Sustained Growth and the Customer Experience

New business is falling out of the sky. All you have to do is accept the great margin and write up the deal. Well maybe it wasn’t quite that easy back in the day, but staying on top of the latest buying trends and consumer preferences can go a long way in sustained growth for your business now.

The global economy is experiencing minimal growth in 2014 as we see challenges from the lingering global recession, weaker than expected growth from emerging markets, and escalating geo-political tensions. When you add the major shift and increasing prominence of Internet purchasing, one has to see that the competitive waters are still rather choppy.

Now comes the good news. The economy is recovering.  Maybe not at the rate we would all like, but it’s heading in the right direction.   Home values have rebounded quite a bit, the market is still moving forward, and the unemployment rate is coming down. Yes, the overall participation rate is not that good, but there are so many factors to consider. I sometimes wonder if we ever really know the whole truth, or if we have to be okay with relying on trends for one of our strategy pillars. Then I shiver myself back into reality – Yes, of course it is the trends that really matter, as the truth is much too elusive. So then, retail trends are changing on an almost day-to-day basis and here are a few thoughts regarding the trends that are current in retail today.

Social media has to be part of your marketing efforts and using the data you capture through that to leverage your company image and profile is crucial. Everyone knows this. You have hopefully attended the NAMM University sessions, read the articles in our trade publications, and so on. Just had to say it, as there may be a few out there that are still not buying into the importance of this trend.

Most in-store sales now are described as “ROPO” or “research online and purchase offline.” That is good news for everyone that can offer a really good in-store customer experience.  Just think of the way you shop now, whether it is for goods, services, or even going to a restaurant. Most people that I know look at the restaurant’s website, for example, and obtain menus, directions, et cetera, and then go to Yelp and see what the review comments are. This is exactly what customers are doing with your store. You may feel that you have a good base of customers that do not need to do that, because they already know your store. Not anymore. Even the good, longtime customer will look online, probably at a number of manufacturers first, to obtain a feel for the instrument they are looking to purchase. Why? Because you are not open 24/7 and that is when they want to research. With that being said, it is imperative for all brick and mortar dealers to have a web presence and sell product both in-store and online.  The question here is, how do you provide the customer experience in your store to compete with the Internet experience – your site or someone else’s? The answer is: Do not try to fight against it. Embrace it. Your sales people should not shudder when a millennial comes into the store with a smart device and is looking at other models, stores, and pricing. A statistic I’ve heard is that 50 percent of millennials use a smart device to compare while shopping in a brick and mortar store. Your sales people should have their own device and help the customer willingly while they’re in your store. Bring the Internet experience into your store.

With the steady increase in consumer confidence for buying online (and as online purchases are becoming more popular through mobile devices), you need a strategy for this retail buying trend, as well. A study showed that 15 percent of all e-commerce sales were completed on a mobile device in 2013 and experts say it will rise to 24 percent by 2016.  What this means is that your social media pages, web pages, and shopping carts all have to be mobile friendly.

Today, consumers are in control of almost every step of the buying process. Instant gratification, exceptional service, and 24/7 access to products and purchasing is expected. It is truly a buyers’ market! The service experience that you provide the customer can make or break your business and the bottom line.  Research* shows that the customer’s service experience was the most important factor in making a purchase decision for 26 percen of the consumers surveyed.  This is huge!  Brand reputation, at 25 percent, was the next most important factor with price, product features, and quality lagging. As a factor in the purchase decision, service has increased markedly for 74 percent of respondents over the past few years. And finally, 82 percent of consumers see a tight link between service and the product. Why? Because by now many of those who purchase online have had a bad service experience.

When you add service experience and brand reputation together (51 percent), it is a much larger factor that many of us would have imagined. We are all so focused on the gear and price negotiations that we may be selling ourselves and our service capabilities short and not focusing on what our staff need to have as part of their presentation. Do your employees spend an ample amount of their time making the service experience outstanding and touting your brand, no matter what department they represent? Continuously training your entire staff to know what the customer is expecting and giving them the knowledge and tools to meet and exceed those expectations sets you on the path to sustained growth.

Any wild new revelations here? Not really, from a foundational perspective. However, coming off of a self-serve merchandising wave, new generations of buyers with new expectations, new shopping tools and trends, all new mediums for speaking with your customers and prospective buyers, and a slow recession rebound, it seems like a new world for those of us that have been around for a while. We need to fully embrace it to keep our businesses growing.

*(source: Accenture Service Experience Study, 2011)