Five Common Damaging Customer Service Mistakes you need to Avoid

Successful companies understand the importance of customer service. You’ve kept your nose to grindstone to build a strong business that can survive the test of time, not to mention, you have a perfect team of aggressive and efficient workers, caliber products and an agile system that promises to over-deliver. While everything looks acceptable to you, your business is in an uphill battle of tough competition. Sales are in limbo and you are becoming increasingly concerned.

So what went wrong? Your customer service sucks. According to recent studies, 62 percent of global consumers are no longer doing business from brands and organization due to unsatisfactorily customer service experience. In today’s market environment, it is simply not enough to offer customers with exceptional products or service. Companies have to provide a seamless customer service in order to keep them from coming back for more.

Many companies understand the significance of customer service and they take it seriously. Think about what Amazon, Apple, Fresh Direct and Google Shopping Express have in common? They are the best of the best when it comes to giving their customer, an exceptional shopping experience.

Customer service is a key driver of customer retention and loyalty, which yields to enormous profitability. Below are five common damaging customer service mistakes, yet-avoidable, and how you can fix them altogether.

 Not Paying Attention to your Customers

We know it’s a busy day, but this alone should not be a reason to ignore your potential customers. Make sure you are actively listening and giving every customer your complete attention. Ask questions and always seek for a solution that works well for both parties.

Treating your Regulars way better than First-Timers

Each customer is extremely important, whether they are new or regulars. A person in a store is close to a buying decision and far closer than your average potential buyer on a list. One must treat each customer as if they were your only customer. Never give your regular customer a preferential treatment over new potential ones.

Letting your Customers Wait

Generally speaking, nobody enjoys waiting, especially if you are already annoyed about a product or having issues with a service. Always remember to try and deal with customers in a timely manner. Be clear what your response time and keep them updated. Your customers would definitely like to know that you respect their time and waiting them too long is a serious business killer.

Don’t Sell what your Customers Needs, Give them what they Want!

The possibilities are endless for influencing purchase behavior. Many customers nowadays are making research online before paying a visit to your store and when they come in, your poorly trained staff, will give the product they are certainly looking for or would simply jut tell them, they don’t have it.

In this case, your customer will lose another option to discover your other product or a premium item that will work well for that customer. They lost the opportunity to compare your product “apples to apples”. Your store is going to be dependent on what your customer needs, rather than what you carry.

Stop Arguing with Customers

Whether it’s a legit complaint or not, never argue with your customers. Even if you don’t accept their issue, you need to acknowledge their thoughts and opt to finding a resolution instead.

Being successful when it comes to customer service is about being genuine in helping your customer. Another aspect is to make the whole process easy as possible for the customers, so they feel valued. Try to avoid these common mistakes and focus on getting these right and surely you will be ahead of the game!

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Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocolypse

Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocalypse

The competition between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores has reached ominous proportions. It’s a difficult time for retailers, as a huge number of major brands and outlets are closing, many are consulting experts to modernize their business and strategize just to survive.

Despite a robust economy, traditional store closures have reached levels last seen during the great recession 9 years ago and literally speaking, walking through a mall in 2017; seems like walking through a graveyard.

According to the research firm Fung Global Retail & Technology, there are more than 8,000 stores that have closed nationwide last year and it is expected to peak in 2018. Many have signaled the beginning of the “retail apocalypse”, however, that probably exaggerates the reality, because elsewhere, there have been signs of life and it’s all not doom and gloom.

This is not the end for the brick-and-mortar store, rather an opportunity to embrace your physical and digital storefront, improve experiences to engage -especially the young consumers -both online and in store. Retail isn’t dead, it is undergoing a transformation!

Here are some tips how you can resist the impending doom and survive the retail apocalypse.

Deliver a seamless customer experience

Retailers have to service where their customers are. There are a lot of opportunities to purchase behavior and catch their attention, from the item that they wanted, to selling things they didn’t realize they needed. It is significant to reward customer loyalty and cross-device engagement by transforming interaction to unique experiences. One perfect example is through the use of augmented reality. This enable brands to create one of a kind in-store experiences and bring merchandising to the next level. Another strategy is producing exclusive events to VIP members (like product launching, early access to new products, extended hours, etc.) to provide sort of exclusivity for consumers desires.

Creating relevant content0

Great branding empowers customers and helps them develop their own sense of identity. According to the latest study of Epsilon, 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences. Inspiring content, built around customer activities and interest, help consumers decide how they can use the product in their everyday living. Another aspect to consider is how to effectively communicate content to different channels, example, reaching loyal customers with more personalized campaigns online. Understanding consumers shopping behavior can create more compelling in-store visits.

Encouraging and rewarding customer engagement

Engaging and keeping customers with your loyalty programs can be challenging. To make them interested, they have to be constantly reminded of their benefits and other rewards suitable for them or else they might forget and will potentially cause a negative effect on your business. Make your rewards program fresh, enticing and innovative with new exciting offerings and perks. Your customers want to get the latest updates and do not want to miss out any of your promotions and new offerings.

The retail landscape is changing rapidly and surely retailers can’t control all of the shopping behavior of consumers. Stores that fail to innovate will not survive. When you have a clear understanding of your consumer and identify, maintain and improve their in-store experiences plus invest in new strategies, you can absolutely survive the retail apocalypse.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in retail POP display products and has been creating and manufacturing quality accessories for retailers since 1980. Contact us to learn more how we can help you.

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