. Armed with this knowledge, he was much more willing to replace a carton of cracked eggs or to provide an extra service -- all in an effort to create a lasting, profitable relationship with customers. Stew recognized that developing a long term relationship with valuable customers requires providing satisfying experiences over many visits and focusing on key customer relationships.

Satisfying Offers
A retailer has a lot to offer - from merchandise to service. To ensure you're providing a complete and satisfying offer, incorporate the following elements into a continuous improvement program.
  • Customer Satisfaction Index. Monitor the performance of each point in your offering - through ongoing customer surveys.
  • Satisfaction Goals. Establish clear and challenging customer satisfaction goals for employees at all levels.
  • Value Driven Initiatives. Continuous improvement efforts should focus on areas that customers value most.
Service Recovery
Success at the point of service recovery is critical to customer satisfaction and depends upon employees. When a customer's experience is disappointing, the first associate they contact must be empowered to resolve the issue. Associates must:
  • Understand your policies completely
  • Be Committed to satisfying customers
  • Be equipped and empowered to resolve issues
  • Be rewarded on the basis of customer satisfaction goals
Identify & Attract Valuable Customers
Not all customers provide equal value over the long term. Relationship developing efforts must focus on the most valuable customers, including:
  • Defining valuable customers to the company
  • Identifying and understanding their needs
  • Ensuring the offer meet their needs
  • Focusing marketing efforts to effectively reach, attract and retain them
Create Closeness with Customers
Loyalty stems from a feeling of attachment or closeness. Key components include:
  • Customer Focused Culture - All levels in the organization must exhibit customer focus
  • Employee Satisfaction - The employees must feel welcome to make customers welcome
  • Customer Recognition - Customers should receive extra value for staying loyal
Understand Results of Effort
A focused effort requires understanding of results Success in retaining valuable customers must be quantified, understood, and translated into actions. Key tools include:
  • Customer retention measurement
  • Customer satisfaction measurement
  • Valuable customer defection analysis

For more information on this topic contact Pat Fitzpatrick at Atlanta Retail Consulting Inc
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